As he spoke, he tossed the clean linens atop a chair and began stripping the bed. Amused, she stepped up to the other side and began to help him. She’d never seen a man jump into domestic chores so easily, and it solidified her impression of him: he was a simple man with simple wants.
Like her.
Well, not the man part.
But she was a simple woman with simple wants, and one of those wants was for a simple man very much like Max.
Och, ye’re thinking of a future with him now?
Well, why not? Were there rules against her finding a good man and making a future with him? That didn’t interfere with her plans to sell her designs to Mr. DeVille and support herself with her art, did it?
They worked together well, she had to admit. And she couldn’t help but admire his efficiency when it came to making a bed, as if he’d done it many times before.
Definitely no’ the lordly type then.
Distracted, she fumbled with one of the pillows as she rounded the end of the bed, and the thing flew from her hands to land beside Max’s feet. Mortified, she lunged for it, but he got there first, scooping it up and brushing it off.
Slowly, she straightened, now unnervingly close to him. If either of them were to take half a step, they’d be within a hairsbreadth of the other. As it was, she was close enough to see his pupils grow larger and his nostrils flare when his gaze dropped to her lips.
Oh. Oh my.
Who knew a man’s gaze on her lips—and the sight of a man’s aroused interest—could make her thighs clench this way?
Ember tried to relax her muscles, but the yearning had her breaths coming closer together, and she realized she was leaning toward him.
Closer…closer.
His lips parted, and she could see the tip of his tongue pressed against his upper teeth. Who knew a tongue could be quite so exciting? At least, judging from the way her heart was pounding, some part of her considered it exciting.
The flood of warmth to the junction of her thighs gave her a good idea exactly which part.
“Ember…?”
His whisper startled her, and she blinked as she jerked upright. They were standing beside a bed—his bed—in a bedroom with an open door. Even ignoring propriety—which, apparently, they were both quite comfortable doing—this was certainly no place for a kiss.
If kissing had been on his mind that is.
It had definitely been on hers.
Take the pillow, ye idiot.
Ember did as commanded, snatching the pillow from his hands and stepping back. Was that a flash of disappointment in his eyes before he turned away? And was she mistaken, or had he just discretely adjusted his trousers, before clearing his throat and bending to tuck the sheets under the mattress?
Right. Work.
But she was smiling as she finished fitting the linen pillowcase in place. Aye, she’d forgotten her work there for a moment, but it was obvious he’d been just as affected by their almost-kiss as she had been.
In no time, with both of them working together, they were finished, and she fluffed his pillow an extra time or two before placing it carefully on the bed. She looked up to see him watching her, a heat in his eyes she hadn’t expected.
“What?” she blurted.
“Nothing.” His shrug didn’t look entirely convincing. “I just liked the way you did that. You’re good at taking care of people.”
Her chin rose, not sure if that’s what she wanted him to think of her. “Maybe it was just because it was yer pillow. Maybe I was thinking of ye lying here tonight, yer head on that pillow, thinking of me.”
Had there been heat in his eyes before? In a blink, his expression turned downright molten. “I can guarantee you I’ll be thinking of you tonight, Ember,” he growled. “Lying in bed right here, thinking of you.”
Oh.
Oh.
Had he touched himself and wondered what her hands would feel like on his body, the way she had?
Ember swallowed hard, suddenly not at all interested in the pillows, except in the very general way that they were on the bed, and he would be on the bed, and she was now thinking of him lying there…
Thinking of me.
Well that was going to be a distraction tonight, wasn’t it?
He’d winked at her, then turned away and began gathering up the dirty sheets from where he’d tossed them. Definitely a man who’d done that before, and the ease with which he’d dismissed the topic told her he’d been teasing her.
As Ember fought to gain control of her body’s reaction to him, she turned to the small table which stood in the middle of the room, a pair of chairs on either side. Papers covered it, and she stepped over to arrange them into neater piles, more to give her hands something to do than anything else.
But as she moved the papers around, a design caught her eye, and she held it up to study it.
“You like it?” Max’s deep drawl rumbled behind her. “Those are the designs for my house. It’ll be finished any day now.”
“It’s…lovely.”
“It’s simple,” he corrected.
He was right. The house was only two bedrooms, with a parlor in the front and a dining room on the opposite side of the house. The kitchen wasn’t fancy, but perfectly serviceable, and there was even a bathing chamber with pipes for running water directly to the tub.
Her first thought was, It’d be so simple to keep a place like this clean! She immediately knew, if given the choice, she’d want to live in a home just like this. Not because it looked easier to keep clean than the inn, but because it appeared to be cozy and comfortable.
“It’s perfect,” she
