Page 16 of Shielded Hearts

A tight string in her lower belly tugged, and she clamped her thighs together in response.

She needed to stop thinking about Colt Malone. He was broody, and she disliked broody men.

One problem—did broody men ever laugh? He’d laughed about their situation—several times. The deep sound had raked over her senses and left her wondering just how he looked when he let go and smiled. That sound had urged her out of her depression nap and to the bedroom door to catch the sight before it faded away. Only she’d seen him squatting in front of the pantry shelf and got too distracted by the hard planes of his thighs in those jeans.

Did she have time to heat more water? She cast a glance at the wood pile. That stove really devoured wood. Only one stick remained.

She’d just have to finish her bath.

She glanced around. Oh damn. She was in such a hurry to get the bath started before Colt returned that she never grabbed a towel.

She weighed her options—run naked to the bedroom and hurry into her clothes, or search for a towel.

The door blew inward, announcing Colt’s return and severing all possibility of leaving the tub.

She drew her knees up against her chest. She wasveryself-conscious about her body—especially her breasts—and the last thing she wanted was Colt seeing her naked.

He kicked the door shut and turned for the woodstove. He froze when he saw her. “You’re taking a bath.”

She gulped. “Yes. And it’s cold. Can I get more wood?”

He twisted, presenting her with his back. “There is no more wood. Someone took it all.”

“What? Who?”

“I don’t know. The owner of the cabin? A neighbor? Last night I grabbed some that was stacked on the side of the cabin. I saw a larger stack sitting out back, but it’s gone.”

“I see. Um…could you hand me a towel?”

His big machine of a body jerked forward in a hasty stride. He reached into a cupboard and pulled out a thin towel. Without turning around, he tossed it to her. It slipped to the floor, which forced her to lean over the freezing side. She banded one arm across her bare breasts to save them from being seen, and from the biting cold, and grabbed the towel.

Colt still stood in the middle of the room, his back to her, giving her a chance to soak in the long line of his spine. He wore a canvas coat, but she knew from dancing with him at the wedding that his body was layered with muscle.

Then there was his carved backside.

“We need a plan, Aspen. There’s no more wood here. Even if we wanted to stay, we can’t heat the place. We have to leave.”

“Um…can you go back outside while I…”

“Absolutely.” In two strides, he reached the door and whipped it open. A blast of frigid air blew over her wet body before he slammed it shut.

She stood, dripping, and wrapped the flimsy towel around her body. Shivering, she returned to the bedroom. She could throw on the gray sweats again, but she wasn’t really one of those women who dressed down. Her career required that she always looked ready to take on the world on a billionaire’s budget, and she stuck to that uniform.

Though she didn’t come from money, she had comeintoa tidy inheritance—the hard way. First when she lost her mom, then by losing a dear friend.

She rubbed the towel over her goose bumps, but they refused to smooth out. She dug through her bag and located a pair of winter white pants that conformed to her body and added a pale blue cashmere sweater to the ensemble. After unearthing white hiking boots from the bottom of her bag, she sat on the edge of the bed to put them on.

Even the feel of the mattress beneath her made her mind whirl back to her night spent on it—with Colt. A flush burned in her cheeks. She couldn’t believe she had the guts to share a bed with a stranger. It was so out of character for her.

Not to mention waking up with her body glued to his big, steely hard one.

But god, he was toasty warm, and she could use some of that body heat now.

Still shivering, she tossed everything she owned into her bag and zipped it up, praying she wasn’t bringing home any unwanted travel companions. The cabin was surely too cold for vermin to live, so she was probably safe.

When she carried the bag to the front, she found Colt standing right outside. He gave her a once-over, his gaze lingering on her legs in the fitted pants made for the ski slopes and drinks afterward in the lodge. Then he dropped his stare to her boots.

“White?”

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