After a few long moments, she moved to the window. “It’s freezing rain!”
He glanced up from the woodgrain on the floor he’d been concentrating so hard on to her. She stood with her back to him, a fingertip tracing over the fog in the window created from her breath.
Was she drawing something? Maybe writing her initials?
Why did that intrigue him so much? He was in his thirties. Men of his age didn’t get excited about women’s quirks. By now, most were married or at least had long-term relationships. Maybe the fact he was a late bloomer when it came to dating had stunted him.
That was it. He was stunted, and that was why he was acting like a teenager around the new girl at school, crushing on her that first day without even knowing her full name or anything about her personality.
His biceps burned as he pumped out a dozen more pushups.
Freya turned from the window. Quickly, he dropped his gaze to the floor again.
She moved toward him, and damn if he didn’t pause to watch her walk, gliding like a damn model across the floor. Wearing his too-big socks and the flannel shirt. Her hair was damp too.
Which meant other parts of her would still be damp…
He stopped mid-pushup to grate out, “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to put another log on the fire.”
He shoved to his feet. “I’ll get it.”
“I’m capable of doing things around here. I’d like to earn my keep.” Her gaze traveled over his forearms. When he glanced down and saw them roped from exertion with the veins snaking down to his wrists, his guts clenched again. Did she like what she saw?
He didn’t dare look at her face. If she was giving him anything but a flat expression, he didn’t know if he could stop himself from wrapping her wet hair around his fist, yanking her head back and crushing his mouth down on her plump pink lips.
He waved toward the logs he hadn’t yet stacked. But she bent over, presenting her sweet ass—the one he’d spent half the night on the couch thinking about—and he swallowed a rumble of need bubbling in his throat.
Whipping away before he did something he regretted, he strode to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge. Outside, the storm raged on with freezing rain coating everything in a thick, treacherous layer of ice.
But inside the cabin, it was warm. Very warm. No, make that hot.
Hot and tense.
Hunt needed a distraction from the woman he’d rescued. Hopefully, Penn would come back with information on Freya sooner rather than later.
Because sharing a bed with a sexy woman over the holiday was looking way better than his original plan.
Hunt was taking his second shower of the day.
Either he was a hygiene freak or just desperate to escape Freya’s company. She guessed the latter.
She couldn’t blame him really. The storm hadn’t yet broken, and she’d been here two days already. She’d broken his peace, intruded on his holiday and was making a burden of herself. Maybe she should try to do something nice in exchange for all the kindness he’d shown her.
As she’d mentioned to Hunt, the cabin, while cute, had none of the holiday charm she wanted to see this time of year. As she ran her gaze over the mantel, she pictured how she’d decorate, with garlands and greeneries, stockings and twinkle lights.
Turning in a circle, she envisioned more twinkle lights strung on the tops of the kitchen cupboards and a centerpiece of holly and ivy on the table. Of course, there would be a ball of mistletoe hanging in the entrance leading to the bedrooms, inviting a goodnight kiss…
For years, all she had was her imagination to lift her holiday spirits, and it worked this time too.
Freya pulled a wooden cutting board off a nail on the kitchen wall. She set it on the butcherblock counter and then rummaged in the fridge and cupboards for snacks.
Keeping her hands busy was important, since her anxiety about leaving wasn’t getting any easier. Times when her emotions tried to get the better of her, she’d hit the local YMCA for a long, exhausting run on the treadmill and then go home and curl up with a book.
Here, there wasn’t a lot to do but share everything about her fears concerning Colby…or eat. So, eating it was.
She opened a block of cheese and began cutting it into small slices. After that, she arranged them on the cutting board. Pepperoni and some smoked sausage were good additions. She sprinkled cherry tomatoes over the aesthetic display and tucked a lettuce leaf in two corners. Finally, she added the snack crackers.
When Hunt walked into the room, she pivoted from the counter and Aries walked over to greet his master. Hunt smiled at the dog, and Freya’s breath caught in her lungs.
The man was beyond gorgeous wearing the look of concern she was accustomed to seeing on him. But when he smiled…
Her heart gave a small patter that turned into a flip when his stare landed on her.
His wet hair was mussed in its usual way, and he’d taken a razor to his beard, trimming it down to a rugged shadow.
“What’s that?” He nodded toward the cutting board.
She picked up the board and held it out for him to see. “It’s called a charcuterie board. It’s all the rage right now. I’ve never made one before, but I think it looks appetizing.”
He rubbed his muscled abs in a circular motion. “Very appetizing. Are we allowed to eat it or just look at it?”
She chuckled. “Eat it, of course.”
His gaze intensified. “Looks like the perfect snack for watching the game. Mind if I turn it on?”
“Of course not. This is your cabin. You should do what you like.” She headed toward the seating group and placed the board on the low wood trunk that served as a coffee table. Aries came over to see the food and gave a panting smile of approval.
Hunt told him to sit, and he did. “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable by being inhospitable. We’re here together for the time being.”
She offered him a smile, but her stomach cramped at the thought of leaving. What had happened to make her so frightened of returning home? It must be very bad…enough that it nearly killed her.
As Hunt settled on the sofa and reached for the remote, she sat on the opposite corner with an entire cushion between them. Her mind wasn’t on football or the cracker she nibbled.
She slowly and methodically went through her office building, mentally assessing each and every person there. Did she have any enemies? She hadn’t stepped on any toes that she could recall. All her coworkers seemed to like her or at the very least treat her in a businesslike manner.
There was one guy, though…a man who’d been called in to work on the heating system. He’d eyed her up at the water cooler, and later had asked her out on a date. Freya had let him down easy—or so she believed. But what if her rejection invited his ire?
Her mind swung back to Colby.
He’d asked her out too, both in person when she ran into him at the store and over text messages. She shut him down every single time, not even bothering to word it kindly after the sixth or seventh time.
She flat out told him she wasn’t interested in dating him. Eventually, she warned him to stop asking her or she’d block him.
At which point he’d come back with a sad story about his life before he arrived at the Andersons’…