Page 9 of Alone With You
“And there she is, the Teutonic warrior-princess again.”
Her chest tightened. She’d been called a lot of things, but never that. “I request that you stop mentioning this afternoon’s incident.”
“You mean the incident when I glimpsed you naked in a bedroom?”
Damn her redhead’s skin.
“That’s a tough request.” He rubbed the scruff of his chin. “Not sure I can block that out.”
“I insist.”
“But nothing else makes you blush like that, Red.”
“Do you like making me feel uncomfortable?”
“No.” His grin dimmed. “But I do like to watch you come to life.”
She dropped her fork onto her plate. “Enough.”
“Easy, Red,” he said, he raised his hands. “It’s just a little good-natured teasing. Some banter over dinner. I’m trying to make light of an awkward situation.”
“I’ll clean up tonight.” She grabbed her plate and shot to the sink where she scraped the leftovers into the garbage disposal. “But we’ll fend for ourselves from now on.”
“Nonsense. I’ll do the cooking.”
“Not necessary.”
“I’m doing it anyway. I always cook enough for ten. I come from a big family, it’s an old habit.”
She shoved the faucet on and ran the plate under the stream. The hot water scorched her fingers. See? She wasn’t made of ice. She could feel heat, she could feel cold. She could come to life.
“Hey, hey…”
His voice soft, from just behind her. He leaned over and twisted the faucet to the colder side, careful not to brush his body against hers. The water temperature cooled to lukewarm and the steam that had risen from the stream settled.
“I’m a jerk, Jenny.” He took the plate out of her hand. “I meant no disrespect. I won’t bring up the subject again, that’s a promise.”
His sideways apology poked a pin into her pride. She thrust a dripping sponge at him. He took it and she let her fingers drop before they could touch his. She fixed her gaze below his chin and watched him stiffen in a slow hardening of muscle and sinew and jaw. Who was this guy? One moment he picked her to pieces, and the next moment he spoke to her in a voice that would calm a charging rhino.
“Apology accepted.” She stepped around him. “Thanks for dinner. I have work to do.”
She headed to the sanctuary of the dim basement, pounding down the stairs to grab the lab coat she’d left on a hook. Shoving one arm into the sleeve and then the other, she gripped the edges and pulled them tight.
Damn Logan. Shedidhave a heart under this lab coat.
She just knew better than to let anyone near it.
CHAPTER THREE
The next morning, Logan seriously considered drinking his coffee in the nude. After all, he’d had an eyeful of Jenny, and he figured the only way he could even the scales would be to give her equal time. But just imagining the feel of her gaze roaming over him was enough stiffen him up. Naked, there would be no way to hide his attraction.
He opted for black boxer shorts instead.
About eight o’clock, his fingers tightened around a cup of coffee as she padded barefoot into the kitchen. A screaming red silk bathrobe draped her figure, falling only to mid-thigh. Unaware of his presence, she flipped a tangled braid off her shoulder as she walked to the refrigerator, opened the door, and then bent over to search the contents, giving him a glimpse of a few more inches of creamy thigh.
“Good morning, Red.”
She jerked around, fumbling with the carton of orange juice. No longer the frosty aristocrat who’d parried with him yesterday, she looked unkempt, confused, and vulnerable, like the intriguing woman he’d taunted into distraction after dinner.
