“Yes, sir.” Landon gathered the reins, handed a set to Gunnar, and they led both mounts out, hooves clattering across the barn floor.
Cole kept his arm around Aftyn, feeling the tremorstill moving through her. “Come on. You’ll feel better after a hot shower.”
She nodded. “If you don’t mind.”
“I did suggest it.” He guided her out of the barn, across the yard, and up onto the porch, where they peeled off sodden boots and socks.
Inside, Aftyn shivered, goosebumps rising beneath her wet shirt. Cole steered her down the hall to his bedroom, pulled open a drawer, and handed her blue sweatpants and a soft cotton T-shirt. “Big, but dry.”
Her teeth chattered. “Thank you. Do you have socks?”
“Sure.” He passed her a rolled pair of socks, then paused and held out a pair of boxer briefs. “Underwear?”
She nodded. “Yes, please.”
“I’ll use the hall shower. Take your time. I’ll meet you in the living room.”
“Thank you.” Aftyn said as she disappeared into the bathroom and closed the door.
Cole grabbed his own dry clothes and headed down the hall. He turned the faucets and stripped off his damp jeans and shirt, stepping into the spray with a long groan as the scalding water hit his shoulders, washing away the chill and the adrenaline in one powerful rush.
****
Aftyn exhaled as warm water cascaded over her shoulders, carrying away the icy dread that had settled in her bones. She pressed her palms against the tile, let her head fall forward, and fought back tears. She’d never been so terrified. The bear’s hulking shoulders and bristling bulk had loomedimpossibly close, and if Cole hadn’t stayed calm she didn’t dare think what might have happened.
Every second of the ride back had felt like an eternity, her knuckles white on the reins, her breath coming in short gasps at every snap of a twig or rustle in the underbrush. When the shot finally cracked the air she’d jolted so hard she was sure the horse would throw her. But the gelding held steady, and Aftyn had kept her eyes forward and didn’t look back.
When they reached the barn she’d slid from the saddle and sank onto a bale of hay, fingers trembling, eyes fixed on the wide barn entrance. The moment Cole rode into view, safe and unhurt, she’d scrambled to her feet and rushed into his arms without a second thought.
She sighed and lathered her hair, the scent of pine and citrus lifting some of the tension from her shoulders. She scrubbed away the dust and adrenaline and let the water run until her breathing finally slowed.
She turned off the water and stepped out, pressing a plush black towel against her damp hair before wrapping a second one around herself. She swiped a hand across the mirror. Pale cheeks, wide dark-ringed eyes. She needed a comb but didn’t want to dig through drawers.
Aftyn slipped into the bedroom. The main door was shut, and the clothes Cole left for her lay folded on the king-size bed. She sank onto the edge of the cherry four-poster and took in the room. Log exterior walls, beige interior, deep-blue carpet soft beneath her toes, a chest of drawers opposite the bed, a dresser beside the bathroom door, bifold doors hinting at a spacious closet. It was beautiful and calm, a world away from what had just happenedoutside. Her pulse steadied just being in it.
She dressed, tying the drawstring tight and rolling up the pant legs, then padded into the hallway. The hall bathroom stood ajar and a faint trace of Cole’s aftershave drifted through the corridor.
In the living room, floor-to-ceiling windows framed a great stone hearth. Cole stood before them, shoulders relaxed, gaze fixed on the tree line outside.
“Hi,” she said softly.
He turned and offered a gentle smile that sent butterflies straight through her. Her eyes dropped before she could stop them. Gray sweatpants, nothing underneath, the fabric clinging to his hips and thighs, and that tight ass. That red T-shirt doing nothing to hide his chest or arms. She swallowed and looked back up.
“I need a comb. I didn’t want to rummage through the drawers.”
He laughed and crossed toward her. “You could have. Come on.”
She followed him down the hall, her gaze drifting to the strong curve of his back and that ass. Damn, she thought. He really did have one hell of a body.
Chapter Seven
Cole slid open the bathroom drawer, revealing a pack of plastic combs. He peeled back the cellophane and laid two on the granite countertop, one wide-toothed, one slender.
“Pick your poison.”
Aftyn chose the wide-toothed one. “Thank you. I need to get through it before it dries. I’ll be right out.”
“Would you like something to drink?”
