in five seconds, or I won’t be responsible for my actions.”
She turned away, not the least bit interested in a glimpse of Laura Whoever’s nudity. She just wanted her out of the house.
The water stopped and the door slid open.
“Okay. I don’t want to cause you any more stress. But Hank said I should use this one.”
The deep voice shocked her and she turned around before she even thought about it. And nearly swallowed her tongue. A very wet, very naked Joe Reilly stood in her shower stall, grinning at her.
Just when she’d finally made up her mind to stop thinking about him and obsessing over him.
At that exact moment her cell phone chimed. A message from Hank.
“BTW, Joe’s in town. Take good care of him.”
Chapter 2
Shay couldn’t stop looking at Joe, at his broad shoulders and hard chest with its scattering of dark curls. Water ran in rivulets over his flat stomach and his lean hips, his long legs and his—Ohmigod!—erection that exceeded even the most outrageous expectations. Whatever she’d imagined in her dreams, the reality was way beyond it.
All these years she’d nursed her secret feelings for him, all the time she’d lusted after him as a teenager, all her erotic fantasies he’d starred in—nothing ever came close to this incredible reality. She wanted to run her hands over those six-pack abs and feel the hard muscle beneath the skin. Let her fingers drift through the dark hair on his chest. Maybe let her fingertips glide over his flat male nipples. Lick the few drops of water still glistening on his shoulders.
Breathe, Shay. Slow, deep breaths.
She was enchanted by the sight of him, aching for him in every hot place in her body.
He’s not the first naked man you’ve ever seen.
But this was Joe Reilly! In all his glorious nudity. And glorious it was indeed. Her breath caught in her throat and her nipples hardened of their own free will. She felt the thrumming of the pulse in her cunt and moisture pooled in her panties. In fact, her entire body was doing a happy dance.
Oh. My. God.
Joe’s low laugh plucked at her nerve endings and vibrated through her body, shaking her out of her erotic reverie.
“Seen enough? Think I could get a towel now?”
The heat of embarrassment suffused Shay’s face and she backed away, turning so fast she almost bumped into the wall.
“Get some clothes on. Please.” She dragged in a breath. “I’ll be in the living room. And do it now,” she snapped.
Pacing, hands shoved into the pockets of her jeans, she scrabbled for the edges of her control. Her mind whirled, totally unsettled, as the implications of this situation peppered her. Joe Reilly. Here. In this house. Just the two of them. Alone. Was Hank crazy?
Maybe. He’d probably given less than two seconds of thought to it, off there in the wilds of Wyoming as he was. Had it even occurred to him she might not want to play housemates with a man who’d treated her all her life as if she were his kid sister?
This was ridiculous. She was an adult. No big deal.
Yeah, it was a big deal. Because this was Joe, the secret hero of every one of her dreams since she was eight years old.
Obviously, the car in the driveway belonged to him. Good thing he’d parked by the half of the garage that held Hank’s car. Like her, Hank always cabbed to the airport and back.
“Usually women are telling me to take my clothes off.” The deep voice behind her had a teasing edge to it. “This is a novelty.”
She whirled around to find him inches away from her. It was obvious he’d given drying off a quick pass. His dark hair curled from the dampness of the shower and tiny drops of water still snaked down his chest, drawing a path toward the waistband of his jeans. Her gaze dropped automatically to his crotch, and she forced herself to jerk it away.
Not. Good.
“There’s nothing funny about this. At all.” She fisted her hands on her hips. “Just what in the hell are you doing here, anyway?”
He grinned and she noted he still had the tiny dimple at the left corner of his mouth. A very sexy dimple. It just wasn’t fair. No man should be this downright appealing, especially when she wanted desperately to be angry with him.
“Simmer down, squirt.” He chuckled. “There’s a simple explanation.”
“Don’t call me squirt.” She spat the words out through clenched teeth. “I’m not a kid any more, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
His midnight-black eyes took a slow tour of her from the red ball cap on her head to her sneaker-clad feet. Heat surged through her as if he was undressing her with his eyes and she wanted to cross her arms over her chest.
“Oh, I noticed. Believe me. I’d say you’ve grown up a whole lot.” He actually had the audacity to wink. “So what are you doing here?”
Her jaw dropped. “What am I doing here? That’s a lot of nerve coming from you. I live here. What are you doing here?”
“You live here?” His eyes widened. “I thought you lived in New York.”
“I moved back about four months ago. Hank’s giving me house room while I take my time looking for a place of my own.”
“Well, damn.” He scratched his head. “Old Hank didn’t mention that when he said I could crash here for a few days.”
“Are you kidding me?” She was going to kill her brother the minute she laid eyes on him. “I can’t believe he did this. What’s wrong with a hotel?”
Joe frowned. “That’s not very hospitable of you. Hank told me to make myself at home. Much better than a hotel.”
Yes, killing was definitely on the agenda. Except she was torn between wanting to throw Joe out of the house or throw herself at him bodily. After all these years, at the very moment she’d decided to pack him into the memory closet and move forward, here he was. Control, she told herself. She had to stay in control and not get any wild ideas. The time for that was long past.
Anyway, why would he be interested in her? He had a gazillion women rotating in and out of his bed. He still saw her as a kid, so she’d better not get any wild ideas.
“Look.” Shay took a step backward. Joe had moved way too close into her personal space and his clean male scent was making her crazy. “Hank should have checked with me first. I’m sorry, this is just not going to work.”
“I don’t know why not.” He moved closer again. “You’ve got plenty of room here. Anyway, I have things to take care of so we’ll probably hardly see each other.”
“What kind of things?”
He shrugged. “Just business.”
“Fine. Whatever. It’s not as if I care.” Shay threw up her hands. “I’m going to my room to unpack. Do us both a favor and find a hotel room.” She turned to look at him. “And get your stuff out of my bathroom.”
One corner of his mouth turned up in a half grin. Shay did her best to ignore the dimple winking next to it.
“But isn’t this the bathroom for these two bedrooms to share?”
“Yes, but—”
“Then I’m sure this is what Hank meant for me to do. I promise I won’t get into your cosmetics. They probably aren’t my skin tone, anyway.”
“You’re trying to drive me crazy, right?”
His rich, low laugh made the pulse