Hands On. Debbi Rawlins

It was only a question.”

      “Do you want the bathroom first?”

      “No, you go ahead.” Ignoring her curt tone, he added, “See, we can be pretty civil when we put our minds to it.”

      He signaled something with his eyes she didn’t understand. But it would have to wait. Nature called insistently. She slipped into the bathroom and closed the door. After she’d taken care of the important business, she splashed her face with water that wasn’t nearly as cold as her feet.

      What was she so nervous about? Everything was going smoothly. Mary Jane was a bit of an airhead, which worked to their advantage. From all reports, Bask shunned violence. If anything went wrong, and he got suspicious, he’d be the first one to hit the road.

      So why was she so edgy? Even if they were discovered, Dalton was here. He had a lot of experience. He could easily handle any physical confrontation.

      Oh, God. Talk about being an airhead. Dalton was the problem. No more denying it.

      She gave her face another dousing before she dried off. How could she possibly find that aggravating man so sexy? Sure, he had great biceps. With the way his polo shirt hugged his arms, anyone would notice. Just like the fit of his snug jeans. Of course she’d taken note of his great butt. Any red-blooded woman would.

      She groaned and threw the towel back on the rack. She’d have to get out both her hairbrush and toothbrush before she went downstairs. For now she combed her fingers through her hair. It hung limp from the humidity but she wasn’t trying to impress anyone. She gave it an extra fluff and then opened the door.

      Dalton was sprawled out across the bed. Not just on one side, but more in the middle. He grinned and patted the side closest to her. “Great mattress. Come try it out.”

      She swallowed. “I’ll flip you for it.”

      “Cassie…” He drawled her name like a warning.

      “Heads you get the bed. Tails you get the floor.”

      “Come on, honey.” Before she could respond, he put a silencing finger to his lips, and crooked his other one, beckoning her to come closer.

      She hesitated at first, but he looked serious, not like he was baiting her, so she carefully sat on the edge of the mattress. He shook his head and motioned for her to move closer. She inched in, and leaned toward him.

      He cupped the back of her neck and drew her close to his face. “I think the room is bugged,” he whispered.

      “Are you kidding?” She spoke too loudly and he put a finger to her lips. She had the ridiculous urge to suck it into her mouth, and she tried to move back.

      He held her firmly in place. “Come on, honey, just a quickie like the old days. Those people will still be down there.” And then in a voice so low she could barely hear, he said, “Just play along. Anything you have to say they shouldn’t hear, you’ll have to get real close like this and whisper.”

      He’d pushed back her hair, his lips brushing the side of her ear as he spoke. Goose bumps surfaced on her skin. She’d absolutely die if he saw them.

      “Where did you see the bugs?”