Page 21 of Hero Unbound

He cleared his throat to eliminate the poetry again. “Okay, I’ll make us some food while you get showered.”

He headed up the ladder to grab her a clean towel from the dresser. She’d also need something to wear. He grabbed her a pair of his gym shorts—at least those had a tie waist she could cinch—and one of his T-shirts. That would do for now.

He came back down and showed her to the bathroom, grimacing once again as her eyes grew wide. This was the one place he’d splurged on when he’d moved in to this cabin. He’d had the bathroom completely gutted and reinstalled with a giant rainfall shower under a massive skylight in the ceiling.

“Wow.” She breathed out in wonder.

He shrugged, a little embarrassed. “Yeah. I’m a sucker for a great shower.”

“I won’t tell.” She gave him a soft smile. “But if people find out, they may come and visit you much more often.”

God, that smile. He found himself stepping closer to her without even thinking about what he was doing, as she stared at him with those big green eyes. It took every bit of willpower he possessed not to reach out and touch her. Tokissher. It was only that she still looked so pale and fragile that stopped him.

Pale and fragile wasn’t Theo’s normal type. Neither were women with secrets. His family was full of secrets required for their very existence. He didn’t need someone with more secrets in his life.

“Yeah, everyone coming over here and demanding to use my shower is exactly what I’m afraid of.” He cleared his throat again. “I’ll leave you to it.”

He switched on the floor and room heater that made the bathroom nothing short of an oasis and left. Eva scooted the dogs out the door and closed it behind them.

Theo stared at them as the shower turned on inside. They had not moved one step from the doorway.

“You two want to be close to her all the time. I’m beginning to understand that sentiment.”

Both pups just stared at him like he’d lost his mind. Seemed pretty accurate.He needed to get his fucking head on straight.

He turned to the kitchen to make them something to eat. He was quite the accomplished cook, but today, he would be sticking to the breakfast basics: pancakes, eggs, and bacon. Eva needed the calories.

He was glad when the minutes dragged out. Not only to give him more time to get the meal ready; it also meant Eva was enjoying her shower.

Unless she’d passed out again.

Shit. He was about to go knock on the door to double-check when the water turned off. He looked at the dogs. “I guess she’s okay.”

They didn’t answer.

“How about we get you two something to eat? You’ve got to be hungry too.” He made some scrambled eggs for them, then pinched off a few pieces of bacon into it. It didn’t contain all the nutrients from their dog food, but it would do for a single meal.

Theo took the plates and put them on the floor next to his feet and looked over at the dogs. “You want to come away from the door so you can eat?”

They didn’t so much as move a muscle. Theo shook his head then brought the plates over to them at the bathroom door. He crouched down slowly in front of them, not wanting to make them more skittish than they already were.

“Here’s some breakfast, okay? I promise I’m not going to hurt you.”

The dogs sniffed the food then began to eat. It was progress. Not a lot, but some. He hated to think about what had them so shy and nervous to begin with.

The bathroom door opened behind them, and Theo found himself at eye level with slender, feminine legs coming out of his gym shorts.

Mouthwatering,slender, feminine legs.

He stood up to get his gaze off them, only to find it trapped by Eva’s damp hair curling around her face, flushed pink by the warm shower. She was beautiful all the time, but right now, she was absolutely gorgeous.

She looked down at the dogs. “Thank you for feeding them. I know they were hungry. I’m a little surprised they accepted the food from you.”

“We’re slowly becoming friends, I hope. I have some breakfast for you over here.”

She fooled with her hair hanging over her shoulder. “Great. Now that I no longer smell like horse, I am definitely hungry.”

He grabbed the clothes she’d put in a tidy pile by the door and threw them in the washer.They sat down at the small kitchen island and ate. Eva seemed to savor every bite.

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