Page 44 of Scotch on the Rocks

She must have been out of it because she did as I asked, staying put while I rounded the hood, eyes pinning her the entire time. I opened her door, and she turned to face me.

“Need a hand?”

Her head rustled in a listless nod.

Christ, even with a scent so potent it made my nose burn,she was the most gorgeous woman on the fucking planet. Gripping her waist on either side of the blanket, I lifted and lowered, keeping her body a safe distance from mine, though instinct demanded I crush her to my chest, shit and mud be damned. We could shower it off together. Not exactly the way I’d dreamed of first showering with Juniper, but I’d take what I could fucking get.

With her feet safely on the ground, Juniper seemed to come back to herself, pulling the plaid from her shoulders and offering it out to me. I balled it, tossing it into a heap by the front door to deal with later.

Peeling her jacket away from her body, she frowned at the flakes of mud falling about her like confetti. She’d stomped most of the dirt from her boots before climbing into the truck, but they still clogged around her ankles, crusting the cuffs of her jeans.

“Do you have an outdoor hose, maybe?”

An outdoor hose?You’ve got to be joking, sweetheart. “You can use my shower.”

“And trail shit all over your floors?”

“I could give a fuck about my floors, Juniper. I can hear your teeth chattering from here. It’s not happening.” Her quick nod of agreement was frightening.

Come on, harpy, snarl at me.

With stiff fingers she reached up for the zip. I flicked them away, undoing her jacket and tugging it over her shoulders. She kicked off her boots and I bent, snagging them along with the coat.

“I’ll clean them while you shower,” I said, leading her to the front door.

I toed off my own boots in the mud room and set hers beside them – trying not to get caught up on the domesticity of the action – before showing her down the hall to mybedroom. She halted on the threshold, curious eyes flicking to every corner. I ran my gaze over the neat space, trying to see it as she might. Juniper’s cottage was a study in black. Deep and decadent, just like her. It reminded me of the fairytale cottage from Hansel and Gretel and the witch within waiting to eat unsuspecting children. I suspected Juniper’s victims were far more willing.

Mine felt …emptyin comparison.

“The only shower is in my ensuite.” I cleared my throat, pointing to the door in the far corner. “There’s a tub in the main bathroom if you’d prefer?”

She shook her head. “The shower’s fine.” Then tagged on, “Thank you.”

I nodded. “Great. Thank you.”Why are you thanking her?My voice was pathetically husky, and I cleared my throat again. “Clean towels are in the basket, leave … just leave your dirty clothes on the floor outside. I’ll throw them in the wash and find you something to wear.” She only stared at me. Unsure what to say, I stared right back. And then she pointed to the bathroom door at my back.

“Shit, sorry.” Feeling my cheeks burn, I stepped out of her path. Having her so close, inches from my bed, was making my imagination run riot. “Have a nice shower.”

And with that parting line, I fled.

Have a nice shower? Real fucking smooth. Tugging a hand through my hair, I put as much distance between us as possible, checking on Simon in his large enclosure just for something to do with my hands. Refusing to think of Juniper undressing two walls away. Stepping into my shower. Would she use my shampoo? My body wash?Fuck, did I even have any shampoo? I forgot to run to the store yesterday.

Turning to rifle through a basket of clean washing, I pulled out the first black T-shirt my hands found. Sniffing to make sure it smelled fresh, I carried it back to the bedroom and almost swallowed my tongue.

Door wide open, Juniper stood under the soft bathroom lighting, hair curling around her cheeks.I fucking loved it when her hair curled. She’d already turned on the shower and steam clouded, turning the air hazy as her stiff fingers fumbled over the buttons of her cardigan.

I might have been having a heart attack, I realised, heart threatening to crack my ribs. It would have to wait.

“Need a hand?” My mouth moved before my brain caught up, but there was no taking it back now because I was walking, closing the distance until the wet heat folded around me.

Her expression was unreadable. Dark eyes swallowing me whole as my trembling hands lowered ever so slowly to the top button, fully expecting her to shut me down. Slap my hands away. She did neither. Touching only the fabric, I slipped the first button through the loop. Then paused. Waiting. Barely breathing.Be fucking cool.

Her throat bobbed but didn’t protest and so I moved on to the next, repeating the motion. The fabric gaped, revealing the silken skin of her collarbone and thin straps of her undershirt. My eyes flicked between hers and every fresh inch of skin as I unbuttoned the next and the next until the cardigan fell away completely, hitting the floor with the sensual hiss created only by discarded garments.

She could absolutely take it from here. I knew it. She definitely fucking knew it. But it felt like we were in our own little world, nothing else existed but the sound of water hitting tile, rising steam and Juniper.Juniper. She filled every corner of my vision, pale skin and the faintest brush of freckles beneath the dirt staining her cheeks and nose.

You get prettier every time I see you, I wanted to tell her, unaware of stepping closer, or my knuckle tracing downthe line of her stomach pausing on the button of her jeans. “These next?” It was my voice, but it wasn’t. Gruffer. Hungrier. Desperate. Juniper nodded, head bobbing almost frantically. That wouldn’t do. “Answer me … please.” I needed a yes. Needed to know she was right here with me.

“Yes.” Her throat constricted. The word almost lost in the sound of my shaken exhale. But I’d heard it. It was enough. The button snapped, opening on only the smallest pressure. My hands trembled, head spinning as I tugged the zip, falling to my knees as the fabric gave way.

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