Page 42 of Smoky Lake

John hadn’t been her only lover, but pretty darn close. They’d broken up for a time after high school and she’d slept with someone from her college dorm. She’d liked him—he was smart and funny and nerdy. But as soon as John had heard about his rival, he’d driven to her campus and popped the question. She hadn’t slept with any more men who weren’t John after that.

After turning off the shower, she stepped out of the stall and forced herself to stare at her reflection in the mirror. That golden-skinned, maybe slightly plumpish—but in all the right places—woman looked perfectly fuck-able. She didn’t look like an ancient frigid crone. Take that, John.

But there was only one way to confirm it. She imagined walking out naked into the living room, catching Gil by surprise. Do it.

Maybe a towel would make it easier. She wrapped a big, fluffy white towel around herself and fastened it tightly over her breasts. Cleavage for the win. Barefoot, with her damp hair loose over her shoulders, she pushed open the door and tiptoed into her bedroom. She could hear Gil’s voice, and wanted to make sure he was on the phone and not talking to room service before she sashayed mostly naked into the room.

But she couldn’t see him, and couldn’t make out what he was saying, so she stepped closer to the open door between her room and the living room.

And then, suddenly, there he was. On the phone.

Until he saw her, at which point he dropped the phone.

She could have danced in glee at the look on his face. Definitely still fuck-able, according to Gil McGowan’s expression. A rush of sexy excitement burned through her system. How had she forgotten this feeling, the giddy, carefree joy of realizing the man you were attracted to felt the same way?

Gil bent to pick up his cell phone. “Sorry, Lachlan. Dropped the phone. We’ll be back later,” he glanced at Ani, then amended that, “as soon as we can.”

A scorching thrill shot through her. He must mean that they wouldn’t be rushing back right away. That they’d have time here. Time together. Alone.

“What’s going on with Lachlan? Is he okay?” she asked when he ended the call.

“He’s okay, but he had a scare. Someone ambushed him at one of his field stations. I don’t know how he did it, but he fought the guy off. Actually, I do know how he did it. He used the move I taught him. The only one he ever mastered, but it obviously worked.”

His gaze kept flitting away, as if he didn’t think he should look at her, then coming back.

“What move did you teach him? Will you show me?” Her voice was practically a purr.

“It’s…well, it’s better with clothes on. You might end up on the floor in a very uncomfortable position.”

“We could start off on the bed.” She was really, truly amazing herself right now. Where was all this seduction technique coming from?

He narrowed his eyes at her. “Are you trying to get me into bed? Because you don’t need to do anything besides crook your little finger and I’ll be there. But you might want an update first.”

She drew her bottom lip between her teeth. An update. Yes, of course. That would be a good thing, considering everything swirling around them. “Who ambushed Lachlan? Does he know?”

“He does not. It was someone he’d never seen before. After Lachlan got away from him, the man ran away. But before that, he said something about me.”

Ani tightened her grip on her towel. She was starting to feel silly, and wishing she’d put clothes on. “What was it?”

“He said, verbatim, ‘Your brother better back off or he’s a dead man walking.’”

She froze. Shivered, then stepped backwards. She needed clothes. Armor. This was too much. Without a word, she closed the door in Gil’s face, then hurried to pull on the only other set of clothing she’d brought—a pair of violet hiphuggers and a black short-sleeved turtleneck top. The combination made her look like a backup singer in a sixties band, but she didn’t have a choice.

Dead man walking? What a terrifying choice of words. Like a zombie. Was that deliberate?

Gil was standing in exactly the same spot when she opened the door again.

“You should leave Alaska,” she told him. “Just get out, go somewhere else.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re in danger here. They threatened you.”

“I deal with danger all the time. That’s literally my job.” He seemed more amused than anything else. “Is that why you got dressed, because you think I’m in danger?”

“I got dressed because…that’s what you do after a shower.” The report from Lachlan had really shaken her up. She couldn’t stop hearing those words echoing in her brain. Dead man walking. “Gil, I don’t think you’re taking this seriously enough.”

“I take it seriously. A minute ago you were in a towel, now you’re not. That’s a serious consequence.”

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