* * *
Liam took Cate on a tour of the cabin’s perimeter after Callahan left, making sure she knew where every trap was located so she’d know where not to tread. Not that he had any intention of letting her wander around outside without his protection, but just in case...
They opened some cans and heated up the contents for dinner, then ate sitting on the front porch steps. As before, Cate sat silent and nearly still while she ate, but Liam could tell she appreciated the pristine beauty of her surroundings.
He did, too. He’d spent much of his adult life away from the mountains—first in the Marine Corps and then wherever the DSS posted him—but he’d grown up in the Rockies, and he hadn’t lost his love for mountain country. He wondered if Cate was as enamored of mountains as he was. She’d grown up in Zakhar—he knew that much from her cousin, Angelina, his new sister-in-law—and Zakhar was seemingly nothing but mountains, sort of like Switzerland. Still...
“Have you ever seen the Rockies?” he asked abruptly.
Cate glanced at him, hesitated, then said, “I was living in Denver when ICE arrested me,” she said. “Didn’t you know?”
He shook his head. “I know almost nothing about the circumstances surrounding your case. Alec didn’t tell me much of anything. Not until—” He broke off, unsure how much to reveal.
“Not until you were forced to become my bodyguard?”
Liam stiffened. “I wasn’t forced to do anything, Cate. I’m here because I choose to be here.” He held her gaze. “When it comes right down to it, I’m on vacation—you know that already. I could have just turned you over to Callahan and headed back to Denver if that’s what I wanted—Cody invited me to stay with my sister and him. But that’s not what I want.” He stood up, took her plate and utensils from her unresisting grasp and walked into the cabin before he could add, Wherever you are, that’s where I want to be. Because he wasn’t quite ready to admit that to her.
He placed the dishes in the sink, ran some hot water and added a little dish soap, then took his frustrations out on the dirty dishes. Hell, he told himself as he stacked the rinsed dishes on the dish rack to dry, it’s not just that you’re not ready to admit to her how much you care. You’re afraid she’s not ready to hear it. That she’ll never be ready to hear it.
For a man whose own family called him a knight-errant, it was devastating to realize his damsel in distress might not want to be rescued...by him.
* * *
Night had fallen. Cate showered and got ready for bed while Liam made a perimeter check. She’d known when he told her how long he’d be gone that he was doing it to give her some privacy, and she was touched by his thoughtfulness. The folding screen beside the bed would give her privacy, too. She’d argued with Liam about the cot he’d set up for himself near the fireplace, but she’d known even before she’d started it was a battle she was destined to lose. Despite the fact that he was bigger and taller than she was, he wasn’t going to take the bed, and that was that.
She was already tucked under the covers, reading one of the books he’d bought her that morning when she heard the front door open. “Don’t worry, it’s me,” Liam told her in the deep voice that resonated inside her in a way she’d never thought possible.
She tried to concentrate on her book, but she heard him move around the room even though he tried to be quiet about it. When he went into the bathroom she heard the shower running. If she was any other woman—any normal woman—she knew she’d be curious. Knew her imagination would be piqued by the idea of a naked man in the shower. No, not just a naked man. A naked Liam. Especially since she knew he’d be even more splendid naked than he was clothed...and he was pretty impressive clothed.
But she wasn’t a normal woman. And she could never have a normal woman’s reaction to a man—she knew that. She wished with all her heart things could be different for her. That she could let herself be touched in intimate ways and not tremble in fear and loathing. Part of her wanted Liam to touch her, kiss her, caress her. Part of her wanted Liam to want her the way a good man wanted a woman—with desire, but also with respect. But she’d told him the truth on the drive up here. She was afraid to try, because she couldn’t bear to fail. And even worse, she was afraid she’d freeze up or scream if Liam tried to make love to her. He didn’t deserve that. He deserved a woman who could let him touch her without fear.
Cate closed her book, turned off the lamp on the nightstand and tried to think of something else. But her eyes burned with unshed tears as traumatic memories came back to her, memories she desperately wanted to suppress...but couldn’t.