The Past Between Us by Kimberly Van Meter Page A

breath tickling the tiny hairs on her neck, he dropped off as if they were lazing in a cabana somewhere enjoying a siesta before dinner.
    Which they certainly were not.
    She held herself stiff and rigid, not wanting her backside to touch his front but that got uncomfortable quickly so when she was certain he was asleep, she allowed herself to relax, settling against the solid warmth of his chest and snuggling into the heat that emanated from his body. It wasn’t long before she dropped off and slept like a rock for the first time in years.
    She awoke with a start, panicked when she didn’t recognize her surroundings and then groaned when her arm started to tingle from sleeping on her side all night.
    Tommy rolled to his back in his sleep and she yelped when he took her arm with him. He came to with a grogginess that might’ve been adorable if she hadn’t been in pain. “Tommy, wake up, you’re killing my arm,” she snapped. She’d never been a morning person even under the best of circumstances. She’d expected him to move or get up but he did neither. Instead, he picked her up and rolled her on top of him. “What are you doing?” she exclaimed, knocking him in the chest with her free hand. Then, he seemed to finally wake up and he looked chagrined to find where he’d perched her. She scooted off him and he held up his manacled hand to give her more room.
    “Sorry,” he mumbled, sleep roughing his voice. He scrubbed his face with his free hand and seemed to shake off the cobwebs.
    Damn. Why did he have to be so handsome? He grabbed the key and unlocked the cuff from his own wrist but kept hers on. She frowned at him. He responded with a shoulder shrug. “Trust, remember? We need showers. How do you want to do this?”
    She blinked, heat flooding her cheeks and other places at the thought. “What do you mean?”
    “Well, if I shower that’ll leave you unattended. And there’s nothing in this place to handcuff you to that you couldn’t bust free from. Everything here is made of flimsy wood that would shatter easily. So, I ask again…how do we accomplish basic hygiene?”
    “You are not going to stand next to me while I pee,” she said, balking. “Or anything else for that matter.”
    He laughed. “The bathroom doesn’t have any windows for you to crawl out of so I think it’s okay to allow you some privacy there. The question is what do I do with you while I shower?”
    “Maybe you’ll just have to make the sacrifice and go without,” she countered sweetly.
    “I wouldn’t be the one making the sacrifice. I’m a guy. I can go without a shower for days but I’ve been told the female nose is far more sensitive to those social niceties.”
    She made a face. Eww. He had a point. Especially if he planned to continue their sleeping arrangements the way they were last night. She lifted her chin and tried a disinterested shrug. “It’s nothing I haven’t seen before. If you’re so worried about me escaping I guess you can handcuff me to the toilet while you shower.”
    She was a damn fine actress. The very thought of sitting docilely while he showered was enough to set her teeth on edge. By the way he grinned, she wondered if he saw through her bluff and enjoyed pushing her to catch her reaction. Well, two could play that game. She studied her fingernail. “Or we could just be adults about it and conserve water by showering together,” she suggested.
    He looked ready to bolt and she privately crowed. Don’t run with the big dogs if you’re still whizzing like a puppy. She smothered a smirk as he glowered. “That’s not going to happen,” he said.
    She shrugged. “Whatever. Your loss.”
    He unlocked her cuff and she rubbed at the chafed skin as he gestured toward the bathroom. “Go do what you need to do. I have some phone calls to make,” he said.
    “What about you?” she asked innocently as she sauntered to the bathroom.
    “I’ll go without today,” he muttered, and she closed the