“Does it get really cold up here?”
“Only in the winter, and honestly it’s not so bad. Two or three months, that's it.”
“I guess, I thought, you know all the wood...” She gestured to the pile behind him.
“Oh, well, I'm not out here that much so I like to be prepared,” he finished lamely. He had enough firewood now to last two winters easy and that was burning wood all day, too.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, the bruise on her arm a stark reminder of his goal. Celine was delicate. Fragile.
So far, her kidnapping and near murder hadn't pushed her over the edge, but if he didn't suppress his lust, he might be the one to break her.
“You should go back inside. I need to finish up here and then I'll come change your bandage.”
Her blue eyes shadowed and he hid his cringe. His tone had been harsh, he'd meant for it to be, for both their sakes.
“Fine. Try not to chop off a leg.”
Aaron watched her storm into the house with a sigh. He rarely hated his job, but this was one of those times he'd give anything to have been normal.
Chapter 19
“What the hell happened in here?”Aaron's gaze swept the mess in the bedroom, shock locking him to the top of the staircase.
Celine bolted upright, blinking hard, in the middle of his bed surrounded by clothes and bags and toiletries. “What?”
“Did someone break in while you were napping?” He took a step and faltered. His bedroom had been turned into a war zone for dirty towels and clothes. The perfect order demolished.
Her pale blond eyebrows dipped down. “No.”
“So some little elves stole into the bedroom and destroyed it?” His grip tightened on the banister.
“Are you feeling okay? Did you hit yourself in the head with the ax or something?”
Aaron just shook his head and bent down to pick up one of his new pairs of shorts discarded on the floor. He dangled it from his fingers. “These were clean an hour ago.”
Celine scooted to the end of the bed and sat up on her knees. Damn if she wasn't sexy sitting there in that t-shirt.
“They still are clean, at least if you don't touch them too much with your dirty hands.”
“They've been on the floor.” Yeah, he was picky about his shit, this was his home. His domain. Overseas, when they were in the suck, he didn't have the luxury of being clean orneat, he had to live out of a duffel bag in the desert half the time with just a tent for shelter, and that was if he was lucky.
But not here.
“Is your floor dirty?”
Aaron fisted the shorts. “Only from us walking on it.”
“What’s the problem then?” Celine smirked and dropped down to the side, the plastic department store bags crinkling beneath her. The position made her shirt ride up, her hips more curvaceous as the pink shorts molded to her fine ass.
Aaron threw his shorts on the bed right next to her arm. He waved a hand, gesturing to the absolute chaos. “This is the problem.”
“Looks fine to me.” She shrugged and picked up a pair of boxers, twirling them around her finger.
She'd lost her mind. That was the only answer. He couldn't argue with her.Focus.“I need to take a shower. Why don't you go downstairs? I unpacked the food already if you want a snack.”
She rose from the bed, rolling her hip like a siren and strolled across the room. “Whatever you say, sweetheart.” And then she blew him a kiss, leaving him to stare after her in shock.
He shook his head and turned back to his room. Her towel lay on the floor in a heap by the sink, toothbrush and toothpaste crammed behind the faucet knobs. A wash cloth hung over the edge of the tub, water dripping onto the floor. Everywhere he looked, his domain had been disturbed. Aaron took a deep breath and counted to ten. He'd never seen anything like it, not even Beth, his younger sister, who'd gotten in trouble her whole life for not cleaning her room, could touch Celine Latimer.
