her hair at the same time a huge grin spread across his face.
“I need to know the story behind this red hair.”
Rylee’s body relaxed, her heart started to beat, and she felt herself breathe again.
“Oh, that’s easy.” She returned his smile with one of her own. She was used to people asking her that question, knew how uncommon it was for someone who looked like her to naturally have hair that color. “My mother is Irish. I inherited my red hair from her. My name, too.”
“Oh, yeah?” Noah smiled. “So does that make you, Rylee Jr.?”
Rylee laughed. “Not quite. Riley was her maiden name. My father thought it would make a cool first name for me — with a slight alteration of the spelling.”
“So, do you look more like your mom or your dad?” Noah continued to play with her hair. “It depends on who you ask. Some folks say I’m a taller, darker version of my mother, and others say I look just like my father, except with red hair.” She shrugged. “I like to think I’m a pretty good blend of them both.”
“Oh, I’d say you’re a hell of a lot better than just pretty good.” Noah’s fingers released the ends of her hair and slid deep into the thick, wavy tresses, to gently massage her scalp.
The act was incredibly soothing and amazingly seductive at the same time.
“Did you know that Nick loves women with red hair?” he murmured softly, and his hazel eyes studied her intently. She shook her head mutely, far too mesmerized by the look in his eyes, the feel of his hands, and the sound of his voice to do anything more than just return his stare.
“It doesn’t matter how many women are in the room, Nick will always focus on the redheads first.” Rylee didn’t know what to think, didn’t know how to respond, and didn’t bother to try. Instead, she just stood there, took it all in, and enjoyed it.
“Now, I see why he loves it so much.” She struggled to keep her eyes open as Noah’s fingers continued to knead her scalp. “Especially on you.”
Rylee knew they were treading way too close to the out-of-bounds zone, could see them getting deeper and deeper into dangerous territory, and yet she couldn’t seem to stop it.
Thankfully, Noah had enough sense to see where they were headed, and he put the brakes on before they went too far past the point of no return. He removed his fingers from her hair and dropped his hands to his sides before he walked past her to check on another dog.
As soon as Noah stopped touching her, whatever it was that had been blocking her ability to think clearly suddenly dissipated.
What in the fuck are you doing? Rylee’s mind screamed, even as her body still craved his touch. She felt like some horny ass teenager who couldn’t control her hormones. Rylee shook her head, convinced she had a serious problem. She’d finally managed to meet a
gorgeous, sexy, and attentive man, who’d given her more physical pleasure and emotional happiness in the past few weeks than men she’d known for years. Yet, that still wasn’t enough to keep her from lusting after his brother.
“He really likes you a lot,” Noah said, and Rylee flinched. His words served as a necessary reminder that he was supposed to be strictly off-limits. She heard him chuckle softly behind her.
“Look at how he’s staring at you. I swear he gives a whole new meaning to the phrase,
‘puppy love,’” Noah joked, and Rylee looked at him in confusion. He was focused entirely on the Doberman in the cage. Rylee finally understood that his earlier comment was about the dog, not Nick. But it still didn’t lessen the guilt and embarrassment she felt at her behavior.
She turned around to look at the dog. He leaned his head against the cage and poked his nose through the metal grates, his eyes focused on her.
“What’s his name?” She reached through one of the spaces to rub his head and scratch behind his ears.
“This is Zeus.” Noah handed her a treat for the dog.
“Zeus, huh?”
“I need to know the story behind this red hair.”
Rylee’s body relaxed, her heart started to beat, and she felt herself breathe again.
“Oh, that’s easy.” She returned his smile with one of her own. She was used to people asking her that question, knew how uncommon it was for someone who looked like her to naturally have hair that color. “My mother is Irish. I inherited my red hair from her. My name, too.”
“Oh, yeah?” Noah smiled. “So does that make you, Rylee Jr.?”
Rylee laughed. “Not quite. Riley was her maiden name. My father thought it would make a cool first name for me — with a slight alteration of the spelling.”
“So, do you look more like your mom or your dad?” Noah continued to play with her hair. “It depends on who you ask. Some folks say I’m a taller, darker version of my mother, and others say I look just like my father, except with red hair.” She shrugged. “I like to think I’m a pretty good blend of them both.”
“Oh, I’d say you’re a hell of a lot better than just pretty good.” Noah’s fingers released the ends of her hair and slid deep into the thick, wavy tresses, to gently massage her scalp.
The act was incredibly soothing and amazingly seductive at the same time.
“Did you know that Nick loves women with red hair?” he murmured softly, and his hazel eyes studied her intently. She shook her head mutely, far too mesmerized by the look in his eyes, the feel of his hands, and the sound of his voice to do anything more than just return his stare.
“It doesn’t matter how many women are in the room, Nick will always focus on the redheads first.” Rylee didn’t know what to think, didn’t know how to respond, and didn’t bother to try. Instead, she just stood there, took it all in, and enjoyed it.
“Now, I see why he loves it so much.” She struggled to keep her eyes open as Noah’s fingers continued to knead her scalp. “Especially on you.”
Rylee knew they were treading way too close to the out-of-bounds zone, could see them getting deeper and deeper into dangerous territory, and yet she couldn’t seem to stop it.
Thankfully, Noah had enough sense to see where they were headed, and he put the brakes on before they went too far past the point of no return. He removed his fingers from her hair and dropped his hands to his sides before he walked past her to check on another dog.
As soon as Noah stopped touching her, whatever it was that had been blocking her ability to think clearly suddenly dissipated.
What in the fuck are you doing? Rylee’s mind screamed, even as her body still craved his touch. She felt like some horny ass teenager who couldn’t control her hormones. Rylee shook her head, convinced she had a serious problem. She’d finally managed to meet a
gorgeous, sexy, and attentive man, who’d given her more physical pleasure and emotional happiness in the past few weeks than men she’d known for years. Yet, that still wasn’t enough to keep her from lusting after his brother.
“He really likes you a lot,” Noah said, and Rylee flinched. His words served as a necessary reminder that he was supposed to be strictly off-limits. She heard him chuckle softly behind her.
“Look at how he’s staring at you. I swear he gives a whole new meaning to the phrase,
‘puppy love,’” Noah joked, and Rylee looked at him in confusion. He was focused entirely on the Doberman in the cage. Rylee finally understood that his earlier comment was about the dog, not Nick. But it still didn’t lessen the guilt and embarrassment she felt at her behavior.
She turned around to look at the dog. He leaned his head against the cage and poked his nose through the metal grates, his eyes focused on her.
“What’s his name?” She reached through one of the spaces to rub his head and scratch behind his ears.
“This is Zeus.” Noah handed her a treat for the dog.
“Zeus, huh?”
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