Searching around, I find some Epsom salt and start pouring a hot bath. It’s exactly what I need to get rid of the soreness in my muscles. Once the large tub is full, I take off my clothes and sink down, more than enjoying the way the warm water encompasses my body and blocks out all the noise of the world around me.
I must doze off slightly, because I wake up with a start, my heart pounding when I hear a door open and shut. It takes me right back to the pharmacy, when I wasn’t paying attention to who was coming or going. My hands shake as I put them over my breasts, trying to hide myself from whatever eyes are accompanying the footsteps heading toward the bathroom.
“Atlee, it’s me.”
Devlin’s deep, dark voice brushes over me like a calming stroke on my back. Immediately, I feel safe again, like nothing is going to touch me while he’s here. “In the bathroom. In the tub, actually.”
He comes to the doorway, holding a bag in his hand. “Saw Lennon and grabbed this for you. She’s worried about you.”
“I know she is. It’s her nature. You let her know I’m okay?”
He nods, grunting. “She knows. Does she believe it? That’s another story.”
I grin. He clocked her from a mile away. “Thank you for at least talking to her about it. That’s half the battle. Now, why do you have such an amazing bathroom with this view? Do you spend a lot of time in here?”
He comes in, slow rolling those long legs and lean hips of his before setting the bag down and taking a seat on the edge of the tub. His hot gaze travels over my body, and it takes everything I have not to cover up. None of the boys my age have ever made me feel as seen as this man does. “The one thing I always wanted out in the field was a hot shower or a nice soak. So when I came home and decided to build this place, I knew what I wanted.”
“And you got it?”
“And I got it.”
There’s something inherently attractive about a man who knows what he wants and goes for it. Tilting my head to the side, I can’t help but flirt with him. I shouldn’t, because I don’t know where any of this is going, but I do, regardless of whether it’s the right thing to do or not. “Do you always get what you want?”
The look he gives me is one of ownership as his gaze takes in my naked body. The tongue that made my knees weak last night licks his lips, and it takes everything I have for me not to come out of the water and attack him. I’ve never been what most would call in tune with my body. I’ve heard friends, my sister included, talking about how they’ve had fun with men, how they were wrecked by whomever they were dating. Before Devlin last night? I never had that. But I just did, and now I want more of it.
“Yeah,” he answers. “I do usually get what I want.”
I’m playing with fire. “Am I something you want?”
A groan fills the room as he drags a hand through his hair. The ink on his arm is captured by the light from the window. “Yeah.” He pulls his bottom lip between his teeth. “Yeah, you’re somethin’ I want.”
My eyes meet his, the heat flaring between the two of us. “What are you going to do about it?” I whisper, pulling my legs up in front of my chest.
He leans in, and my breath hitches. Having him this close, I can smell the woodsy scent that’s his, coupled with the outdoors. “What I’d like to do is take these clothes off and slide in there next to you. That’s what I’d love to do about it. Unfortunately, I have to go help Jesse and Truett move some cattle into the south field. I’ll be back later. You gonna be here when I get here?”
This is the first time he’s asked me about what I plan to do. “I’ll be here. Hurry home, Devlin.”
Curling a finger under my chin, he tips it up. “If you’re waiting here for me? This’ll be the quickest I’ve ever worked.” With those words, he takes a kiss that sends heat through my body and dreams of the future through my head.
SIX
DEVLIN
I’m still halfhard when I pull up to the barn at Grizzly River Ranch. Jesse and Truett are already there and watching as I put the truck in park and then hop out. “Why are y’all looking at me like I’ve grown a second head?”
Jesse gives me a grin. “Heard that Atlee’s at your house. What the fuck? You never invite anyone over. Hell, I don’t even know what the damn place looks like, and I’m your brother.”
“Maybe because I like my privacy.” I grab my hat from the passenger seat and put it on, adjusting it to block the morning sun. “Not all of us need an audience for everything we do.”
“So why’s Atlee there?” Truett asks, leaning against a fence post. His eyes are studying me like I’m a problem that needs solving. “Word travels fast around here. Heard there was trouble at the pharmacy.”
I inhale deeply, trying to push away the anger that’s been simmering since I found Atlee last night. “Some piece of shit roughed her up during a robbery. Beat her pretty bad.” My jaw clenches at the memory. I’m ready to beat the shit out of someone again. “I got a call and went to get her.”
Jesse straightens up, his expression hardening. “She okay?”
“Physically? She’ll heal. Face is bruised, split lip. But she’s tough.” I walk past them toward the barn, not wanting to talk about the way my chest tightened when I saw her injured face, and how I wanted to keep the bastard for myself, instead of handing him over to the sheriff’s department.
“Doesn’t explain why she’s at your place instead of her sister’s or even hers,” Jesse points out, following me. “You two got something going on I should know about?”
