Okay, yeah she needed to get over herself—and Josh—now.
Carefully she walked to her bedside table, pulling open the top drawer and searched around until her fingers curled around the tiny Mag flashlight her brother Mac had given her a few years ago. Clicking it on, she exited her bedroom and headed down the stairs.
Toward the living room.
Toward Josh.
…
He was sweating. Not a surprise, considering that’s what Mindy did to him every time he got close to her. Something about the scent of her hair, the way she looked at him, her mouth curved in that secretive smile, her eyes sparkling…
Josh had always wanted to know the meaning behind that mysterious smile, what exactly had put that sparkle in her gaze. The urge to touch her, whisper in her ear, coax her to reveal all of those delicious little secrets she held so close to her chest nearly drove him crazy with lust.
Hence the sweating. Because damn, it was hot in here. Stifling. He tugged at the neck of his long-sleeved Henley, wishing he could take it off but he didn’t want to freak Mindy out. Bad enough she was so nervous, having him in her house after all this time.
Not that she was around. Nope, she was locked up safe in her room, which was probably best. That dream he’d had…holy hell. Talk about making him sweat. Yeah, it had been a while since he’d slept with a woman but he’d been busy at work. This time of year was the worst for his line of business, besides the summer. Candles left burning in unusual—and forgotten—places, dried-out pine trees with the Christmas lights turned on day and night, old strings of lights outside with bad wiring. All of that added up to fire hazards just waiting to ignite.
And they always did. Big-time.
So yeah. No sex, no women. All work, work, work led to Josh having sweaty sexy dreams about a sexy, sweaty, and very naked Mindy pinned beneath him in the middle of a giant bed. Her long legs wound around his hips, his mouth fused with hers, her hands smoothing all over his back as she whispered encouraging words in his ear.
“Josh.”
Her sweet voice reached him, and he rolled over with a sigh. What was a dream and what was reality? His head was swimming, full of images and memories, thoughts and words and flashes of Mindy’s smile. It had been awkward at first earlier but they’d gotten over it surprisingly quick. Made him think that just maybe he could have a second chance with Mindy if he played his cards right.
“Josh.” A gentle nudge on his shoulder, making him grunt. “Wake up.”
What the hell? Why would she want to wake him up? He was in a languid half-asleep, half-awake state that was pretty damn pleasant. No worries, no old hang-ups keeping him wary. And no way did he want to be fully conscious yet. That meant he had to face reality.
Who wanted to do that?
“Oh my God, you were always a heavy sleeper. How could I forget this?” This time the nudge wasn’t so gentle. And it wasn’t a nudge either. More like a full-on shove. “Wake up, damn it.”
His lids snapped open as if they had a mind of his own and he turned his head to find Mindy sitting on the edge of the sofa, nestled up all close and snug to his once prone, now fully awake and stirring self. “Mindy?”
“Who else would it be?” The sarcasm in her voice was thick. And she sounded irritated.
“Everything okay?” He sat up slowly, his body dragging beside hers and sending a scattering of tingles all over his skin. The awareness he always felt around her had shifted into hyperdrive and he thought about scooting away from her to break that connection.
But he decided not to. Besides, the couch was too damn narrow. May as well use it to his advantage.
“No. The power’s out.” She huffed out an indignant breath. “I can’t believe this happened.”
He certainly could. This sort of thing happened all the time when a snowstorm blew in, and this one was a doozy. “We’re lucky it held out this long.” There wasn’t anything he could do about it except wait it out like the rest of the residents of Lone Pine Lake. “We’ll be all right, Min.”
“We’ll get cold after a while. Don’t you think?” She watched him quietly. Making him feel all nervous and itchy.
“Probably.” He ran a hand through his hair, making a mess of it and not really giving a crap. “Maybe we’ll have to snuggle up together and share each other’s body heat.”
Now that sounded like a fine idea. One he hoped Mindy could get on board with.
“You think it’ll get that cold?” Her voice went up a notch. She still hadn’t left her perch from the couch and he was half tempted to pull her in even closer and start sharing his body heat with her now.
“It might. Though you look pretty warm already.” He dropped his hand from the back of his neck, studying her. She looked adorable in a thick, old sweatshirt that reminded him of his earlier comparison to one, her hair piled on top of her head in a blond mess. She also looked nervous. Maybe he made her uneasy. And that was the last thing he wanted to do. “You should probably go back to bed, Mindy. There’s not much we can do tonight but bundle up and wait it out. We’ll reassess in the morning.”
“I don’t want to go back to bed. My room is freezing.” When he sent her a questioning look she explained, “This house is old and drafty. The windows upstairs are the worst. Lets in all the cold air and the hot, making it the coldest room in the winter and the hottest one in the summer.”
“Sounds miserable,” he muttered, his mind racing. What exactly did she want to do? Stay down here in the living room with him? He didn’t mind that. Not like they could share the couch comfortably though. His six-foot-one frame took up the entire thing but maybe she could sleep on top of him.