John’s smile started slowly, curling up the corners and denting his cheeks until he was grinning broadly, making her heart beat abnormally fast. What John Carmondy did to her nervous system couldn’t be healthy. “No bacon. We just bonded. I think he’s happy to have another guy around.”

She made a humph sound. “The five of us spoil that dog like crazy. You should be so lucky to be surrounded by beautiful women who feed you treats, rub your belly, let you kick them off their beds, and tell you that you’re the most wonderful being in the universe.”

As she’d been speaking, his gaze had heated to a simmering smolder. “He is a lucky dog, although five women would be too much for me. Just one feeding me and petting my belly is plenty.” The way his eyes raked over her made her wonder, just for a moment, if he was fantasizing about her being that woman. She could feel the heat burning her from the inside out, and she knew that if they continued this line of conversation, she would probably spontaneously combust.

“Uh…right. Okay. So…Norah has info for us that she’s refusing to share until we’re both there to listen.” When her heart settled down enough that the roaring in her ears disappeared, she noticed that he had a notepad in front of him. “Did you have something for us, too?”

He grimaced, picking up the notepad and tilting it side to side, as if the paper itself was shrugging. “Nothing concrete. I’m just putting my thoughts down and hoping that something’ll jump at me… Useless so far.” Dropping the pad onto the table with a slap, he stood. “Let’s see what Norah’s found.”

As Molly led the way upstairs, feeling twitchy with the knowledge that her butt was right at his eye level, she asked, “Did Desmond finish up? Or is he still lurking around here somewhere?”

With a laugh, John caught up to her, so he was right behind her. Because he was so much taller than she was, he still managed to loom over her, even though he was a whole step down. “He’s done. I’ll take you and Norah on a tour of the system, and then she can tell us what she knows.”

Stopping on the top step, Molly turned abruptly. It was only when she came eyes-to-neck with John that she realized what an awkward situation she’d just created. If she tilted her head up, she’d be in the ideal position for a kiss, and that knowledge completely scoured her brain clear of what she’d been about to say. It might’ve been her imagination, but it seemed as if heat was radiating off him, warming her muscles and bones until she was about to melt into a puddle of goo at his feet.

Frantically, her eyes fixed firmly on the divot at the base of his throat, she rewound their earlier conversation until she remembered what had been so urgent that she needed to tell him right this second. “Thank you.” Her voice came out sounding husky, and her gaze darted to his eyes automatically, just in time to see his pupils react. Clearing her throat, she tore her gaze away, this time focusing on a spot just below the collar of his T-shirt, right where the seam was starting to pull apart. Crazily, that tiny hole made her feel protective of him. She felt a sudden need to wrap him up in soft blankets and tuck him away somewhere safe, somewhere he wouldn’t get blown up or punched in that too-pretty face of his or shot or—