Carnal Innocence

polished hardwood before he dashed off to the parlor.
    “Is this like a Lassie thing?” Caroline asked as she followed him. “I hope you’re not taking me to where Timmy’s fallen down the well or …” She trailed off, spotting Useless sitting smugly on the floor beside the sofa. And Tucker, bare-chested, bare-footed, sprawled over it.
    He didn’t look innocent in sleep, she noted. There was simply too much wit and wickedness in his face for that. But he did look decidedly uncomfortable. His feet hung over one end of the two-seater sofa, and his neck was crinked to accommodate the curve between cushion and arm. His arms were folded across his belly, less for dignity, Caroline decided, than for the fact that he hadn’t been able to find any other space for them. Despite the awkward position and the stream of sunlight falling directly in his eyes, his chest rose and fell gently with deep, even breathing.
    She’d forgotten he’d stayed, but it came flooding back to her now. How kind he’d been, how tenderly he’d held her while she’d cried out her shock. And the quiet strength he’d offered just by holding her hand while Burke questioned her.
    Tucker had been the one to take her up to bed, sliding over her protests as patiently as a father guiding an overtired child. He’d sat with her while the sleeping pill had trickled through her bloodstream. And to chase away those last shadows of fear, he’d remained on the side of the bed, her hand in his, and had told her some silly story about his cousin Ham who ran a used-car dealership in Oxford.
    The last thing she remembered was something about a ’72 Pinto that had dropped its transmission five feet out of the lot, and a dissatisfied customer with a five-gauge.
    She felt the lock on her heart snick open, and sighed.
    “You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you, Tucker?”
    Useless perked up at the name, then leapt up to bathe Tucker’s face. Tucker grunted, shifted. “Okay, honey. In a minute.”
    Amused, Caroline stepped closer. “I hope it’s worth the wait.”
    Tucker’s lips curved as he reached out to cuddle the dog. “It’s always worth …” His hand slid down the dog’s back to the gleefully swinging tail. Slowly, his lashes fluttered up and he studied the furry face grinning into his. “You’re not quite what I had in mind.”
    Undiscouraged, Useless scrambled his hind legs until he’d gained Tucker’s chest. Tucker gave the dog’s head an absent scratch, then closed his eyes again. “Didn’t I put you out once?”
    “He wanted back in.”
    Tucker’s eyes opened again, and pushing Useless’s face out of his, he focused on Caroline. The sleepy look was gone quickly, she noted, and understood she was being carefully measured.
    “Hey.”
    “Good morning.” When he shifted his hip, she accepted the invitation and sat. “I’m sorry we woke you.”
    “I figured on getting up sometime today anyway.” He reached up to stroke a fingertip down her cheek. “How you doing?”
    “I’m all right. Really. I want to thank you for sticking around.”
    He winced a little as he straightened his neck. “I can sleep anywhere.”
    “So I see.” Touched, she brushed the hair off his brow. “It was sweet of you, Tucker. I’m grateful.”
    “I’m supposed to say I was just being neighborly.” He caught her hand when she started to draw it back. “But the fact is you had me worried sick. You didn’t have a lick of color when you finally went off to sleep.”
    “I’m steadier now.” She wished she’d checked the mirror to see if she looked steadier. “You could have used the spare bed upstairs.”
    “I thought about it.” But when he’d checked on her—for the fourth or fifth time during the night—he’d also thought about slipping into bed with her. Just to hold her, just to keep her close and satisfy himself that she was safe. That had shaken him enough that he’d needed to have the full story laid out between them. Now he needed the simplicity of closeness.
    “Come here.”
    She hesitated, then gave in to the urge to curl up beside him. With her head pillowed against his shoulder and the dog stretched across their legs, she sighed.
    “I’m glad you’re here.”
    “I’m sorry I wasn’t quicker.”
    “No, Tucker.”
    He brushed his lips over her head. “I gotta get this out, Caroline. It gave me some hard hours through the night. He wouldn’t have come after you if it weren’t for me. It was me he wanted,