"Better?" he asked, his voice carrying a rough edge that made my skin tingle.
"Much." I crossed my arms self-consciously. "Thank you. For everything."
"You don't have to keep thanking me." He straightened from the fireplace, and I was reminded again of just how big he was. "I'm not doing you a favor. I'm doing what anyone would do."
"Not anyone. Most people wouldn't have bothered to help a stranger."
"Most people aren't me."
That was for damn sure.
"I should let you get some sleep," he said, but neither of us moved.
"What time do we need to leave in the morning?"
"Early. If we're going to check on your car and figure out next steps." He paused, studying my face. "Unless you want to forget about the car and I'll drive you back to Burlington."
The offer was tempting. Return to civilization, to safety, to the normal world where I knew the rules. But the thought of leaving without completing my research made my chest ache.
"I need to find those journals," I said. "This might be my only chance to prove they exist."
"Then we'll find them." He said it like the outcome was certain, like my success was something he'd personally guarantee. "See you in the morning.”
As I headed toward the bedroom, his eyes followed my movement. I realized something had shifted between us. The initial wariness had given way to something more complex—attraction, yes, but also a kind of recognition.
Like we'd been waiting to find each other without knowing it.
NEIL
Watching Kim disappear into my bedroom wearing nothing but my flannel shirt was going to haunt my dreams for years.
The sight of her in my clothes, hair loose around her shoulders, bare feet extending from beneath the hem almost undid me. It took every ounce of control I possessed not to follow her through that doorway and make her mine.
Instead, I settled onto the couch, and I tried to remind myself this was probably only temporary. Tomorrow, I'd help her find her journals or her car or whatever she needed to get back to her real life. She'd return to her library, and I'd go back to my solitary existence in the woods.
But I could still see the way she'd looked at my furniture like it was art instead of just functional pieces. The way she'd listenedwhen I'd talked about learning to work wood, like my self-taught skills were something to be admired instead of just practical necessity.
Through the thin walls of the cabin, I could hear her moving around in my bedroom. The soft sounds of her settling into my bed, the rustle of quilts I'd bought for the long cold winters were comforting and maddening both.
She was in my space now. In my bed, wearing my clothes. Everything in me demanded I go to her and claim what was mine. Except she wasn't mine. She was a lost city girl who'd be gone as soon as I could get her back to civilization.
Chapter 3
Kim
Morning came too soon, announced by sunlight streaming through the wall of windows Neil had positioned to catch the dawn. I lay in his bed for a few minutes, surrounded by his scent, trying to process the surreal fact that I was waking up in a mountain man's cabin after getting lost in the wilderness. It was like a fairy tale, a virgin princess meets a beast who is more humane than most males she knew.
The flannel shirt had ridden up during the night, leaving my legs bare beneath the soft quilts. Everything about the situation should have felt awkward or uncomfortable. Instead, it felt strangely right, like I'd been waiting my whole life to wake up in this exact place.
The sound of movement from the kitchen drew me from the warm cocoon of blankets. I finger-combed my hair into some semblance of order. The smell of coffee and bacon filled the cabin. Neil stood at the stove, already dressed in a chamois shirt and jeans, looking like he'd been awake for hours.
"Morning," he said without turning around. "Coffee's ready if you want some."
"Thank you." I approached the kitchen area cautiously, still feeling like an intruder despite his obvious acceptance of my presence. "You didn't have to make breakfast."
"Had to eat anyway." He glanced over his shoulder, and I caught him taking in my appearance again. Something heated flared in his eyes before he turned back to the stove. "Hope you like eggs."
The domestic scene felt both natural and charged with tension I didn't know how to navigate. This was uncharted territory for me—sharing morning routines with a man whose presence made my mouth water. He was dangerously sexy, and I was way out of my league.
