Back in the Bedroom. Jill Shalvis

in fists at his sides as he stared up at the access, and despite the utter toughness emanating from him in waves, she once again sensed that there was more, much more to this man. “Reilly—”

      “Watch out.” He easily reached the ceiling. His arms were taut with strength. Corded tendons stood out in bold relief as he worked the square cover of drywall loose. Under his arms were soft, sparse tufts of dark hair that matched the light spattering across his chest. And those legs…long and delineated with strength. She’d never really understood the debate between boxers and briefs, but the way Reilly filled out his black clingy knit ones made her a firm believer in boxers—

      “Tessa?”

      “Hmm?” She jerked her gaze off his body, a little horrified to have been caught gawking at the guy who’d been hit on the head, stripped and was now doing his damnedest to get them out of their hell.

      His disconcerted gaze told her he knew exactly what she’d been doing and that he hadn’t found it so flattering. He had the drywall off and was handing it down to her.

      She took it, set it against the wall and turned back in time to see him pulling himself up with the agility of an athlete. His head and chest disappeared, leaving just the bottom half—which was not a bad view at all—and then he was gone entirely.

      A flash of panic hit her, but then he poked his head back in. “I’ll be back for you.”

      “No.” She’d gone all shaky again at the thought of being there alone. Before she could think, she leaped onto the cot and reached her hands up. “Take me with you.”

      There was a conflicted look on his chiseled features. “I’ll be right back, Tess.”

      “No. Don’t leave me here alone. Please?” She lifted her arms up toward him, knowing the impossibility of him being able to pull her up, but—

      But nothing. With a grim expression, he reached down, grabbed her hand and pulled her up into the opening of the attic with such ease she could hardly believe it. He scooted back to make room for her as she sat on a beam, surrounded by more beams and insulation.

      Yep, they were in the attic, which gaped open to large and unknown depths. In the darkness she could see nothing but Reilly, and had no idea how she’d imagined this as a great plan. “It’s…dark.”

      “Yeah.” Hunched over his knees, he rubbed his hands over his face. “I thought for a moment there you’d been shocked into silence.”

      “And you liked it, right?” She rolled her eyes and mimicked zipping her lips and tossing away the key.

      “Don’t tease me,” he said, and looked around. “Okay, listen. I want you to follow me. And seriously, toss away that key. We have no idea if we’re alone and once we get over another access, any noise at all will echo down.”

      “I’ll be quiet. Let’s just do this.”

      “Right.” He turned away from her and looked into the black, dusty gloom of the gaping attic.

      And didn’t move.

      “Reilly?”

      “Yeah.”

      But he still didn’t budge. She touched his bare shoulder. Beneath her fingers, his muscles leaped. “Hey. You okay?”

      “Terrific. I love being in a small enclosed space with no light.”

      “You’re really afraid of the dark?”