Melt (Steel Brothers Saga 4)

His shirts and pants were hung up neatly, jeans were folded nicely on the shelf, and his shoes were stacked on shelves, including oversize ones for several pairs of cowboy boots.

A throat cleared behind me.

I turned, embarrassed. I had been violating his personal space. I walked out of the closet. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For…nosing around your closet.” I looked around the room again. “This is a gorgeous bedroom.”

“It serves its purpose,” he said.

“How big is this house?”

“About three thousand square feet.”

I gasped.

“It’s a lot smaller than the house where Talon and Marj live. That’s the main house, where our parents lived. Where we lived when we were growing up.”

“So why don’t you live there?”

He shrugged. “I just wanted my own place. A place where I could escape. I wanted my own pool, where I could swim whenever I wanted, even in the dead of night, without anyone questioning me.”

“That’s right. You like your alone time. And you like the water.”

He nodded. “In fact, I could go for a swim now. Would you like to join me?”

“Is it warm enough?” Colorado Indian summers were typical, but I wasn’t sure whether it was hot enough to be dousing ourselves in water outdoors. We were nearing October.

“The pool’s heated, and if you get too cold, we can get into the hot tub instead.” He handed me a glass of iced tea.

I took the tea and sipped it—nice, crisp, and tannic under my tongue. I looked down at the towel that was still wrapped around me. “I don’t have a suit.”

“This is my private home. Who needs suits?” He grinned at me lasciviously.

My cheeks warmed, and I looked down. My chest was turning ruddy.

“No need to be embarrassed, Melanie. In case you forgot, I’ve seen you naked a time or two.”

I laughed softly. Why on Earth was I embarrassed? “We just took a shower. We’ll get all covered in chlorine.”

“Are you allergic to chlorine or something?”

“No. But it does dry out my skin.”

“Well, you know what the weirdest thing about my shower is?” he said.

“What’s that?”

“We can use it more than once a day.” He took my hand, squeezing it. “Come on. I want to show you my pool.”

“I can’t go out in the towel.”

He walked to his closet and brought out a silk robe. “You can wear this.”

He helped me into the black satiny garment. It was horribly large on me, but the fabric felt cool and soft against my skin. I inhaled. It smelled like Jonah. It smelled like heaven.

“Now what are you going to wear?”