Page 5 of The Hermit on the Hill

I loved the old woman, but her ghost was exhausting. I'd barely gotten any sleep the past week, all because I'd taken a few days off from hunting for her damn treasure to do the work that paid my bills.

On my way through the bedroom, I grabbed my rifle from the gun safe, loaded it, and raced downstairs, totally naked.

At the bottom of the stairs, seeing nothing out of place, I listened for any sign of where my furry tormentor might be. My heart was pounding almost too loud for me to hear anything, but after a few moments, I made out the ruffle of papers from the front of the house.

I raced for the front rooms and found a woman in my office and sitting in my favorite chair. Thunder rolled, lightning flashed, and a heavy rain pounded on the roof over my head while I dripped onto my hardwood floors and stared.

Paint streaked her cheek, glitter covered her clothes, and there was something that looked like vomit in her hair, but I'd recognize her narrow face, sharp chin, and full lips anywhere.

She looked up at me and her cheeks flushed a pink the color of rose petals in spring. My heart stopped just as it had the first time I'd seen her.

She smiled like she was happy to see me, but it didn't reach her big, emerald eyes. They told the truth about her fear and anger, even when her ubiquitous smile lied. I may have only spent one night with her, but I'd learned that much. The only time I hadn't seen the woman smile was when I was making her come.

And far too many of her smiles that night, given to colleagues and scholars from other universities, even some she gave to me, had been forced and fake. Like she was playing a part. They'd drawn me in, making me wonder what made her truly happy, until I'd grown to hate those fake smiles as the barriers they were to getting to know the real woman. I'd stripped her bare, but I'd gotten no closer to knowing what made her tick.

The memory of the way she'd looked in that hotel room bed, heavy lidded and cheeks flushed, made me go hard. Her gaze dropped to that part of my body as though she sensed that, too. As though she saw me in a way no one else ever had before.

I didn't bother trying to cover myself. She already knew the affect she had on my body.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I roared.

She flinched, and I fought the urge to apologize. What the hell kind of spell had this woman placed on me? I never apologized for anything.

She straightened her shoulders and stood. "Why do you have a gun? Get break-ins here often?"

"I thought you were a bobcat."

She smirked, immune to my nudity, while I couldn't take my eyes off her full lips.

"My name's not Bob. And I'm not a cat." She jutted her elbow out like she was about to launch into a dos-si-do and guffawed. Damn, she was even more adorable than I'd remembered. "You, on the other hand, are not named Jake, and you did steal from me."

"So you let yourself in and vandalized my home?"

To my utter shock, she laughed. Her laugh was a huge rolling explosion of a sound that competed with the thunder outside. "I'd hardly call bumping into a pile of books vandalizing your home. It's not a crime to be clumsy. Theft, however, is illegal."

"Is that why you're here?" I gave her the scariest version of my hateful glare. "I sent back everything I took from you." If I'd been thinking more clearly, I might have pretended to have no idea what she was talking about. My recluse lifestyle had thrown me off my people game.

She rolled her eyes. "You sent it back twomonthslater. Not to mention you're still using my credentials. I want to know why you stole my research. What did you want with it?"

I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest. Time to go on the offensive. "Seems like a flimsy story to me. More likely, you're here to pick up where we left off."

She looked me over from head to toe and was that… Disdain in her gaze? What the hell? She hadn't looked at me that way when I'd been naked in her hotel room.

She tapped her chin. "Where did we leave off? Honestly, I can't remember." She shook her head. "I hate to say it, but nothing about that night was terribly memorable for me."

My jaw tightened, and I narrowed my eyes. "Not the impression I got when you were screaming my name while I made you come for the fourth time."

"Did I scream your name, Sam? Or did I scream the fake name you gave me?" She dropped her gaze to my bare cock and winced. "I hope this doesn't hurt your feelings, but your name wasn't the only thing fake that night."

"Like hell. I blew your fucking mind." She'd sure as fuck blown mine.

The fire in her eyes lit something in me that made it nearly impossible to stand my ground. She was gorgeous all the time, but that defiance in her eyes, even while her hands trembled… Damn, it undid me.

She licked her lips and my cock went rock hard and straining for her like she was the only woman it ever wanted to be inside.

"Been with a lot of women, Sam? Enough that you've become an expert on who's faking and who's not?"

Damn, was she… I tilted my head and studied her. "You're jealous." I recovered quickly. I had no time for this woman or her impossible to resist seduction. "You do remember we only had one night together and no talk about being exclusive?" I put all the hatred I felt for myself into my expression. "Hopefully, you haven't been pining for me."

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