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I nodded at him, not sure what else to say or do. I started for the hall with the bottle still clutched in my hand.
“And, Anna?”
I glanced at the tall, dark, mysterious man over my shoulder. “Yeah?”
“Welcome to the Emerald Isle.”
I smiled and went into the bedroom, closing the door behind me. After setting down the beer bottle, I fisted my hands at my sides, trying to rein in my compulsion to lock the door and shove something up against the knob.
I turned back to the door, listening to the sounds beyond it. I was pretty sure I heard a door shut. There was a soft glow of light beneath my door, and then I heard the sound of running water. Adam was showering.
A sexy but possibly dangerous guy was naked in the bathroom, not even six feet from my room.
Holy hell.
I tied my wet hair into a bun and peeled back the covers of the bed. But before getting in, I rushed back to the door and turned the lock.
In my experience, it was better to be safe than sorry.
CHAPTER THREE
ANNA
Sleep had escaped me most of the night. Instead, I had listened to every little sound—the noise on the street, the rumbling of cars . . . even in the middle of the night.
But mostly, I had listened for Adam.
It was finally morning, and so I opened my door to go to the bathroom, blowing out a sigh of relief when I noticed his door shut. I crept up to his room and pressed my ear to it, but didn’t hear anything. He was either gone or not the snoring type.
I hurried into the bathroom, locked it, and then attempted to tame the mess of my hair. But I couldn’t help but notice the scents of spice and soap throughout the room. I searched them out like one of my uncle’s hunting greyhounds scenting a coyote.
I decided to play up my eyes with some brown eyeliner and mascara. A touch of pink to my lips was the final stop. I wasn’t doing it in case I saw Adam, I reasoned.
When I finished, I slowly opened the door, worried he’d be standing there again at the end of the hall.
I glanced over my shoulder at Adam’s room, and the door was open. A new sense of panic flooded through me. I wondered if I’d be able to handle round two of conversing with the secretive sexpot.
I paused mid-step when I spotted Adam. He was wearing navy sweats, which hung low on his hips, exposing the black band of his undershorts. But it was his naked back, and the hard planes of muscle thereon, that made me hold my breath.
He had a tattoo on the back of his right shoulder that took up the entire shoulder blade. It was Celtic, I assumed—a black crisscrossed pattern with a thick cross in the middle.
I tried not to move. I didn’t want him to know I was there.
His arm was propped up at the top of the refrigerator door as he studied the inside. I noticed another tattoo on the inside of the arm that hung casually above his head, but I couldn’t make out what it was.
I started to turn, ready to tuck myself back into the safety of the bedroom, but it was too late. He glanced back at me over his shoulder and shut the fridge. “Mornin’.” He pressed his back to the counter by the stove and crossed his arms, studying me.
I released a slow breath at the sight of his muscular, perfect chest. His pecs reminded me of smooth, carved granite, and I had to fight the impulse to run my fingers over them. Would he feel like the statue of David? Of course, I’d never exactly even caressed a replica statue, let alone the real one, so how would I know?
He’s just a man, I reminded myself.
“Good morning.” I think that’s what I said, although I’m not sure if my mouth opened or I only thought the statement. He cocked his head to the right and flashed me a shit-eating grin like he knew his half-nakedness was making me uncomfortable, and he didn’t care.
I twisted the fabric at the sides of my yellow V-neck sweater as I moved into the kitchen, hating how nervous I was, but unable to do anything about it. “Anything good to eat?”
“Unfortunately, no. I’ve been staring into the fridge hoping something would appear,” he said with a smile, “but I didn’t have any such luck.”
“Well, I guess I can go out for something.” My stomach growled loud enough to be heard, and my cheeks warmed.
