Yawning, she stood and stretched her hands over her head, feeling her body, feeling how her heart automatically centered around Roan. Shiloh touched her lips, remembering that life-affirming kiss she’d shared with him. Her heart wanted to be out with Roan at his cabin, working alongside him like the good team they were. She loved the cabin, loved the layout inside it. Roan had been creative in how he’d designed the rooms, leaving the kitchen and living room open-concept and airy. He was a man who clearly thought things out before starting a project.
Was she a project to him? Shiloh gathered up a clean set of jeans, an orange tank top, and socks, and walked down the hall to the bathroom to get a hot shower. Why had she kissed Roan? It had been a blinding, spontaneous action on her part. She had kissed him. Not the other way around. Groaning, Shiloh stepped into the bathroom and set her clothes on the small vanity. She gathered up her tangled mass of hair and plopped it into a knot on top of her head. Turning on the faucets, she looked forward to the water and the scent of the lilac soap she loved so much.
Even beneath the spray of water sluicing across her face and body, Shiloh couldn’t stop thinking, couldn’t stop feeling Roan’s mouth moving against her lips. The man knew how to kiss! Just thinking about it made her clench inwardly and her body go into an instant ache of yearning.
Her imagination took flight as she covered herself with the bubbles of the lilac soap across her arms. What would his long, roughened fingers feel like sliding across her flesh? How would she react? Shiloh could feel the fever of wanting him already making her breasts tighten. She felt restive, unsettled, needy and pining for his touch upon her.
By the time Shiloh emerged from the bathroom, she decided her wild imagination had full control over her physical body. Padding out to the kitchen, she saw a hand-scrawled note left on the counter. Picking it up, she read, “Shiloh, pancake batter in the fridge. Left some for you. R.”
Her fingertips tingled as she held the note. Her heart swelled. She sighed audibly and set the note aside. The man wasn’t selfish, that was for sure. Roan knew how much she loved pancakes. A soft smile played at the corners of her mouth as she opened the fridge and drew out the pitcher that held the batter. As Shiloh made herself a big stack of pancakes, her mind kept returning to the same question. Why was she afraid to step into a relationship with Roan?
As she slathered butter between the stack and then poured warm maple syrup over it, she frowned. Roan played for keeps. Was that what scared the hell out of her? Feeling she wasn’t capable of commitment but knowing Roan was built that way was the dilemma. As Shiloh hungrily dug into the pancakes, savoring the nutty flavor, the hint of cinnamon combined with the sweet maple syrup, she knew the problem was with her. She didn’t want to hurt Roan. He’d demonstrated consistently that he was a gentleman, that he was sincere and he cared about her. He was sensitive to her needs, too. Knew how to share. Was a team player.
She was in so such trouble.
Shiloh was surprised she finished off the pancakes, feeling as if she’d eaten too much, but thinking about or being around Roan always spurred her appetite. Both stomach-wise and sexually. He’d been right: She was terribly underweight. Six months of being stalked had made her feel like a trapped, frightened animal, confined to her apartment. Just surviving. She’d lost her appetite long ago.
Roan made her want to live again. To dream.
The realization hit Shiloh and shook her to her core as she sat at the table finishing off her third cup of coffee. Roan was vital. A man of the earth. He relished hard, demanding work. His body was ripped and she ached to explore every inch of him in her bed. Her mind kept going there with him. Shiloh knew from just that kiss, Roan would be an exquisite lover. He would take her to places she’d never known existed except in his arms, him inside her, him loving her until she melted like hot syrup all around him. Geez. She had it bad!
Standing, Shiloh was frustrated sexually and emotionally. She rinsed her dishes and put them in the dishwasher. Finishing off her coffee, she decided that keeping busy would get her mind off Roan and her lusting body. The house needed a good weekly cleaning. And it was her turn to do it, anyway. Right now, Shiloh wouldn’t be able to sit and create a thing. Putting some Band-Aids on her blisters, she got to work.
*
Sweat dripped off Roan’s brow as he sat up, resting against his boot heels and wiping his brow with the back of his arm. His stomach growled. It was noon. The sunlight was strong, lancing through the newly created railing he’d put up earlier. He liked the play of shadow and light, liked the dark bars sliding silently across the Trex porch.