Heat of the Moment by Robin Kaye Page B

stepped out of the shower, and dried off, all the while trying to keep his thoughts off of Erin sleeping just down the hall.
    His stomach grumbled, reminding him that he hadn’t eaten since breakfast. He tied the towel around his waist and considered checking out the leftovers, but couldn’t scare up the energy. No, he needed to sleep, so he grabbed his toothbrush, squeezed too much toothpaste onto it, and took his frustration out on his teeth.
    When he opened the bathroom door, he walked right into a very sleepy Erin. Her hair was all over the place and her oversize boxers were slightly twisted as if she’d been tossing and turning.
    â€œYou’re home. I heard the water running and I thought it was Janie.” Her gaze traveled from his feet, pausing at the waist, and then continuing slowly up to his face. “I came to check on her.”
    â€œI’m sorry I woke you.” It was a lie. Waking her was the highlight of his day, but he hoped she was too tired to notice. Still, the sight of her all warm and sleepy and sexy, with those boxers hanging crookedly off her hips, made it a pretty sure bet he would be doing anything but sleeping soundly.
    â€œIt’s really late.”
    God, she was beautiful. “You should go back to bed.”
    She shook her head—her hair flying around her face. “That’s not what I meant.”
    â€œOkay, what did you mean?” Was she trying to kill him or give him reason to become hypothermic? He couldn’t help himself; he tucked the strand of hair that fell in her eyes behind her ear. She didn’t shy away. Progress.
    â€œI’ve been worried. You’ve been gone so long—longer than usual. The investigation—was it bad?”
    â€œIt was as bad as they get. Arson and murder. We don’t have enough information to know if it was premeditated.”
    â€œOh, Cam. I’m sorry.” She ran a hand down his arm, slipping it into his palm and squeezing.
    â€œI needed to get the report to the detective taking over the case so I didn’t hold up the investigation.”
    â€œAre you okay?”
    He’d never had anyone worry about him before—well, he supposed his dad worried about the physical job, but not about how any of them felt. Men were supposed to buck up and take it. He hated that he’d worried her, but he loved that she’d cared enough about him to worry. He didn’t release her hand, and it was all he could do not to pull her into his arms and crush her against him. She looked fragile, and as she stared at him, her eyes glassed over like she was fighting tears. God, she was sweet. “I’m fine.”
    She stepped closer and looked up at him as if she were trying to decide whether or not to believe him. “Are you sure?”
    Hell no, he wasn’t sure. He took a deep breath of Erin-scented air, and all he knew for sure was that he wanted to wrap his arms around her and bury his nose in her hair, her neck, her cleavage. He’d thought he was fine, but maybe he’d been wrong. Standing half naked in the hallway, whispering to her and holding her hand, loosened what he thought were permanent knots in his neck and shoulders. Stress he hadn’t realized he’d carried slipped away, only to be replaced by a very different kind of tension. Damn, he needed to get away from her bedroom eyes, sexy tank top, crooked boxers, and long, long, long legs. The woman was enough to tempt a eunuch. “I’ll survive.”
    â€œDo you want to talk about it? Have you eaten? I can heat up your dinner or fix you an early breakfast.”
    â€œThanks, but no. We both need to—” Go to bed. Together. And not get a wink of sleep for the next few hours. But since that couldn’t happen again, he blew out a breath. “Get some sleep. Janie will be up with the birds.”
    â€œCam.” She reached over and cupped his cheek in her hand, while her other hand squeezed