Maybe even midmorning.
"North Carolina.
Lift your arms."
I obeyed automatically, and he slid my tank top over my head.
"I need my bra," I muttered, when I could see him again.
"No one's here to see you but me and we're going straight into the bathtub."
I looked again at the weathered shingle-covered building we'd parked beside.
It was at least three stories, with wraparound decks and balconies on the front and sides, and a quaint single-door entrance off the back.
It stood on stilts at the shoreline, so close to the water that I knew the tide must come up right beneath it.
"How long have we been driving?" "Almost ten hours."
Gideon slid my skirt up my legs and I stood, allowing him to twist it straight and pull up the zipper.
"Let's go."
He got out first, then held his hand out for me.
The bracing, salty breeze hit my face, waking me.
The rhythmic surge of the ocean grounded me to the moment and where we were.
Angus was nowhere to be seen, which was a relief, since I was very aware of my lack of underwear.
"Angus drove all night?" "We switched drivers when we stopped for gas."
I looked at Gideon and my pulse stuttered at the tender, haunted way he was looking at me.
A shadow of a bruise marred his jaw and I reached up to touch it, my chest aching when he nuzzled into my palm.
"Are you hurt anywhere else?" I asked, feeling so emotionally raw after the long night we'd had.
He caught my wrist and pulled my hand down to press flat over his heart.
"Here."
My love .
It had been hard on him, too.
"I'm so sorry."
"So am I."
He kissed my fingertips, then linked our hands and led me up to the house.
The door was unlocked and he walked right in.
A wire mesh basket sat on a console just inside the door, holding a bottle of wine and two glasses tied with ribbon.
As Gideon turned the deadbolt with a firm click, I plucked the Welcome envelope out and opened it.