Bare shoulder. Spaghetti strap.
Of course, because his luck was what it was, he realized belatedly that he hadn't included any pajamas when he’d brought her clothes to borrow.
Which meant she was sleeping in some of the lingerie that had been packed for her.
Thankfully it wasn't one of the teddies or corsets. But the pale blue silk camisole was still tiny. She was, thank God, covered with the sheet so he couldn’t see the matching panties. But he remembered them from when she’d tossed them on the duvet a few days ago.
His body heated and hardened and he averted his eyes and took a deep breath.
This had just gone from pretty creepy to creepy as fuck.
He really should just camp out on the floor in front of her door. Then he wouldn't have to wake her up. Or look at her dressed this way. But it still would mean Brantley and anyone else that might come looking for her would potentially put other people in jeopardy.
In the back of his mind, he knew that the chances of that were small. He didn't judge Brantley or even Caroline's brother Christopher to be hardened criminals. He didn't think they would get violent with anyone other than maybe him and even then, it would likely be provoked by him swinging first.
He also recognized in another tiny part of his brain that he was making up excuses to stay close to her.
Yes, as Beau had said, there was some suspicion and concern, but there was also attraction. Those three combined made it so that he felt the need to stay close to her. He wasn't going to worry about which of those three things was the strongest.
It was the middle of the night and Caroline was a stranger in town. Whether she was the one in trouble or the one potentially causing the trouble didn't really matter. For the time being, keeping Caroline Holland in sight and reach seemed the best course of action.
Zander knelt next to the bed and reached to brush her hair back from her face. Not because he wanted to touch her, but because it seemed the nicest way to wake her up gently.
That was his story and he was sticking to it.
“Caroline,” he said softly.
She gave a little sigh and wiggled slightly but did not open her eyes.
“Caroline,” he said a little louder, again brushing his hand over her cheek. “Wake up. It's Zander.”
Her mouth curved into a smile. But her eyes stayed shut. “Zander,” she said sleepily.
Well, that was a nice reaction. Whether she was fully conscious—which he doubted—or not, at least she wasn't freaking out.
“Wake up, Caro, I need to take you to my house.”
She moved her cheek against the pillow and took a little breath in and out. “Okay.”
Still, her eyes were shut, and Zander doubted she was actually awake.
“Come on, belle, need to wake up.”
Her eyes fluttered then and slowly opened. He was kneeling so they were face-to-face. She frowned slightly. “Zander?”
“Yeah. It's me. I need you to wake up and talk to me.”
He liked the fact that she recognized him so easily. He also liked the fact that she'd been sleeping so peacefully. He'd brought her to the bed and breakfast to keep her safe, but he loved the idea that she was comfortable enough here that she'd been able to fully relax. Now he felt bad about waking her up.
Well, maybe he didn't need to wake her fully. “Will you come with me?” he asked softly.
She nodded, her cheek brushing the pillow again.
“I’ll just carry you out to the truck and take you to my place for tonight, okay?” Zander clarified. “Just you and me. We’ll come back here tomorrow. Your stuff can stay here.” In the light of day, with more people awake and around—and with his cousin Spencer in town finally—he’d feel better about her being here at the B & B. Until then, he needed her with him.
“Okay,” Caroline said. She started to sit up.
It took Zander a second to respond. Partly because she’d agreed so easily. He liked that her natural instinct was to agree to trust him. He was practically a stranger, but in the middle of the night, she was still inclined to let him take care of her. But part of his hesitation was the way the sheet slipped down her body.
The camisole was…well, not meant to stay on the wearer’s body for long.
It was thin and silky, clinging to her breasts and showing off the hardened tips clearly. It also wasn’t long enough to meet the top of the matching thong, leaving a wide strip of smooth, pale skin between the lower lacy edge and the lace that trimmed the top of the low-cut thong. Even her belly button was sexy.
Then one of the straps slipped off her shoulder and Zander’s hand shot out just in time to keep the silk from falling away from her left breast.
She sucked in a quick breath as his hand suddenly cupped her entire shoulder. Her eyes flew up to meet his.
He quickly scooped the strap back into position. “Here.” His voice was harsher than he meant it to be as he yanked on the top sheet and wrapped it around her.
She didn’t say anything, but she let him bundle her up like she was a little girl and then urge her up off the mattress.
“Okay, cher, here we go,” he said, trying to gentle his tone. And not touch her again. And not think about her breasts and nipples. Which he hadn’t seen and yet could imagine clearly.
He escorted her to the door, but she tripped over the bottom of the sheet.
With a muttered curse, Zander bent and swooped her up in his arms. Having her warm, barely dressed body against his wasn’t going to help him get his thoughts into good-guy territory but it was going to get her into his truck and across town faster…and without any physical injury to her. He needed to focus on her. He could deal with himself later.
He got her into the passenger seat and even managed to get the seatbelt around her without further dirty thoughts.
They were pulling into his driveway when she finally spoke.
“Is everything okay?”
He looked over at her as he shut the truck off. “It is now.”
“Something happened?”
“Brantley showed up looking for you.”
She frowned. “Really?” She seemed genuinely surprised.
“Yes. But I don’t think he’ll be back.”
“Oh.” Her frown deepened.
“Did you…want to talk to him?” Zander asked. That hadn’t occurred to him. In fact, he’d been very certain that she would not want to talk to him.
“No. But why did you let him leave?”
“Because I want him out of my town and away from you.”
“Why didn’t you arrest him?”
Zander sighed. She was wide awake now. “For the lion cub?”
She nodded.
“I can’t arrest him for that. He was not in possession of the cub…or any other animals…when I saw him tonight.”
“But I told you that he gave me the lion.”
“And I’ve been in touch with the proper authorities.” Spencer really needed to get his ass down here. “They’re going to investigate. They’ll ask you all about it. But it’s not my jurisdiction.”
“When?”
“When what?”
“When are they going to talk to me about it?” she asked.
“Tomorrow. My cousin, Spencer, is with the FBI out of New Orleans. He’s going to come down and talk to you.”