I was smoke-stained, tear-streaked, and wearing a stranger’s shirt in a cabin on a mountain.
Butalive. Because of him.
When I came back out I gave him a small, “Thank you,” my voice sounding weaker than it normally did.
“Yup,” he rumbled softly. “Sleep well, Cassidy.”
His bedroom had no door. Just a rough-hewn frame arching the space between the living room and it. I guess if you live alone you don’t need one.
It was as simply decorated as the rest of the cabin. There was a large bed with a thick antique quilt, a single nightstand with a lamp… and a book.
I flipped it over so I could see the title. It was a thriller from an author I’d never heard of before. ‘A Lost Crow’ by Buckley Hansen.
There was a large picture window with no curtains that looked out over the valley. Though I couldn’t see anything but darkness right now, I imagined the view must be breathtaking during the day.
Climbing into his bed, I pulled the covers up to my chin. The sheets smelled like him too. Pine and wood smoke and that warm, masculine scent that made something flutter low in my belly.
I could hear him moving around the living room.
The crackle of logs grew louder as he worked the fire. Then the creak of the couch as he settled onto it, and the light, sloshingsound of him dropping his feet in the bucket of water, finally taking care of himself after he’d taken care of me.
He was out there, settling in for the night.
Iwantedthat kiss.
The thought surfaced unbidden and undeniable. Even though it didn’t make sense. I’d just met him, but I still wanted to feel his lips on mine. I wanted to find out if they were as rough as his hands.
I drifted off to sleep with the knowledge that, for the first time in longer than I could remember, I wasn’t alone.
There was fire everywhere. Flames licked up the walls, crawling across the ceiling, consuming everything I’d built.
Then he was there. Hall. Emerging from the flames like some kind of avenging angel, his skin glowing gold in the firelight.
He reached for me and suddenly we weren’t in my burning house anymore. We were somewhere else, somewhere warm and safe, and his hands were on my body, his mouth on my lips, and then the fire wasn’t destroying us, it was us… we were the fire…
I woke with a scream lodged in my throat, thrashing under an unfamiliar blanket.
Hall filled the frame of the doorway, wild-eyed and chest heaving.
He was wearing nothing but a pair of dark boxer briefs, and my brain short-circuited at the sight of him coming towards me through the shadows.
Muscles.Somany muscles.
His chest was broad and defined, covered with a dusting of dark hair. His stomach was flat and hard. And lower, the bulge in his underwear was…
I looked away, heat flooding my cheeks.
Then his arms were around me, pulling me against that magnificent chest, and I forgot to be embarrassed.
“Nightmare,” I managed to say, my voice shaking. “It was just a nightmare.”
“You’re safe.” His voice was a low rumble against me. “You’re safe, Cassidy. I’ve got you.”
I let myself sink into him, just for a moment. Let myself feel the strength of his arms, the warmth of his skin. My body remembered the dream and the way he’d touched me, and heat pooled in my core.
This was insane. I was insane.
I pulled back, wiping my tears with the back of my hand. “I’m okay. Really. I’m sorry I woke you.”
