He was deliberately steering me away from something.
By the time we returned to the bed and breakfast, the sun flirted with the horizon, and my legs ached from the day of hiking.
But speculation pounded through my head. What was Beck hiding? And why did I care more about uncovering the mystery behind the man than the mystery of Bear Cove’s dead zone?
“Thanks for today,” I said as he held open the front door.
His smile was as warm as the others he’d given me. “My pleasure.” He followed as I stepped over the threshold. “I was thinking of making stew for dinner.”
There was no way I could get through another meal without blushing so hard my face caught fire. Besides, I needed to review my data without Beck looking over my shoulder. I needed to figure out what he was steering me away from.
“Sounds good,” I said, “but I’m not really hungry.” I paused in the foyer and hooked a thumb toward the stairs. “I’ll probably just shower and turn in for the night.”
His brows drew together. “It’s still early. You might get hungry later. I’ll leave a tray outside your door. No hard feelings if you skip my stew.” A hint of smugness touched his features. “You won’t, though.”
I fought my smile, but it burst through my defenses. “All right.”
“Same time tomorrow?” he asked.
“Sounds good.”
My muscles protested as I climbed the stairs to my room. In the bathroom, I stripped off my layers and unraveled my braids. Steam filled the small space as I stepped into the shower and let the hot spray pound over my nape.
I tilted my head back, letting the water carry away the day’s sweat and grime. But it couldn’t wash away the images that played behind my closed lids.
Beck’s hands, large and capable, reaching up to move a branch from my path. The flex of muscle in his forearms. The way his sweater had stretched across his shoulders when he’d crouched to examine one of my soil samples.
That square jaw. The silver threading through his dark hair.
Heat pooled between my legs, and it had nothing to do with the water temperature.
This was ridiculous. Beck was probably twenty-five years my senior. Maybe more. He was being helpful, and I was standing in his shower having completely inappropriate thoughts about him.
But my body didn’t care about appropriate.
My hand drifted lower, sliding down my stomach. Eyes closed, I slipped my fingers between my thighs.
The day’s events paraded through my head, Beck featured in every frame. His silver eyes crinkling at the corners when he smiled. His taut backside lovingly encased in those tight gray pants.
My fingers circled my clit. Heat sizzled through me, and I gasped, water drumming against my scalp as I stroked my slick, swollen center.
In my mind, Beck looked at me over his shoulder, his piercing eyes steady. His hands were probably big enough to span my waist.
My breath quickened. I stroked myself faster, my free hand braced on the tiled wall. Pressure built between my legs, and thick waves of shimmering arousal built higher…and higher. My imagination supplied me with other images.
Beck looming over me in bed, his broad chest bare. Beck’s scruff against my skin. Between my thighs. His massive body pressed against mine. His thick cock thrusting inside me.
A knot of tension coiled tightly inside me. I stroked my clit faster, arousal soaking my fingers.
“God,” I gasped, widening my stance. My breath came in gasps as I worked my clit hard and fast, the phantom Beck fucking me into the mattress. Pleasure crested in a tidal wave, and I came on a shudder, biting my lip hard to stifle my scream.
Steam rolled around me in thick clouds. Pulling my fingers from my pussy, I turned into the wall and rested my forehead against the tile.
What was wrong with me? But even as shame prickled at the edges of my mind, I couldn’t quite regret my release. For the first time in months, I felt relaxed, my muscles free of tension.
I quickly soaped my body and washed and conditioned my hair. Ran a razor over my legs and under my arms. When I finished, I stood before the mirror with a thick towel around me.
In the glass, my face was flushed, my eyes bright. I looked…satisfied. Biting my lip, I turned from the sink.
