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“It’s unlocked,” Beth admitted, breathless. She squeezed her knees against his hips, and Eli had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from kissing her senseless right here against the door.

“Is that safe?” he ground out between gritted teeth.

She nodded. “It is with you so close by.”

Her trusting him enough to keep her door unlocked—especially after learning what happened on the property three years ago—should have made him furious. Not at her but at the situation. At her putting herself in unnecessary danger when it was just as easy not to. Instead, it urged him on, made him want her more for the sheer fact of knowing he made her feel safe.

But had she ever anticipated him getting this close? He didn’t want to ask, didn’t want to know if this was pretend or real or some primal thing in between that he couldn’t possibly name. So he pushed the door open and strode through. Neither of them said a word as he piloted her through the kitchen and living area and straight into her bedroom.

He dropped her onto her back on the bed. “Surprise. How’d I do?”

“Good.” Her chest heaved. “Really, really good. But you still haven’t kissed me back.”

Eli hadn’t kissed anyone in years for the simple fact that he hadn’t wanted to.

Until now.

He toed off his boots and climbed over her.

His chest ached but not the familiar ache of longing for what he used to have. This was something new. She was new. And Eli ached for her.

“I might be a little rusty,” he admitted. “Or a lot rusty.”

“You’d never know it,” she told him with a shy grin. “I mean, you’ve got some moves, Doctor.”

He laughed. She kept doing that, kept bringing out of him a lightness he’d forgotten was there.

“Me too, by the way,” she added. “I might be a little rusty too. Are you sure you want to do this? Because it’s okay if you’re not ready. I’ll understand.”

He nodded. A lie. Eli wasn’t sure about anything beyond this very moment, but he wanted to kiss her. And touch her. Now. And he couldn’t think beyond that.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked her. Maybe she could decide for both of them.

She answered by fisting his scrubs shirt in her hand and pulling him to her.

Her forehead knocked the cattleman onto the pillow beside her. Their lips collided, and their teeth clacked. It was awkward and clumsy and yes…they were both rusty. But then, before either of them could react to the clumsy awkwardness of two people navigating the newness of this mutual want, they’d rolled to their sides, hands tangled in hair, legs entwined, and their lips fitting together like a puzzle piece you have to spin multiple times before finally seeing how it fits before clicking it into place. Soon they found a rhythm he could tell was neither his nor hers but something brand new and all their own.

Eli hiked her knee over his hip. Then his hand slid up the back of her leg, fingertips brushing where her thigh ended and another part of her began.

She bucked slightly, her pelvis tilting against his.

“Just like I said,” she whispered through short, sharp breaths. “The rusty doc has got moves.”

Eli laughed and kissed her and then laughed again.

He helped her wriggle out of her shirt and then her bra.

For several seconds, all he could do was stare.

“What?” Beth asked, but she was smiling. She knew what he saw. But did she really?

“Thank you,” he whispered, almost wishing he hadn’t said it because now he’d have to explain to this woman what it meant for her to not only see him at the most vulnerable he’d been in years but to somehow have seen him through it.

But instead of asking what he meant, all she said was “You’re welcome,” as he continued to drink her in.

He dipped his head and kissed the soft pale skin of her breast, lips brushing tenderly over her taut, hardened peak.

She gasped, and he smiled against her as she tangled her fingers in his hair.