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Chapter 2
The second the bathroom door closed, Hunter pictured her naked. Okay, he’d pictured her naked when she was standing in front of him with that flimsy, wet dress clinging to every slender curve, and her smooth thigh peeking out from the rip in her skirt. In his mind, he’d taken off her clothes and imagined her bare breasts and perfect ass.
But in a futile attempt to be a gentleman, he’d cut the image short.
Unfortunately, now that Aria was actually stripping naked on the other side of the door, he couldn’t stop his brain from conjuring up another fantasy of what she looked like. Tanned, silky skin, round breasts that would fit perfectly in his hands, little pink nipples…
Christ.
Rubbing his hands over his face, he smothered a surge of lust.
This series of events never would have happened to him in New York. Or anywhere else. Aside from day-to-day activities like driving and running errands, Hunter tended to live multiple stories above ground level. His office, his apartment, the conference rooms, the high-rise properties, even the gym where he worked out…everything waselevated. He rarely talked to people who didn’t inhabit, or at least revolve around, the same world.
But in Bliss Cove, where the only places to stay were a motel on the interstate, B&Bs, or the Outside Inn, where Margaret had booked him…he’d ended up on the inn’s ground floor because the rooms on the upper floor were either occupied or not ready for guests.
He wasn’t happy about it. He’d worked damn hard to get off the ground floor—hell,belowground level—and he didn’t like being back there for any reason.
If he hadn’t been in this room, he wouldn’t have heard the prowling outside his window or a woman’s voice. He wouldn’t have found himself jumping out the window to rescue an overweight cat who looked at him like he was an idiot.
He wouldn’t have run through a damned storm to rescue the same cat from a seaweed trap.
And he sure as hell wouldn’t have encountered a stunning blonde who made his blood hot with one look. A woman whom he couldn’t stop picturing naked.
He raked a hand through his wet hair and glowered at the cat, who was still sprawled in the middle of the bed, licking his paw and twitching his tail.
It was saying something that Hunter had rescued the infernal creature without even thinking about it.
Whatit was saying, he didn’t want to know. One look at Aria—big blue eyes framed by thick lashes, that perfect mouth, a mass of shiny golden hair damp with rain—and theurgeto help her had hit him like a lightning bolt. If Porkchop had gotten caught in an ocean riptide that carried him to Japan, Hunter would be swimming to Tokyo right now.
The idea alone defied all logic.
He opened the coffee-maker and filled the basket with coffee from one of the provided packets. He’d have to wait until Aria was out of the bathroom before filling the pot with water.
He slanted another glance at Porkchop, who was now pawing at the comforter. He couldn’t fathom why the cat had wanted to escape his mistress. Why would anyone run away from a woman like that, especially in a storm? God knew she madehimwant to get as close to her as he could.
Yet another reason he disliked cats. They lacked both reason and good instincts.
“Excuse me?” Her musical voice drifted from behind the door. “Hunter?”
She said his name as if it were a cinnamon candy melting on her tongue.
He cleared his throat. “Yeah?”
“Do you mind if I use some of the complimentary lotion in here?”
The…?
“Not that I’m snooping, but Mrs. Higgins gets the lotions from Madeline Fox, who owns Naked, and—”
“What?”
“Oh, you’re not from around here, are you?” She laughed. “Otherwise why would you be staying at the Outside Inn? Madeline sells handmade lotions and body scrubs at her store, which is called Naked, and for a couple of years, she’s been providing Mrs. Higgins with the complimentary lotions and shampoos for the inn. She just launched a new line of oat milk lotion with lavender that I haven’t tried yet, but I see it’s here in the little toiletries basket, and I was wondering if you’d mind if I use it.”
Hunter lowered his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. Tension laced his shoulders. Unless he got a lock on his fantasies, he’d be picturing Aria rubbing lotion into her smooth skin any minute now.
And…there it was.
With a grimace, he attempted to ignore the heat collecting in his groin. “Uh, no. I mean, go ahead. Use whatever you want.”
