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He peeked his head out of the door. “Can I use your soap? I forgot to pack any.”

“Sure, if you don’t mind smelling like coconut.”

“I’ve smelled like worse things,” he joked, ducking back inside. Again, he didn’t close the door completely, and against my better judgment, I kept pacing back and forth piling up more things he might need next to the chaise longue—books, a candle, a packet of Kleenex—like a magpie building a nest. Steam covered the mirror but at just the right angle . . . I dropped my book, startling myself out of whatever pervy compulsion that had overtaken me.

“Get a hold of yourself,” I admonished. “Nothing will ever happen. He’s a golden beam of perfection and you’re still . . . just Indy.” I mimicked his voice as I threw things out of my suitcase. “Just Indy . . .”

I didn’t hear the door open and had no idea how long he was standing there watching my imitation of him. When he cleared his throat, I jumped, sending my toothbrush flying. “Talking to yourself again, Jones?”

“Jesus, Levi. Don’t creep up on me like that.”

“Sorry, it’s my military training.” He gave me a crooked smile as he rubbed a small white towel over his wet hair. I was not going to let my eyes trail over his bare chest. I wasn’t going to do it. Goddammit!

It didn’t help that I was practically level with all that gleaming, golden skin and the rivulet of water that made its way in stops and starts from his collarbone down his left pec. If I bent my head just right, I could catch it on my tongue . . .

“I made your bed,” I managed to say.

When he turned to look at the little nest I’d created for him, my eyes greedily wandered over him, admiring his slim waist and the sexy V line leading down into his gray sweatpants.

“Wow, you thought of everything. Is that a magnifying glass?” He slung the towel over his shoulder and ambled over to the sofa, and now I was studying the way his back muscles flexed as he walked and how really he had a perfect ass. Powerful like a horse’s hindquarters. I wondered if he had other horse-like attributes, and I covered my eyes with my hands.

“Oh god.” I clenched my teeth. I couldn’t do this to myself again.

“You, okay?” I peeked through my fingers to find him studying me with that nonplussed expression on his face again.

“I forgot dental floss!” I lied. “Do you have any?”

“Do I have any?” He yanked his bag open and tossed me a plastic box. “I don’t fuck around with my teeth.”

I went back into the bathroom to floss, wiping down the gilded mirror with my hand and jumped when I saw him reflected directly behind me, eyes twinkling. “God, what did I tell you about sneaking up on me?”

“Relax, Jones. Why are you so tense?” He put his hands on my shoulders and massaged. The sound that escaped me was barely human, and my nipples were at attention. Our eyes met in the mirror, and he practically ripped his hands off me like he’d been shot. “Sorry.”

He spun away and went back into the bedroom while I slumped against the counter, releasing a trembling breath. My muscles had the consistency of warm Jell-O and wasn’t sure I could cover the distance to the bed without melting into the floor.

I took my time brushing my teeth and then scurried like a frightened mouse across the room, flinging myself on the mattress and pulling comforter up to my chin. I shivered, and Levi, who—goddamn him—was still shirtless and spread out on the chaise, looked up from his book. “Cold?”

I nodded, teeth chattering. I couldn’t very well admit that my uncontrollable shaking had nothing to do with the chill in the room and everything to do with the memory of his hands on my body and the longing pulsing through my veins. I wanted him to take me in his arms not because he was pretending and not because he felt obligated, but because he wanted to. Because he wanted me.

Levi stood and went to the ornate chimney across the room, crouching down low, giving me another very unfair view of his beautiful body. “I think this works. There’s even wood in here.”

He went back to his bag and brought out a box of matches.

“You don’t smoke,” I managed through chattering teeth.

“I’m always prepared for an emergency. Like freezing my balls off in an ancient Italian villa.” He laughed.

I nodded my head at his leather pouch. “What else do you have in there?”

“Let’s see . . . Swiss Army Knife, bandages, Kleenex, disinfectant.” He pulled each item out as he listed them. “And . . . uh.”

“What?” I pulled the covers down so I could get a better view. He held up two black square wrappers. “Condoms?” I laughed, but it started an ache inside me. Condoms that he’d use for some other girls.

My teeth started chattering in earnest. My whole body was shaking so much the mattress was rattling.

“Jesus, Indy, what’s wrong?” Within seconds he’d jumped into bed with me and pressed his warm hand to my forehead. “No fever, but you’re cold.”

Before I could protest he’d pulled my back flush with his bare, hot chest, and looped his legs around mine. “Gah, your feet are icicles,” he said through clenched teeth, tucking mine into the soft fabric of his sweatpants and pulling the covers up to my chin. I leaned back against him, feeling protected with his arms tight around my waist, his chin resting against my head.