Page 17 of Shelter for Morgan

Okay, no one called him Palmer except for his father. Even Jacob, who'd known him before he'd been given the Rhett nickname used it instead of his real name.

But hearing Morgan calling him Palmer felt oddly intimate.

"Yep!" She moved back, sliding behind him sideways as if there wasn't more than enough room to move through.

He didn't mind. It felt like they were almost close enough to touch.

He was apparently a bit of a masochist.

Looking down at the baking sheet, he realized that he was being a bit of an ass, too.

She'd said she wanted to help, and he was having her stand there.

He looked at her as she leaned back against the wall. "Do you want to do the carrots or the spice rub?"

"Oh... Spice rub." She grinned at him in what he was quickly discovering was a happy expression that made it almost impossible for him not to smile in return. "That sounds like fun."

"Okay." He said it, but he didn't mean it, because he was sure he'd just handed her the ability to make him a little crazy.

He uncovered the bowl with the spice rub he'd made and set it beside him on the counter.

Morgan bit into the carrot piece she had and kept going until she had a little pouch in her cheek like a chipmunk and moved around him to wash her hands again in the kitchen sink.

He tilted his head back to draw in a breath through his nose. She was wearing a scent. Or maybe it was her skin. He wasn't knowledgeable when it came to perfumes, but whatever she was wearing... It was doing something for him.

"Okay, boss." She softly clapped her hands together. "My hands are ready."

Oh great. He really didn't want to think about her hands.

Tilting his head back and forth to stretch his neck, he tried to ease his building tension.

"Okay, I just need you to rub the spice blend into the chops top and bottom."

The eager look in her eyes was devastating, but what was worse was the sounds she made while she was rubbing the spice into the meat.

"Oh... nice..." Her voice was a little breathy. "This feels like... a... a sugar scrub." She laughed and he was sure that his neck had reddened some. "What's in this?" She brought the bowl up to her nose to breathe it in. "It's smells incredible."

What would be incredible is if she didn't groan when she said the word. "Yeah."

"Palmer?"

Just the way she said his name was like... a caress.

Yes, he decided, he was losing his mind.

"Hmm?"

He had to keep his lips pressed together to keep himself on an even keel.

"What's in this?"

Right. She'd asked him a question.

"Uh... What's in it." He closed his eyes for a moment and remembered the spices he'd taken out of the cupboard. "Salt. Pepper."

"Okay. I'd guess that."

He grinned. Her sass was helping him to focus. Relax.

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