Chick with a Charm by Vicki Lewis Thompson Read Free Book Online Page A

this, and he might—
    “You don’t have to go all the way up.” She paused on the second landing and glanced back at him.
    He was partway up, in more ways than one. “I’m fine.”
    “Seriously, you can wait here. I’m used to this climb.”
    “I’m okay, really.”
    “No, you’re not. You’re panting worse than Daisy does.”
    Terrific. He could tell her the truth, that he was panting out of sexual frustration, or he could end up looking like a wimp incapable of handling two flights of stairs. Or he could lie.
    “I’m training for a marathon,” he said. “Mounting . . . I mean climbing the stairs is good for me.” Damn, even his vocabulary was skewed toward sex.
    She shrugged. “If you say so.” She started up again, her heels tapping seductively on the wooden staircase.
    Watching her fanny sway from side to side as she climbed was heaven. Dealing with the painful condition of his cock was hell. He shouldn’t look at her. He should simply put his head down and make the trek up the stairs like a blind man.
    Of course he could no more look away than fly to the moon. Instead he created scenarios in which he caught up with her and they had doggie-style sex on the stairs. Or he joined her on the next landing, backed her up against the wall and took her standing up.
    Apparently weeks of denying the attraction he felt for her had built up a hunger of monumental proportions. He couldn’t remember ever being this focused on sex with a woman, not even as a teenager. Besides that, his obsession was specific to Lily. He didn’t just need to have sex with someone ASAP, he needed to have it with her, and only her.
    “Almost there,” she called over her shoulder.
    Because he was worried about the telltale bulge under his fleece sweats, he forced himself to look at the stair treads instead of her backside for the last few steps.
    “This is it.” She put her key in the lock of apartment 333. “I can hear Daisy whining.”
    Too bad it was socially unacceptable for him to whine or he’d be doing it. God, how he wanted her. But the dog had to go out first. He got that.
    As he stood hesitantly at the door to the apartment, mindful that the dog might not take to him right away, he wondered if she had a fireplace. There was a smoky scent in the air. Then, across a room that was filled with eye-popping primary colors, he spied the incense burner on the coffee table. That must be what had generated the smell.
    Daisy was obviously ecstatic to see Lily. Lily dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around the wiggling, whining dog. “I missed you, too, sweetheart,” she murmured. “Now, I’d like you to meet my friend Griffin.”
    He hadn’t been sure what to expect, given Lily’s warning about Daisy not being used to strangers. He’d thought maybe she’d look wary or back away, or maybe even growl a little.
    Instead she lifted her head and looked him straight in the eye. It was eerie the instant connection he felt with her, as if they had some prior history. “Nice to meet you, Daisy,” he said.
    She gave a short bark, as if in acknowledgment. Then she walked over to him with that same knowing gaze in her brown eyes. Her tail wagged slowly, and Griffin could swear she was smiling.
    Crouching down, he held out his hand for her to sniff. She did, quite thoroughly; and then she gave his hand a lick.
    “I guess it’s okay if I pet her,” he said.
    “Apparently so.” Lily seemed slightly bemused herself. “She seems quite taken with you. I’ll get her leash.”
    “Okay.” Griffin sank his fingers into Daisy’s soft golden fur and scratched behind her ears as she continued to stare at him. He was probably projecting thoughts on her that she wasn’t having, but she looked for all the world as if she’d seen him somewhere before and was trying to place him.
    He had a similar feeling, as if he knew this dog. But that couldn’t be. “Where did you get her?” he called out to Lily.
    “From the animal