Page 3 of Her Rugged Guardian
I waited just outside the entrance, gathering my courage.
Then all hell seemed to break loose as Moose came charging in my direction, flying by me, growling as if several bears had crossed his path.
Bang.
The loud noise was jarring, unrecognizable.
“Fuck!” The exclamation came from a deep male voice. That was my cue to protect what now belonged to me.
I rushed into the room, lifting the toaster and without paying attention to anything around me, I smashed the stainless-steel appliance down on the perpetrator’s head. The hard cracking sound was empowering.
“What the hell?” The intruder’s exclamation was laced with pain.
Good. I’d hit my mark. I held onto the toaster with white-knuckled fingers as Moose straddled the bastard. What I found odd was that the pup stopped growling almost instantly. My slobbering buddy was even wagging his tail. Of course. Now he was licking the man as if they were best buddies. Perfect.
“Moose! Come here, boy.” My command was unheeded, Moose far too interested in loving on the stranger.
“Okay, buddy,” the intruder said, his husky voice sending a strange set of tingling vibes into my system like a rush of gasoline.
“If you hurt my dog, I will kill you.”
While Moose kept licking, the asshole stopped talking. Then the criminal managed to peer around the lump of fur, staring at me with the most incredible pair of blue eyes I’d ever seen. I took a deep breath, tingles trickling down both my arms. Only when his expression turned hard and cold did I manage to look away.
“I’m not going to touch your dog, lady. But it seems like he likes me a bit too much.”
“He likes everyone, including unscrupulous assholes who break into a person’s house. I’m calling the police.”
“You do that, sweetheart. I can’t wait to see if you get any reception.” As soon as he struggled to get from under Moose’s hefty weight, I noticed two things.
One—the criminal’s forehead was bleeding.
Even worse—the intruder was without a doubt one of the most gorgeous men I’d ever seen. Models and actors weren’t as handsome and muscular. While he was older by at least ten years, that didn’t diminish his rugged good looks or his extreme sex appeal. My eyes followed a trail from his chiseled cheeks to his full lips and square jaw to… Whoa. The side of the man’s neck was scarred badly, his arm as well.
When he struggled to stand, I refused to take a step back, lifting the appliance, prepared to strike the man again.
What if he has a gun?
Maybe he had one hidden in the… carpenter’s bag hung around his waist. What? I took a few seconds to scan the room, realizing he’d fallen from a ladder. Then I looked up at the ceiling, groaning quietly. He’d been in the middle of installing a ceiling fan. Shit. Shit. Shit. Who was this man?
He eyed me scornfully as he rubbed his hands on his jeans. I allowed my gaze to follow his actions, a lump forming in my throat. At least it was no longer from fear or apprehension. Oh, no. I couldn’t seem to take my eyes off his muscular thighs and the huge bulge between his legs. His jeans were well-worn, but the fit was perfect, allowing more than a few torrid fantasies.
And the man was huge. At least six foot five. I couldn’t help but fantasize about the size of his cock.
What are you thinking?
I forced myself to look away, but not before seeing a smirk on his face. He’d noticed my heated stare. Damn it.
“Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?” I demanded without looking in his direction.
“I could ask the same damn thing about you, lady.”
“My name isn’t lady.”
“Then what is it? Princess? Vixen?”
The dude was grumpy as shit. Okay, I didn’t blame him given I’d attacked him with a toaster. Wait a minute. What had he just called me?
“Maybe I’ll just call you Mr. Grinch.”