When the running shower caught his attention, anger boiled inside him. When he saw the bags tossed onto the floor, his anger hit a new level. Whoever had invaded his sanctuary was sure making himself comfortable. He hoped like hell the guy enjoyed it now, because the man’s ass would get a solid kicking in just a few more seconds.
Already familiar with which boards creaked when walked upon, Travis avoided them and stayed close to the wall as he made his way to the only bedroom in the small cabin. He slid the cracked doorway open and looked inside.
The bathroom door was open a few inches and he could see steam drifting through. He stealthily moved toward it while trying to spot any more of the intruder’s possessions. He didn’t find anything. Thinking only one man was involved, he still listened for the arrival of an accomplice.
Many years of service in the military had taught him never to underestimate the enemy. When he was sure no one else was in the house, he moved the rest of the way to the bathroom door, pushed it open, and saw a silhouette behind the shower curtain.
Small!
Was it a woman? It didn’t matter. Some of the women he’d run into over the years had been far more deadly than men. They used their looks and bodies to suck in their enemies and then shot them between the eyes.
With grim determination, he took silent steps toward the shower and yanked the curtain from the hooks. The person beneath the spray froze, and Travis stepped back for a clear view, his gun drawn, his eyes focused.
“Hands above your head!”
The command came out sure and steady. But when the figure turned around to reveal Taylor, her large blue eyes full of terror, Travis lost his iron-cool composure. It took several heartbeats for him to realize he was still pointing the gun at her.
“What?” Her voice was wobbly until their eyes collided, and then she realized who he was. Fright quickly turned to embarrassment as the shower spray covered the floor and she realized she was standing before him completely naked—and wet.
“Travis?” she whispered, and then cleared her throat as her hand shot out and she grabbed a nearby towel, forgetting that she hadn’t yet turned off the water. As the initial shock began to wane, her fear quickly burst into flames of anger. “What in the hell are you doing?”
“The bigger question is, what are you doing here?” He regained his lost composure, holstered his gun, and crossed his arms over his chest. Was she following him? Not that he would mind that. One time with Taylor certainly hadn’t been enough for him. He was ready to bed her again right now . . . And she was conveniently unclothed.
“I don’t think so, Travis. This is my brother’s cabin. I have a right to be here,” she snapped, seeming to finally realize the shower was still running. She turned away from him to shut it off.
“My close friend gave me permission to stay here for a while. He told me to take my time. He also told me no one else would come around.”
“I came here to relax and recoup. My mom told me no one would be here,” she countered.
“Hmm. Guess Bryson and your mother didn’t communicate with each other then.”
“Thanks for pointing out the obvious.”
“Okay. Well, I’ve had a long day, and seeing that you’re standing there practically naked,” he said before doing a scan up and down her wet towel–covered body, “maybe we should just enjoy the fact that we’re here together.” The leer he sent her would leave zero doubt what he meant with that comment.
“I don’t think so, Travis. Obviously, you’re going to have to leave. We can’t both stay in this cabin together.”
“I’m not going anywhere, darling. I like being here.”
She glared at him for several long moments, but her growl had always been much more fierce than her bite—not that her bite was anything to ignore. It was actually quite pleasant, at least during the right moments.
“Well, I’m certainly not leaving. So that means you need to pack your crap up and get out of here.”
Hot damn if he wasn’t more turned on in her presence than he’d ever been before. This woman had a way of firing every single one of his cylinders without even lifting one of those long, slender, sexy fingers.
“I don’t think so, Taylor. I was here first.”
“No one was here when I got here, Travis.”
The two of them faced off, and that’s when he took another long look at the towel barely covering her. It wasn’t doing much to hide the fact that the room was certainly cooling down and her treasures weren’t very hidden from his view—not that he’d missed anything when he first saw her buck naked under that stream of water. No. That image would be forever burned into his brain.
Dammit all. This wasn’t the time or place to make another pass, but for the life of him, he couldn’t seem to hold back his next words.
“I’m more than happy to share a bed with you, Taylor,” he told her, his voice dripping with arrogance. “All you have to do is ask.” He stepped back and leaned against the wall as if he had nothing better to do than stand there all night long.
“You’re a pig, Travis. I don’t know why I ever had a crush on you, and I certainly don’t know what my brother sees in you.” Taylor’s huffing and puffing made her perfect breasts rise and fall beneath the towel that was clinging to them for dear life.
“I haven’t ever tried to convince you that I’m Romeo.”
“Yeah. I know.”
“This is a mighty fine conversation, but I can see you’re getting chilly. Would you like a dry towel?” He had to be quite the gentleman to even offer, he told himself. After all, he’d much rather stare at her in her current state.