So much for instincts. It took her long enough to gather the information she needed. All those days being led around by the new guy and the useless pretend cop. She hung on to them, flirted with them. Got deeper into trouble and refused to take any responsibility for her actions.

She would learn.

Chapter 16

The day went on for what felt like a week. By the time Maddie dragged her butt back to Connor’s cabin, she wanted to throw off her coat and not think about ferry schedules or people or anything. Except him.

During the last two days she’d thought about him all the time, whether she was stuck in an office away from him or right beside him. His scent. The way the wind blew his straight hair around. The line that appeared between his eyebrows when he got lost in thought.

The unexpected daydreaming started as a minute here or there. Her mind would wander to him or some stray comment he made. Then those minutes grew closer together. The time got longer. Her thoughts veered in a different direction, one that involved being naked.

She’d had chances for easy, hot sex during the last few years of solitude. The kind that wiped out her worries for a few hours but didn’t mean much. It had never really been her thing but it was her only real option when her life imploded. Still, her needs always battled with her fear and being careful won out every single time.

With Connor, all the reasons not to take the next step slipped away. The only valid excuse to maintain separate beds centered on his safety and her worry that she was dragging him to a place he didn’t deserve. Into danger he shouldn’t have to handle. But the excitement in his voice when she made the offer earlier, the way his whole body snapped alert and those beautiful dark eyes stared right into her, said he knew and didn’t care. He understood the risks, maybe not the risk, but he’d made some sort of mental calculation and decided she was worth it. She didn’t get it but she didn’t have the strength or the will to keep him at a distance either.

She heard him clear his throat from across the room. For the first time she realized she stood there, holding her coat, just inches inside the front door.

“One question.”

She tensed, waiting for him to say something that would steer them off course and back into danger talk. “Go ahead.”

“Why are your jackets so big?”

Not expecting that. “What?”

“I’m not a fashion expert but it’s like you’re wearing the wrong size.”

“I am. They came with the house.” As far as explanations went it wasn’t the most rational, but it was the truth.

He smiled. “Excuse me?”

“They were in the closet. Well, in a box in the closet.”