​

FOR THE FIRST TIME 

(One Strike Away Book Four)

COMING IN OCTOBER

​~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~​
In one fluid moment, the man lifted himself from the water, his body glistening. Tall. Muscled. Wet. And completely naked.

"Hello, Murphy."

Though Jordyn's invasion of the man's privacy had been purely accidental, the greedy way her eyes looked him up and down—and up again—was not. She knew she should turn away. Yet—without a smidgeon of guilt—she continued to enjoy the view.

Spectacular. And brave. Swimming in an ice-cold lake had to take balls. Big ones. Speaking of which. Jordyn took a deep breath. Oh, my. Every bit of the man was on the extra-large size. From his height to his muscles to the appendage between his legs.

If icy water equaled shrinkage on all men, nature had been very, very kind to Murphy.

"Oh, no you don't," Jordyn admonished when the puppy tried to see what all the fuss was about. "This show is too X rated for your young eyes."

Grateful she wasn't in Murphy's direct line of sight, Jordyn decided to retreat into the woods. Once he was inside the cabin, she'd wait a reasonable amount of time before she knocked on the door—enough time so he wouldn't suspect she'd witnessed his exit from the lake.

Unfortunately, the puppy had other ideas. As Jordyn quietly backed away, her new friend started to squirm. And whine. She wanted down, and she made her feeling clear. She didn't appreciate Jordyn's attempts to stop her.

Worried she might cause the animal injury, Jordyn loosened her grip just long enough for the puppy to slide from the jacket. Naturally, she hit the ground running—straight toward Murphy.

Jordyn froze. Great. Freaking fantastic. Before she could stage a graceful exit, the dog ran smack-dab into Murphy's shin.

"Hey, gorgeous," he said, a sexy timbre to his voice Jordyn didn't recall from the pub.

So much for loyalty, Jordyn thought as the puppy practically jumped into Murphy's arms, her tongue swiping at his chin as if the man were USDA Prime beef. Or sisterhood in the face of adversity.

"I was the one who carried you over hill and dale," Jordyn muttered under her breath. "We run across one wildly attractive naked man, and suddenly I'm chopped liver."

Murphy laughed when the puppy bit his beard, chewing at the curling ends.

"Looks like you're hungry. Why don't you come inside? I'll fix you something more appetizing." Turning his head, Murphy pinned Jordyn with his bright blue gaze. "You can come too. Unless you have other plans."

Busted. Jordyn didn't know how long he'd been aware of her presence. Whatever the timeframe, Murphy didn't seem the least bit concerned by his lack of attire. He simply watched her a moment longer, then walked away.

And Jordyn simply followed. What else was she going to do? Head back into the woods to save herself some much-deserved embarrassment? Hardly. The man had no shame, she thought. Still, with a backside as fine as his, why should he?