“Josh,” she squeaked. She cringed. “What are you doing here?”
She lifted her other hand to her chest, feeling exposed and vulnerable as she stood there. Topless. A rush of heat coursed through her when his blue-eyed gaze swept over her upper body. A muscle twitched in his jaw but he remained expressionless save for the quick spark of suspicion in his eyes. “Am I interrupting something?” he asked coolly.
“What?” She caught the implication and found herself stuttering. “No, uh, of course not. I was about to hop in the shower.”
His suspicion gave way to relief. “Oh.” He hesitated. “Can I come in?”
She had no idea what to say. The word no bit at her tongue but she also wasn’t thrilled about standing half-naked in front of her open door for the entire town to see. Finally she just nodded, wordlessly gesturing for him to come inside.
She closed the door behind them and turned slowly, looking at him. God, he was gorgeous. His dark hair was shorter now, almost a buzz cut, but it suited him, and the white button-down shirt he wore emphasized his broad chest and trim waist. He’d grown a slight beard too. The last time she’d seen him he’d been smooth and clean-shaven. Now dark stubble dotted his face, making him appear far older than he was.
But she knew better. He was young. Much too young. Fourteen years younger than her, to be exact.
“You look amazing, Viv.” His voice jarred her from her scrutiny, but he didn’t seem to mind that she was checking him out. He was doing the same, actually. Sweeping his gaze up and down her body before meeting her eyes.
Her reaction to his appreciative examination unnerved her. Her nipples hardened against the hands covering them and she found herself growing wet as she stood there, looking into the eyes of the man she’d almost slept with.
“Thanks,” she managed before taking a few jerky steps backwards. “I… Let me just put some clothes on.”
Her legs felt shaky as she made for the bedroom, but she forced herself to appear calm. Josh couldn’t know how much his nearness affected her.
In her room, she pulled random items of clothing out of the closet. Threw on a pair of jeans over her bikini bottoms and a black tank top over her bare breasts. Damn it, this was wrong. She shouldn’t be attracted to this man. He was Ellie’s brother. He was more than a decade younger than she was. He was…sinfully sexy.
Somehow during his sister’s engagement party Vivian had wound up in his arms. Afterwards she’d decided it had just been the champagne. Oh, and the fact that she’d been celibate for three years at that point in time. She’d latched onto the first warm-bodied male and it hadn’t mattered who said male happened to be. At least that’s what she’d always told herself.
Now? Well, now she was rethinking her rationalization. One look at Josh Dawson and she was ready to go to bed with him. She wasn’t drunk and she wasn’t all that horny, so that meant…
She didn’t even want to consider what that meant.
It took a few deep meditative breaths before she was ready to leave the room. When she did, she found Josh sitting on her couch, his hands clasped loosely over his lap. He glanced up when she entered, again eyeing her with that intense gaze she suspected was his trademark.
“So what brings you to town?” she asked, trying to sound cheerful. Before he could reply, she answered her own question. “Ellie, of course.”
When he nodded she was troubled by the pang of disappointment that hit her. It shouldn’t bother her that he hadn’t come to see her.
But it did.
“I want her to come home,” Josh said in a firm tone.
Vivian sank into the armchair farthest from the leather sofa, hoping the distance between them would slow her racing pulse. “Isn’t that why you sent Luke Russell?”
“I’m not sure he’ll have any luck.” Josh’s features creased with frustration. “We both know how stubborn my sister can be.”
She found herself grinning. “I would think you would’ve learned your lesson by now. You can’t make Ellie do anything she doesn’t want to do.”
“No kidding.” He looked rueful now as he met her eyes. “I need your help, Viv.”
“Me?” she echoed in surprise. Her surprise quickly transformed into suspicion, which made itself known in the form of a sharp frown. “I’m not getting involved, Josh. No way will I join forces with you to control your sister. I happen to care about Ellie.”
“And I don’t?”
He raked his fingers through his dark hair and Vivian’s fingers tingled in response. She still remembered how silky those short strands had felt between her fingers, when her arms had been twined around his neck and her hands tangled in his hair. She forced the memory away and tried to focus on the topic at hand. A difficult task when he sat just a few feet away from her.
“I love Ellie to death,” he continued, sounding gruff and far too sweet for Vivian’s comfort. “But she doesn’t belong here. We both know that.”