Page 34 of Close to Heaven

He stepped out and dried off, and then he realized he’d been in such a hurry to get in the shower that he hadn’t brought any clean clothes to change into. Not only that, but he’d showered in the first-floor bathroom, and his clothes were upstairs.

What the hell was I thinking?

He was just about to go upstairs, naked, when the doorbell rang and stopped him in his tracks. It couldn’t be Cody or Dakota, since they had the code to get in, so he figured it must be a delivery. He quickly wrapped a towel around his waist and padded out of the bathroom.

When he turned the corner into the living room, he came face to face with Avery! Well, not really face to face, since she was crouched down and petting Smoky. He should have realized it wasn’t a delivery person; otherwise, Smoky would have barked his head off. Instead, the dog was enjoying a thorough rubdown by his sexy employee.

As if she’d just become aware of his presence, her gaze started at his bare feet and slowly traveled up his body until she met his eyes.

“Morning,” he said.

Avery quickly stood up, her cheeks the brightest shade of pink he’d ever seen. “OHMIGOD!”

“Nope. It’s just me and Smoky here.”

Smoky looked up at her with his big brown eyes, silently pleading for more attention.

“I am so sorry! I never would have come in if I knew you were…”

“Half-naked?” For some reason, he was getting a kick out of her reaction. He figured she deserved to feel a little discomfort for entering his home uninvited.

“Right. Yes,” she said, averting her gaze. “Do you want to get dressed or something?”

“First, why don’t you tell me why you’re here.”

“I…I brought you some breakfast.”

He’d been so surprised by her appearance that he hadn’t noticed the foil-covered plate on the kitchen counter.

“I saw you drive by a little bit ago, and we had some leftovers, and I thought you might be hungry after your hike. Was that just the longest run-on sentence you’ve ever heard?”

Jax tipped his head back and laughed, and in doing so, his towel slipped down a bit. Her gaze flicked downward, and she made a small gasping sound.

Jax had always been comfortable in his own skin, dressed or bare, it didn’t matter, and the handful of women he’d been with had seemed satisfied with his body too. He wondered what Avery was thinking as she tried looking everywhere but directly at him.

“Did you have a nice hike?” she asked.

He almost felt bad for making her feel uncomfortable. Almost.

“Yes, but can I ask how you got in here.”

“Oh, right. I knocked, but when you didn’t answer, I tried the handle, and the door opened. Smoky was sitting there, and I started petting him, and then…well, you know the rest.”

He nodded and sauntered over to the plate on the kitchen counter. He felt her gaze on him as he peeled off the foil to see what she’d brought.

“I hope you like it. Dakota said you would.”

His sister. Dammit. Dakota would be furious if she knew he was waltzing around in a towel in front of her best friend. Of course, he could argue that Avery had surprised him right when he’d gotten out of the shower.

He inhaled the scents of French toast and bacon, re-covered the plate, and turned back to face her. “Looks great. Thank you for bringing it.”

“You’re welcome. After you saved me last night, it was the least I could do.”

He shook his head. “I didn’t save you. I’m sure you could have handled that jerk on your own.”

“Still, I appreciate what you did.”

“Well, I should probably get dressed now.” He wasn’t sure how much longer he could stand there conversing with her while he was naked beneath the towel. It made him think of things he absolutely should NOT be thinking about, such as whisking her upstairs to his bedroom…