Ten
years ago, Jackson Hardy joined the Marines, leaving behind a woman
he still dreams about. When he's called home to care for his
ten-year-old nephew, no one is more shocked than he to run into Emma
again. Or to still have those same feelings. But Jackson isn't
looking for love, and neither is Emma, especially not with him. His
precocious nephew, though, and a retriever named Bandit, are about to
change that.
So
what if Emma Mercer is an overachiever? She has plans to get her
doctorate in psychology and create a no-kill shelter for the EST dogs
she trains. Which leaves absolutely no time for romance. She's fine
with a furry family—dogs don't teach you to love and then rip your
heart to shreds. But young Matty's situation tugs at her heartstrings
and there's no way she can't help him…and Jackson.
She
may have hotter-than-ever chemistry with the soldier, but
forgetting the past isn't easy.
Excerpt
from In the Dog House by Traci Hall
She’d
said she was proud of him—did she mean it? Her forearm brushed his
leg, and her throat turned a deep shade of rose as she held his gaze.
Sweet.
She wouldn’t say what she didn’t mean.
He
tilted to the right, wanting to touch her mouth with his. Sample a
quick taste of Emma to add to his memories. Her lips slightly parted,
the pulse at the hollow of her throat sped, her eyes dilated. They
were so close to a kiss that all he had to do was move his head
forward…
She
stood abruptly, smoothing the yellow fabric down over her hip with an
eye toward Matty, racing around the fountain. “I’ll get dessert.”
Jackson
snapped back. Was she inviting him inside?
“I’ll
help.”
She
held the door open for him, and he followed her. The instant they
were out of sight she launched herself at him, wrapping her arms
around him to hold him tight—he couldn’t have broken free if he’d
wanted to.
And
he didn’t.
He
buried his hands in her soft, soft hair and cupped her head so that
he could study Emma and memorize each new line and freckle. He gently
brought the pads of his thumbs to her smooth jaw and plump pink lower
lip. Her eyes, swiped with copper, glittered sensually as she
absorbed his touch. Auburn lashes at half-mast as she relaxed into
him.
He
dropped one arm to her hip to balance her, the other still cradling
her head as he lowered his mouth. She lifted to him, their lips
whispering across each other’s mouths before crashing together like
surf against the sand.
She
tasted different but the same. It was meeting his other half,
something he’d been missing and suddenly needed more than his next
breath.
“Em.”
“Jackson.”
Her words were hot against his lips and brought the embers of desire
flaming bright.
She
entwined her fingers behind his neck and pressed in to him.
He
clasped her tight, feeling the warmth of her feminine curves, the
temptation she offered.
The
smack of sneakers up the porch steps made them break away like guilty
teenagers.
Jackson’s
chest heaved. They weren’t that anymore.
Em’s
eyes flashed, the pulse at her neck fast as a hummingbird’s.
“Emma,”
Matty asked, innocently entering the kitchen. “Can I have some
lemonade?”
“Sure,
hon. I was just getting the cannoli out. Are you ready for dessert?”
Emma turned her back to him, and Jackson detected a tremor in her
voice.
Jackson
knew then that he’d never be over Emma Mercer, not if he lived to
be a thousand.
