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18

Cameron

Thescaldingbathwatersoothedmy tired muscles. If I laid here with my eyes closed for much longer, I risked drifting to sleep.

When footsteps approached from the hallway, I opened one eye and tilted my head toward the door. My pulse quickened when Shep entered the room with a knowing smile on his face.

Perhaps I wasn’t sleepy after all.

“Thought you might be hungry.” He placed a sandwich on the small table next to the bath.

“Thanks.” I grinned, then sank lower.

A girl could get used to this treatment. I needed to remember that I wasn’t that girl.

Shep sat on the edge of the tub, letting his gaze roam over my submerged body.

His eyes returned to mine. “Good news. Ben’s picked up Justin. Your brother is safe.”

I gasped. “He is?” I closed my lids and let that information soak in. When I opened them, I reached for Shep’s hand and squeezed. “Thank you.”

He nodded as if saving my brother’s life was no big deal. “Stay here awhile. I’m gonna take the truck and go get the quad. Won’t be long.”

He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. Before he could pull away, I brought my dripping wet hand to his neck and held him to me, deepening the kiss. It sent a fresh spark of electricity through me.

I let him go and when he righted himself, he looked as though he were contemplating jumping in the bath with me or tossing me over his shoulder and hauling me to the bedroom. Both were great ideas.

I flashed him an innocent grin. “Bike, babe. Remember?”

He dragged a hand through his hair and chuckled. “Ah, right. I’m on it.”

“And Shep?”

“Yeah?”

“Hurry back.” I ran my hand down my neck, over one breast and between my legs. His eyes blazed as they followed the movement. I was a cruel woman.

He’d never leave the house if I carried on like this so, I stopped teasing and blew him a kiss.

Shep shot me a meaningful look before heading for the door. “We’re finishing this when I get home.”

I was so up for that.

With an oversized fluffy white towel wrapped around my body, I rummaged through shopping bags looking for something to wear. I rarely bought clothes for myself, so Shep’s gift was a real treat. I settled on a pair of light blue skinny jeans and a white V-neck T-shirt. And because I could, I slipped on the gorgeous tan leather cowboy boots. I also threw on an olive-green knitted sweater because it was cool this afternoon, even though Shep had stoked the fire before leaving.

God, what a day. It had started out troubled, but ended up incredible when Shep and I took things to another level.

Did I want that? Absolutely.

Was it a terrible idea? Maybe.

My feelings for him grew stronger every day. I wished I didn’t have to give him up, but I could never ask Shep to leave everything he had here and move overseas. It was obvious he loved this place. These mountains and Ranger were his therapy.

Plus, if all things went to plan, Justin would live with me in Australia. I’d have to keep a close eye on him to make sure he stayed clean and out of trouble. I laughed at the mental image of Shep, my brother, and me sharing a house. That could never happen. Justin’s life would be in more danger than it was now.

Rolling thunder echoed in the distance. I glanced at the dark clouds gathering in the east. I hoped Shep and Ranger made it home before the bad weather hit. But I couldn’t think of anything better than a stormy night spent tangled up in bed with my attentive man. In fact, if we never had to leave his room for the next week, I was fine with that. My belly tumbled thinking about it.

After preparing a batch of coffee, I left it to brew for a few minutes.