Clapping a hand to her mouth, she burst into laughter. “Oh my gosh. I completely forgot I made a mess in the kitchen.”
“You made your point, that’s for sure. But we should pick that up before we forget and rodents scamper inside to eat your leftovers.” With more regret than he could express, he unfolded himself from Eve and stood then pulled her to her feet. “Why don’t you clean the potatoes off yourself, and I’ll handle the kitchen.”
“I’m the one who tossed my plate on the floor. I can handle it,” she said. “There’s still dishes to wash, too. You shouldn’t have to deal with it all yourself.”
He pulled her close, framing her face with his hands. “You’ve done more than you’ll ever know. Let me do this. It’s a small way to say thank you.”
She scrunched her nose as if uncomfortable with the praise. “Fine. I might take another shower. I can still smell that butter. Not my best decision.”
“I disagree,” he said, tapping the tip of her nose with his finger. “Go. Enjoy.”
“If you say so,” she said in a singsong voice then gave him a peck on the cheek and strolled toward the hall.
He watched the subtle sway of her hips, and desire tightened his gut. Damn it, he should say screw the dishes and march after her into that shower. He’d barely survived knowing she was in there earlier. He wasn’t sure if he was strong enough to do it again.
Ignoring his instinct to run after her, he walked into the kitchen and grinned at the forgotten paper plate on the floor. Who’d have guessed that tossing food around would result in cracking open the vault of emotions and memories he’d kept locked up for so long.
Luckily Eve had eaten most of her dinner, so the cleanup was easy. He hustled around the room, washing serving ware and wiping down counters. He dipped outside to make sure they’d left nothing behind on the deck then returned to the tidy kitchen.
A quick glance at his watch told him the evening was still young. An early dinner and baring his soul left them with a few hours to kill before bedtime. He debated checking in with Tara, but he didn’t want to hover—didn’t want her to think that if she decided to make her stay in Cloud Valley permanent, he’d be in her business all the time.
If she needed him, she’d call. He’d touch base with her in the morning.
Pipes groaned from the rush of water flowing into the bathtub. He groaned along with them as images of Eve came back. She could take all the hot water she needed, because once she was done, he’d need a shower cold as ice to cool his blood.
Maybe he could take Eve for a walk. A quick hike around the lake until the sun went down. That could chew up enough time, leaving them to watch a movie before calling it a night. He’d grab a hoodie from his bag and ask if she’d be interested in his plan.
Hurrying down the hall, he made a beeline past the closed bathroom door and stepped inside the primary bedroom. His bag lay untouched at the end of the bed. Zipping it open, he dug inside and found his favorite black sweatshirt. He shook out the wrinkles then tugged it over his head.
“Oh, sorry. I didn’t know you were in here.”
He stared at Eve, who stood in the doorway with a white cotton towel wrapped around her body. Unspoken words stuck in his dry throat.
“I forgot to grab my clothes,” she said. “Are you cold?”
He smoothed a hand over the soft material of his sweatshirt. “No, I, ah, thought about taking a walk. How was your shower?”
“Good. All clean, but I’m not sure if I want to head outside. Can we take a walk in the morning instead?”
“Sure. Whatever you want.”
She padded into the room and gave a gentle yank on the string dangling from his hood. “Anything, huh?”
An insatiable hunger roared through him. He didn’t want to fight it anymore. Skimming the backs of his knuckles along the soft curve of her cheek, he stared down at her beautiful face. “Anything.”
He bent down and pressed his lips to hers. Lust stirred in his core. He had taken a giant step earlier, and now it was time to take another one. But this time, it was a step for both him and Eve.
The heat of Reid’s body against hers combined with the fire raging inside Eve and threatened to explode. She’d hoped standing under the spray of cool water for a second time would wash away the desire climbing up her body.
But all it took was one look, one touch, one taste to weaken her resolve and have her ready to drop to her knees and beg for more.
She broke the kiss, needing to know Reid was okay. That he was ready to take their relationship to this level and things weren’t moving too fast after exposing so much of his past—of his fears.
“You okay?” he asked, tucking a strand of her wet hair behind her ear.
She smiled. “I was about to ask you the same thing.”
Puzzlement creased his forehead. “How could I not be? I’m holding a beautiful woman who’s dressed only in a towel.”
