Blinking, she fumbled with the lock and opened the door. “Evan? What are you doing? You scared the crap out of me.”
“What am I doing? What are you doing?”
“I thought you were a murderer.”
“I’m not a fucking murderer. Why are you out here? Are you sleeping in your car?”
She pulled the edges of a blanket tighter around her shoulders. “Maybe.”
“Why? It’s freezing out here.”
Her teeth chattered together. “Yeah, I didn’t count on it being this cold.”
I stared at her, a primal instinct flaring to life from somewhere deep inside me.
Protect her. Keep her safe.
I had no idea where it had come from, or why the urge to protect was suddenly so strong I couldn’t even fathom ignoring it. I’d have to deal with what it meant later. For now, she was cold and needed a safe place to sleep.
“For fuck’s sake,” I muttered. “Come on.”
She adjusted her blanket and started to climb out. Before she could protest, I picked her up—one arm behind her back, the other behind her knees—and used her feet to push the car door shut.
“I can walk.”
“No.”
Thankfully, she didn’t argue. Just draped her arm around my shoulders and clutched her blanket near her chin. She was shivering. It was spring, but spring in the mountains could still mean snow. And it certainly meant cold nights.
I carried her back to my house, Sasquatch trotting along beside me. How the hell had he known she was out there? Crazy dog.
The pine needles crunched under my feet as I walked. Fiona didn’t say anything, just shivered in my arms.
We got to the house and I took her inside through the back door. I’d have to figure out how Sasquatch got out later. For now, I needed to get her warm.
Keep her safe.
I didn’t even pretend I was going to dump her on the couch. Just took her straight to my bedroom and set her down on the bed. Sasquatch laid down nearby.
She clutched the blanket against her chest and her lower lip trembled. “Thank you.”
I lowered myself onto the edge of the bed next to her and gently brushed her bangs out of her eyes. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. No.” She glanced away. “Sleeping in my car is basically how my life is going, so there’s that. But right now, I’m just cold and really tired.”
“We can talk about it in the morning.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
I laid my hand over hers, feeling her cold skin. “Let’s get you warm.”
She let the blanket drop and scooted to get beneath my covers. I toed off my shoes and peeled off my flannel shirt, then slipped into bed with her. She curled up with her head on the pillow I usually used, but I let her have it.
I could tell she was still cold. There was one way to get her warmed up quickly. Me. My body pumped out heat like a furnace.
Memories of the last time we’d shared a bed raced through my mind. I’d woken up with her sprawled on top of me, my hand splayed over her ass cheek. If I touched her now, even just to help her warm up, what would I wake up to?
But she wasn’t dressed in a tiny tank top and shorts. She was buried in a big sweatshirt and fleece pajama pants.
This would be fine.
“Come here,” I said, reaching for her. “You’ll warm up faster.”
She didn’t protest as I gently drew her against me. Just laid her head on my chest and let me wrap an arm around her. Within seconds, her body began to relax, the last of her shivers subsiding.
“Wow, you are warm,” she whispered.
I took a deep breath, letting the scent of her in as I closed my eyes. “Yeah.”
Her slow breath matched mine, and a strange thought pushed at the edge of my consciousness. I hadn’t felt this good in a long time.
19
Fiona
My eyes were still heavy, but I blinked them open. For a second, I couldn’t remember where I was.
Right, Evan’s house. He’d found me sleeping in my car and brought me back to his place. I blinked again, wondering what I was looking at.
And why did it feel like I was lying on something other than a pillow? Again.
Taut skin against my cheek and the slight tickle of hair. And right in front of my face—
Oh my god.
I was lying with my cheek on Evan’s abs, the spectacular bulge of his morning erection right in front of my eyes.