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“Grab your phone, then. Mine’s going to die any—” As if on cue, the screen went black.
“Mine’s in the bedroom.” He closed the drawer and turned, and she had to fight from leaning into him when the warmth of his bare chest brushed against her chilled arm.
All of a sudden he turned the weak flashlight beam on her. “You’re all wet.”
His surprise sparked a smile. “I am. Because there’s rain to go with that thunder and lightning outside.” And now that her brain was focused on her wet clothes, the chill of them had her shoulders shaking with an involuntary shiver.
“You need a dry shirt.” He glanced down at his chest. “I should grab one, too.”
Don’t mind if you don’t.
She let her gaze trail down over his tight pectorals and the defined ridges of his abs with a faint trail of light brown hair that disappeared into the waistband of his sweats. He robbed her of the chance to truly admire when he pulled her with him toward the bedroom.
Their destination sped up her pulse, but he released her hand to retrieve his phone from the nightstand. Another curse grated past his lips. “Mine’s almost dead, too. I forgot to plug it into the charger before bed.”
“I’m sure the power will be back on soon.”
Even in the shadows from the dim flashlight, she could see his tight jaw as he swiped a white T-shirt from a bench at the foot of the bed, and then went to the closet to pull out a light gray button up shirt similar to the one she’d borrowed that day they’d taken a trail ride. The one she had forgotten to return at the end of the day, and then ‘accidentally’ forgotten each day since.
“This okay?” he asked.
“It’s fine.” She’d have to roll up the sleeves a half-dozen times, and it would reach halfway to her knees, but it was dry. “Thanks.”
She took the shirt and walked the few steps to his unmade bed to toss it on the edge before reaching for the hem of her wet top. As her fingers gripped the material, she thought of him behind her, and the bed in front of her, and the fact he’d been lying in those rumpled sheets not that long ago.
Her heart rate ticked along even faster.
The dim light from the flashlight suddenly went crazy, bobbing all around the room before leaving her in even deeper shadows. When she glanced over her shoulder, Reyes stood near the door, T-shirt on, his back to her, flashlight pointed at the ceiling.
Was it terrible that she was disappointed he wasn’t going to watch? And yet, her heart gave a hard thump of appreciation at his gentlemanly respect. Yet another little thing she loved about him.
Love.
Hmm. Don’t go there.
She quickly exchanged wet shirt for dry, and then buttoned all but the top two buttons and rolled up the sleeves. The hem reached to mid-thigh on her damp jeans. Her bra was also damp, but already she was warmer. While his back was turned, she lifted the collar for a discreet inhale of fresh linen fabric softener. His other shirt had had a faint underlying note of the same scent, and she bit back a soft sigh.
A loud overhead rumble reminded her of the real reason she was standing in his bedroom, wearing his shirt. She scooped up her wet top and headed toward him. “All set. Let’s go check the horses before the flashlight dies.”
The light swung toward her, and she was thankful he kept it pointed down to keep from blinding her. He stilled for a long moment as he swept his gaze from the top of her wet head to the now soggy white canvas tennis shoes she’d worn over to Honor’s.
He closed his eyes and tipped his head back, muttering as he turned to walk out of the bedroom.
Raine raised her eyebrows as she followed. She was pretty sure he’d said something about being “totally fucked,” though she wasn’t so sure she wanted to ask him to clarify.
He slipped on a pair of tennis shoes at the door, and they went down the stairs. A few of the horses were restless, but it didn’t appear that any were having major issues with anxiety from the storm. Raine slipped into her tack stall for a handful of treats before taking time to pet and murmur softly to each one that bothered to stick their head over the stall doors.
After giving Taz a treat, she waited inside Fire’s stall while Reyes checked the doors on both ends of the barn were secure against the wind. By now, the thunder had moved off into the distance, and the lightning flashes were only occasional even as rain still thrummed hard and steady on the roof.
Reyes’ curse from the far end of the barn drew her around, and she rose on her tiptoes to see over the stall wall. She noticed it was pitch black on his side of the barn at the same time he called out, “Flashlight’s dead. My phone’s dead, too.”
Hearing the strain in his voice again, she hurried out of the stall and down the aisle. A weak flash of lightning revealed his outline at the far door. When she reached him, he fumbled for her hand and squeezed tight. She moved closer, pulling her fingers free to slip her arms around his waist. His whole body was stiff as a board, muscles tight as if he was doing everything he could not to panic.
“I’m right here, Reyes. I’m not going anywhere.”
His arms closed tight around her as his chest heaved beneath her cheek. “I fucking hate this.”
“I know. Believe me, I know.”
