Settling an Old Score - Delores Fossen Page 0,53

than that now what with her naked.

The moment that Eli moved off her and dropped on his back next to her on the bed, Ashlyn reached for the cover to drape it over her body. Eli stopped her, though, by catching on to her hand. First, he frowned, and then he kissed her.

Before he looked at those scars.

His frown deepened for a moment before he leaned down, kissed them, too, and he got up, gathering up his jeans and boxers before he headed into the adjoining bathroom. Only then did Ashlyn release the breath she’d been holding.

Thank goodness, the scars hadn’t brought back the memories of that awful night, and there’d been enough heat left in his eyes to tell her that they hadn’t been a turnoff, either. What could be a turnoff, though, was when he had time to think about this, because he would almost certainly see it as a mistake.

And maybe the timing exactly was.

After all, they had plenty they should be doing to get to the bottom of who was trying to kill them. But it was hard for Ashlyn to regret her finally making love to Eli. In fact, she doubted anything would make her regret that. Including a broken heart.

Eli wasn’t in love with her. Ashlyn was pretty sure if he had been that he would have said something about it by now, and it was probably bothering him that he didn’t feel the same way about her that she did him. That would cause him plenty of regrets, too, but she doubted he’d be able to deal with his feelings or anything else personal until the danger was over.

Remembering that danger, Ashlyn got up so she could get dressed and check on the baby. She hadn’t heard any sounds coming from across the hall, and if Cora had indeed woken up, Gloria would have certainly let her know. Still, she wanted to see her daughter, and maybe that would help settle the nerves that were starting to jangle inside her.

And speaking of jangled nerves, Ashlyn got more of them when Eli came out of the bathroom. He’d put on his jeans, but since he was shirtless, she got a nice view of his toned and perfect chest. Too bad she hadn’t taken the time to savor that, but then making love with him had seemed too urgent for foreplay.

He stopped in the doorway of the bathroom and combed his gaze over her. It wasn’t exactly regret that she saw on his face, but there was some concern.

“Please don’t tell me you’re sorry this happened,” Ashlyn told him before he could say anything.

His eyes stayed on her. “Well, I am sorry you’re dressed.” And he flashed her a smile that warmed her all over again. If a mere smile could do that, she figured another kiss would land them back in bed. However, there wasn’t time for that, because Eli’s phone buzzed.

“Kellan,” he relayed to her after he glanced at the screen. Eli put the call on speaker and laid his phone on the bed so he could get dressed.

“Everything okay there?” Kellan said the moment he was on the line.

“So far. Please tell me you’ve got good news.”

“Some. The CSIs found Waite’s prints in Hamby’s car. That’s enough for me to threaten him with accessory to attempted murder. His lawyer will come back in first thing in the morning so I’ll have a chat with Waite then.”

Good. And attempted murder just might be enough to get the man talking. If so, that could lead to Waite giving them the name of the person who’d hired him.

“I want to be there when you question Waite,” Eli insisted.

Kellan didn’t argue with that. “I’ll let you know where it’s all set up, but considering the other attacks, I think you should leave Ashlyn there. I can send out a pair of the reserve deputies to stay with her.”

Ashlyn didn’t like the idea of Eli going out there and opening himself up to another attack. Nor did she especially care for being with the reserve deputies. Still, she doubted Eli would agree to letting her go back to the sheriff’s office with him.

Eli had just finished putting on his shirt when his phone dinged with an incoming call. “Gotta go,” he told Kellan. “One of the hands is trying to ring in.”

Hearing that automatically kicked up Ashlyn’s pulse, but she reminded herself that this could be just an update since the hands were keeping watch of the