Page 35 of Chilled

When Brenna’s lip slipped between her teeth, Nick reached for her bare shoulders. “All I see is a beautiful woman standing in front of me.”

“It’s what’s beneath the clothes that turns men off.” With a shrug, she grimaced and moved away. “It doesn’t matter.”

“You’re dating the wrong men.”

She barked a short, nervous laugh. “That’s what my sister said.”

“You’re sister’s right.”

She spun and walked halfway across the room before she faced him again. “It’s easy for you and my sister to say that. But it’s not so easy to live with the scars.”

“Why?” He stalked across the room and stood toe-to-toe with her.

Brenna backed away. “You have to ask?” She flung her hand to the side. “In a world full of supermodels and perfect people, I’m imperfect.”

He lifted her hand and threaded his fingers with hers, liking that hers were small and pale, yet strong and supple. “You seem fine to me.”

“Because you haven’t seen all of me,” she whispered, staring down at where their hands joined.

“Are any of us perfect?” With his thumb he tipped her chin.

As she looked into his eyes, her brows furrowed. “Yes.” She tried to jerk free, but Nick refused to let her hand go. “Look at you—perfect hair, perfect skin. You even have perfect eyes.”

A smile tugged at the corners of Nick’s mouth. She’d been thinking about him. The idea of Brenna Jensen noticing him warmed his insides—a place that had been cold for too long. Until Special Agent Jensen had shown up, coming home to Riverton to solve a murder. This was her turf. When he left, she’d stay. It was the story of his life, being constantly on the go. It was also the reason his marriage had failed. “And I had the perfect marriage, until my divorce.”

Brenna gasped.

“Just because a person’s appearance is perfect doesn’t make them perfect inside. If I had been perfect, my marriage wouldn’t have fallen apart.” He dropped her hand and hurried toward his bedroom. “I’ll be in the shower. Don’t open the door for anyone.”

Nick stood in the shower for a long time with the hot spray pelting the stiffened muscles of his neck and shoulders. He knew better than to get involved with a team member. Get in, solve the crime and leave. Period. No long goodbyes, nobody gets hurt. Yet, he could feel it happening, and he had to put a stop to it soon.

Then why did he get the feeling he was in line for a lot of hurt in this situation?

Brenna Jensen. Tough, yet vulnerable, all about the job, but always considering the people and town she cares about.

When was the last time he’d felt like any town was home?

He had a place in Norfolk, but that was all it was—a place to live. Why hadn’t he purchased a house and grown roots? Even when he’d been married, he’d only rented, as if he hadn’t expected to stay long. Maybe that was what his wife had figured out before he did. He hadn’t been rooted in their relationship. He hadn’t had any skin in the game.

He hadn’t really loved Trish with that deep committed love that made a man crazy. The kind of love that made a guy follow a woman to a godforsaken town in the frozen north because it would make her happy.

Brenna was the kind of woman who could inspire that kind of love. She deserved that kind of commitment. Not a used up, rootless FBI agent who’d seen one too many horrors to believe in humanity. For a woman with low self-esteem, she had a boatload of guts and chutzpah.

When the hot water turned tepid, Nick shut off the shower and toweled dry. A clean body and dry clothes went a long way toward reviving him. Now if he could get a few hours sleep, he’d almost feel human.

Slipping into a pair of shorts, he opened the door to the sitting area.

The computer monitor was the only light glowing in the room. Brenna lay slumped over the keyboard.

His heart stuttered as he raced to her side. “Brenna?” Had someone gotten in while he’d been taking a leisurely soak beneath the shower? Fear sliced through him, cutting deep.

Her cheek lay against the keys, her breath blowing a drying strand of hair across her hand. Special Agent Brenna Jensen was fast asleep.

Nick drew in a deep breath and almost laughed out loud. Then he collapsed in the chair beside her and dropped his head into his hands. How could he keep his eye on her at all times? Unless he stayed with Brenna every second of every day, she would remain at risk.

In the meantime, she needed to rest. The stress of driving in a blizzard, finding a body beneath the ice and witnessing a building burning had taken their toll on her.

Nick stood and without weighing his options, slid an arm beneath her legs and lifted her.

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