the way he passed a room that looked far too feminine to be Hank’s. He wondered briefly whose room it was. Hank hadn’t mentioned anything about sharing the house with someone.
Too much for him to think about right now. He wanted a shower, and then he’d see about ordering some dinner. Less than five minutes later he was under hot, steaming water, washing away the grime of the day.
* * * *
The taxi moved forward with a jerk and Shay’s eyes popped open. She leaned forward and tapped the driver on the shoulder.
“Did they clear away the wreck? We’re finally moving, right?”
“Yes, miss.” He shrugged. “But slowly.”
She rotated her neck, trying to work out some of the kinks. She’d been sitting in uncomfortable seats since she got in the shuttle to the airport and every muscle in her body ached. The hot shower was looking better and better. Or maybe she’d fire up the hot tub Hank had installed on the rear deck.
Hopefully, with all this delay caused by the wreck, by the time she got to the house Laura would be packed and gone. They pulled off the interstate and she mentally crossed her fingers and silently chanted, Let her be gone. But bad luck was still with her. When they turned onto her street and she spotted the car parked in the driveway, she swore under her breath. Laura Whoever was still here. Well, she’d better be getting ready to leave. Shay was in no mood to put up with bullshit. Sighing, she hauled her suitcase into the house, closed the door, and headed through the living room to her bedroom.
And stopped.
A hissing sound came from the shower in the bathroom connected to her bedroom and the guest room. Damn it! The least Hank could do was tell his little friends to use the master bath and leave hers alone. He had, after all, promised her that she’d have complete privacy.
“I travel a lot,” he’d told her. Then grinned. “And I’ll keep the sleepovers to those times you’re in New York.”
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So how come this female hadn’t gotten the message she was supposed to be gone?
Crap! The door wasn’t even closed. Clouds of steam billowed in the bathroom and obscured the figure in the frosted-glass shower enclosure. Okay, enough was enough.
Shay stepped into the bathroom and banged her hand on the glass.
“This is my bathroom,” she ground out. “I’ve had a tough day and you don’t want to mess with me. Next time use Hank’s bathroom. This one is off-limits. Get your ass out of here in five seconds, or I won’t be responsible for my actions.”
She turned away, not the least bit interested in a glimpse of Laura Whoever’s nudity. She just wanted her out of the house.
The water stopped and the door slid open.
“Okay. I don’t want to cause you any more stress. But Hank said I should use this one.”
The deep voice shocked her and she turned around before she even thought about it. And nearly swallowed her tongue. A very wet, very naked Joe Reilly stood in her shower stall, grinning at her.
Just when she’d finally made up her mind to stop thinking about him and obsessing over him.
At that exact moment her cell phone chimed. A message from Hank.
“BTW, Joe’s in town. Take good care of him.”
Chapter 2
Shay couldn’t stop looking at Joe, at his broad shoulders and hard chest with its scattering of dark curls. Water ran in rivulets over his flat stomach and his lean hips, his long legs and his—Ohmigod!—erection that exceeded even the most outrageous expectations. Whatever she’d imagined in her dreams, the reality was way beyond it.
All these years she’d nursed her secret feelings for him, all the time she’d lusted after him as a teenager, all her erotic fantasies he’d starred in—nothing ever came close to this incredible reality. She wanted to run her hands over those six-pack abs and feel the hard muscle beneath the skin. Let her fingers drift through the dark hair on his chest. Maybe let her fingertips glide over his flat male nipples. Lick the few drops of water still glistening on his shoulders.
Breathe, Shay. Slow, deep breaths.
She was enchanted by the sight of him, aching for him in every hot place in her body.
He’s not the first naked man you’ve ever seen.
But this was Joe Reilly! In all his glorious nudity. And glorious it was indeed. Her breath caught in her throat and her nipples hardened of their own free will. She felt the thrumming of the pulse in her cunt and moisture pooled in her panties. In fact, her entire body was doing a happy dance.
Oh. My. God.
Joe’s low laugh plucked at her nerve endings and vibrated through her body, shaking her out of her erotic reverie.
“Seen enough? Think I could get a towel now?”
The heat of embarrassment suffused Shay’s face and she backed away, turning so fast she almost bumped into the wall.
“Get some clothes on. Please.” She dragged in a breath. “I’ll be in the living room. And do it now,” she snapped.
Pacing, hands shoved into the pockets of her jeans, she scrabbled for the edges of her control. Her mind whirled, totally unsettled, as the implications of this situation peppered her. Joe Reilly. Here. In this house. Just the two of them. Alone. Was Hank crazy?
Maybe. He’d probably given less than two seconds of thought to it, off there in the wilds of Wyoming as he was. Had it even occurred to him she might not want to play housemates with a man who’d treated her all her life as if she were his kid sister?
This was ridiculous. She was an adult. No big deal.
Yeah, it was a big deal. Because this was Joe, the secret hero of every one of her dreams since she was eight years old.
Obviously, the car in the driveway belonged to him. Good thing he’d parked by the half of the garage that held Hank’s car. Like her, Hank always cabbed to the airport and back.
“Usually women are telling me to take my clothes off.” The deep voice behind her had a teasing edge to it. “This is a novelty.”
She whirled around to find him inches away from her. It was obvious he’d given drying off a quick pass. His dark hair curled from the dampness of the shower and tiny drops of water still snaked down his chest, drawing a path toward the waistband of his jeans. Her gaze dropped automatically to his crotch, and she forced herself to jerk it away.
Not. Good.
“There’s nothing funny about this. At all.” She fisted her hands on her hips. “Just what in the hell are you doing here, anyway?”
He grinned and she noted he still had the tiny dimple at the left corner of his mouth. A very sexy dimple. It just wasn’t fair. No man should be this downright appealing, especially when she
