“My hockey team has seen me naked,” he added helpfully.
“Yes, but they were naked too.” Somehow it made a difference.
“Sweetheart?” He cupped his hand under her chin and caressed her face. “Everyone has seen naked people before. They’ll get over it. Want to know what I won’t get over?”
“What?”
“You and your hair all wet down your back and that fierce look on your face like you were ready to mow down anyone who got in your way.”
“I thought they were going to hurt you.”
He dipped his head and touched his lips to hers, a firm press of warm flesh that sent a sigh through her. Gently, he parted her lips to go deeper. She swayed against him, feeling desire stir again.
“Thank you,” he murmured. “I know who to hire if I ever need a bodyguard.”
She smiled against his lips. It was amazing how everything felt fine now. It didn’t even bother her anymore that she’d flashed her old coworkers.
Darius reluctantly pulled away. “Now where do you safely stash that damn thing? And where are your clothes? Do you want me to tell them to leave?”
“Only if they leave the cake and champagne behind,” she said cheekily as she kneeled down to search through her suitcase. “I think I’ve earned it.”
She rummaged for an outfit to put on—the less revealing, the better. She’d put on enough of a show for one night.
“How did they even know I was here?” she wondered aloud. “Only the key players were supposed to know.”
“I was asking them the same thing. Apparently Danisse is dating someone from billing at Cotton and Bryant. They were having lunch in his office and she caught sight of a hotel invoice and put it together. She feels terrible now, but she swears that no one else knows. To be safe, we should find somewhere else to stay tonight.”
“Damn it.” She pulled on some yoga pants and an extra-large, extra-baggy hoodie. “I was really looking forward to more time in that bed with you.” With a wistful smile, she tugged her wet hair into a ponytail and straightened her shoulders. “Well, off to face the mockery.”
He touched a hand to her shoulder, forcing her to pause on her way out the door. “You’ve got a brave heart, Kate. I won’t forget how you jumped out like that.”
That gentle compliment warmed her from the inside out. When Darius spoke, she believed him. And she couldn’t say that about very many people in this world.
By the time Kate’s law firm crew left around one in the morning—after sharing so much gossip his head spun—they only had a few hours left before their flight. So they headed straight for the airport. Darius didn’t relax until they were safely through security and waiting in the nearest first-class lounge for their flight.
Kate snoozed with her head on his shoulder, while he eyed everyone who walked through the door of the lounge. Years of overnight shifts had gotten him used to nights without sleep. He certainly wouldn’t be able to close his eyes until he knew for sure that Kate was safe.
Maya was right. Kate had a knack for getting into trouble. At the same time, she possessed a fearlessness he respected.
He sorted through all the things he’d learned about her on this short trip. She’d emancipated herself from her lawless father at the age of seventeen. She’d taken charge of her own education and put herself through law school. Then she’d sacrificed her career in order to protect her father. She’d put herself at risk by agreeing to testify against the people still out to get her. And then she’d jumped out naked with a can of bear spray when she’d thought he was in danger.
She was really something else.
And he’d do whatever it took to get her back to Lost Harbor safely.
He’d also do whatever it took to get her into another bed. Say, in his apartment. Or hers. Or both. One after the other. Both in the same night. Whatever worked.
But when they got back to Lost Harbor, would things go back to how they were before? Would it be as if this trip had never happened? Arguments over hot water and occasional hellos in the driveway?
And what did he really want from Catriona Robinson? His body was all-in. But his experience said “keep it simple.”
His heart…
Lucky for him, that wasn’t a factor. Not any more.
Chapter Twenty
They didn’t get back to Lost Harbor until midday, and Darius had to go straight to the firehouse when they landed. Kate gave him a yawn and a brief acquaintance-type hug before hopping into her car and dropping him off at the station. They’d both slept on the plane and neither was in the right state of mind to discuss anything beyond peanuts or pretzels.
Or maybe it had all been a crazy dream, the kind you could barely believe the next day.
The firehouse was nearly deserted when he got back. He’d gotten word that Nate and a crew were responding to a grease fire at the Nightly Catch. The quiet unnerved him after all the noise of the big city. Sunbeams floated through the stained glass lunette of a fire truck on the front door, and the distant whir of a power tool told him someone was working in the apparatus bay.
He sat behind his desk and stared blankly at his computer. It didn’t seem quite real; none of this did. He should boot up and work through the backlog of emails that he’d ignored during the trip. But instead, images of Kate kept floating through his mind.
Kate stretched out naked in bed in that silk blouse and red panties. Kate coming apart under his touch. Kate jumping out from the bathroom naked and brandishing bear spray.
He nearly jumped out of his own skin when Maya knocked on the doorjamb and poked her head into his office.
“Jesus, Maya. A little warning next time.”
Frowning, she came into his office and plopped a folding chair next to his desk. “You seem a little jumpy, Chief. Why would I have to warn you before I knock on your office?”
Of course she didn’t have to do that. He had an open-door policy—mostly because he didn’t even have a door. It had come off its hinges during the previous chief’s administration and never been replaced. On his first day as fire chief, as a joke, the volunteers had installed a beaded curtain instead of a door.
That had lasted about half a day, until he’d nearly gotten blinded by a bead to the eye.
“Sorry, I didn’t get any sleep last night. The only reason I’m here is that Nate’s out on a call. What’s up?”
“How was your trip to LA?” she asked neutrally.
“Are you asking as a professional colleague or as Kate’s friend?”
“Little of both. Mostly as Kate’s friend. I know something’s going on that she doesn’t want me to know about.”
“So you’re doing an end run around her and asking me?” he said dryly. “Sorry, you know me better than that. Her business is her business.”
“Unless it’s the town’s business.” She fixed him with a strict stare. “If there’s anything I should know for public safety purposes, you need to tell me.”
He hesitated. He supposed it was possible that the Kramer minions could have tracked Kate to Lost Harbor. Ethan James had done it, after all.
“I agree, Chief. If anything like that comes up, I’ll tell you.”