“Help yourself, and you can stuff your clothes in the washer while you’re at it.”
She banged around in the kitchen, pulling tea bags and mugs from the cupboards, while Sam banged around in the hall closet. She hoped he wouldn’t follow her instructions literally, and take off all his clothes and put them in the wash before he got in the shower. Sam shirtless had already tested her defenses. Sam naked would bring her walls crumbling down around her.
Jolene let out a long breath when she heard the water in the shower. She filled the mugs with water and stuck them in the microwave.
Two minutes later, she dredged the tea bags in the boiling water of each cup. If Sam didn’t want the tea, she’d have a second cup.
She hunched over the counter, burying her chin in her palm. How had everything gotten so complicated? She’d planned to dump the bones she’d gotten from her friend in the U of A archaeology department at the construction site to muck up the work over there and do a little more digging into her father’s death. How had it ended in Melody’s death?
Of course, Melody could’ve been doing her own snooping that led to her death. Or maybe she’d taken a tumble and hit her head all by herself. She and Tucker could’ve gotten into a tug-of-war over the purse.
Sam stepped into the kitchen dressed in nothing but those Border Patrol sweats again, droplets of water shimmering on his chest, his clothes bunched in one hand. “Do you have anything you want to put in with these?”
At least the sweats seemed to be pulled up higher on his waist.
Chip trotted into the kitchen, his claws tapping on the tile floor. Sam bent over to scratch Chip behind the ear, and the sweats dipped a little more.
“No, knock yourself out. I have a short cycle, though, so you should use that to save water.” She cleared her throat and held up one of the steaming mugs. “Tea?”
“I’ll give it a try.” He disappeared into the laundry room off the kitchen and turned on the washing machine with several beeps.
When he came out, she handed him a cup of tea. “That sounded like way too many beeps for the short cycle.”
“I had to make a few corrections.” He held the mug under his nose and closed his eyes. “It smells good, anyway, but most tea tastes like slightly flavored hot water to me.”
She pushed at his back, his skin smooth beneath her fingertips. “It’s soothing. Give it a try. Do you want some ibuprofen for your head?”
“That warm shower did the trick.” He wrapped one hand around the mug and tilted his head, a damp lock of hair curling over his forehead. “How do you feel? It seems days instead of hours ago that I ran a bath for you to relax after your accident. How are those bruises on your arms? Your neck?”
She ran a hand across the back of her neck. “My neck’s a little stiff, but I’m okay. Bruises are coloring up nicely. I just wish I could dial back the clock to the moment when Melody ran out to the street to warn me.”
“Me, too, but that’s futile. Believe me, I’ve wanted to turn the clock back many times.” He touched his mug to hers. “Let’s sit down and drink our tea—never thought I’d hear myself saying that. C’mon, Chip.”
“You might like it.” She strolled into the living room with Sam right behind her and Chip right behind him, his devoted follower. She sat on one side of the couch, grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. She didn’t want any awkward silences between them.
Sam took the cushion next to her and noisily slurped his tea. “Yep, flavored hot water, but it’s kind of minty.”
She aimed the remote at the TV. “Have you seen this show?”
“Heard about it, haven’t seen it.” He stretched his arm across her shoulders and pulled her close. “It’s okay now. Everything’s going to be okay.”
“But Melody...” She rested her head on his shoulder. Maybe she didn’t want to put her trust in Sam for the long term, but for right now he represented something solid.
“I know.” He smoothed the hair back from her forehead, his fingers tickling her skin.
Chip curled up on her feet, and Sam ran the sole of his foot across Chip’s back. “See? Chip’s here for you, too. We both are.”
Jolene took another sip of her tea and set the cup on the coffee table. She turned to Sam and cupped his lean jaw in her hand. “I don’t know what I want from you, Sam—maybe nothing. Maybe you’re not prepared to offer anything.”
He opened his mouth, and she put a finger to his lips. “But right now, I need you.”
She replaced her finger with her lips, kissing his mint-flavored mouth.
He slipped his arms around her and deepened their kiss, his hands sliding down her back. He murmured against her mouth, “I love you, Jolene. I never stopped loving you.”
“Don’t.” She skimmed her hands across his shoulders, and then dug her fingernails into his flesh. “You don’t have to tell me anything right now. You don’t have to convince me of anything. I just want to be with you. Can we do that? Just be?”
He cinched his hands around her waist and pulled her into his lap so that she straddled him. “We can do whatever you want. I’m yours.”
His words caused a thrill to race down her spine. Her fingertips buzzed, and she trailed them over the sculpted muscles of his chest, circling one brown nipple before she kissed it. She ran a finger along the waistband of the sweats.
“Easy on, easy off. How convenient.” She tugged at the sweats, discovering Sam had stripped off his underwear, too. “Very convenient.”
“I aim to
