Suzanne started as she heard movement from behind the canvas, blinking rapidly to dispel the blur of tears, wishing she could blink her pulse back to normal. It skipped madly at her wrist as she tipped her head to the side and peered around the canvas to find Grady stretching languorously by the fire.

Her breath hitched at the dominantly male display, the action rippling through every muscle group from his toes to his head, emphasizing every nuance of his nudity.

“I fell asleep.”

It was a statement rather than a question, and he sounded so nonplussed, it surprised a laugh out of her. “You did. It looks good on you. Maybe you should do it more often.”

“Sure.” He chuckled. “I’ll book it in for after my regular spa day.”

Suzanne rolled her eyes at his easy dismissal of being pampered. But she couldn’t help but think he needed someone in his life to make him sleep in once in a while.

If only he hadn’t decided he didn’t need anyone.

“You done yet?” he asked.

Dragging her mind back to the painting, Suzanne glanced at it one last time. “Yeah,” she said with a slow nod. “I am.”

The change in Grady’s expression was priceless as he vaulted upright. “Really?” He glanced at the clock hanging above the mantelpiece. “In four hours?”

Suzanne nodded. Her other paintings had taken longer because she’d spent so long getting his face right—the angle of his head and the hardness of his jaw and the exact expression she was trying to capture—but having painted it so often now, it was second nature. No doubt her love had also guided her hand.

Pushing to his feet, Grady strode toward her, and Suzanne thrilled at how comfortable he was being naked in front of her, at the easy intimacy between them. It would disappear in a puff as soon as Grady left this cabin to get back to work—she knew that. But for now, she was going to cling to it and always remember these hours they spent together while a storm worthy of Noah raged over their heads.

He rounded to her side of the canvas, and a knot of nerves pulled tight in her chest as he stood behind her, sliding his arms around her waist and propping his chin on top of her head. He didn’t say anything for the longest time, and there was nothing but the sound of the gale and the roar of her pulse in her ears as she waited for his verdict. She felt for sure he must be able to feel the wild slam of her heart thumping just under where his hands were clasped.

Could he see it, what was so obvious to her? Did she want him to?