Chapter 4 #2
Unused to having others do the work for her, Bernie grabbed a towel and dried the dishes Gerard washed. Occasionally, Gerard’s arm brushed against hers, sending a burst of electricity through her system.
In no time at all, the bowls were stacked in the cabinet, utensils were in the drawer and the table was cleared and clean.
Bernie followed the men as they headed out the door and down the porch steps. All of them but one.
While most of the men piled into the vehicles parked between the house and barn, Remy paused at the bottom of the stairs. “When will you be back from the city?”
“No later than noon,” Bernie said. “If your men show up at twelve-thirty, I’ll have the trailer positioned in the field, ready to go.”
Remy nodded. “We’ll be there.” He turned to Gerard. “You need anything from the boarding house?”
Gerard shook his head. “I keep some basics in the storage compartment on my motorcycle.”
“And I’m sure I can find anything else you might need here to tide you over until we’re on our way back through town tomorrow,” Bernie said. “We can stop by the boarding house to gather anything else then.”
Gerard nodded.
“Then we’re out of here,” Remy said. “Call if you need anything or run into any trouble.”
“Will do,” Gerard said.
Moments later, the vehicles departed, taillights disappearing into the darkness, leaving Bernie alone with Gerard.
“I’ll be right back,” Gerard descended the stairs and crossed to where he’d parked his motorcycle beneath a tree.
Bernie shivered in the balmy night air, her thoughts pouring over the day’s events, starting with finding Gertrude dead on her front porch and ending with a man staying the night with her.
The stuff in between was what nightmares were made of.
Finding a human foot and receiving a death threat didn’t happen every day.
As Gerard turned around and strode across the yard in her direction, another shiver rippled through Bernie’s body.
This time, it was not from the startling and frightening events of the day but the sudden quickening of her pulse at the sight of the Marine’s broad shoulders and confident stride, eating the distance between them.
The closer he came, the more ragged her breathing became until she found herself holding her breath.
Gerard climbed the steps, his large frame towering over her, a small backpack in his hands.
Bernie didn’t consider herself a small woman. At five-foot-ten, she could look most men straight in the eye.
Not Gerard.
With him standing so close, she had to tilt her head back to meet his gaze.
He frowned down at her. “Are you okay?”
She let go of the breath she’d been holding. “Yes, of course,” she said, cursing inwardly at how breathy she sounded. “Why do you ask?”
“As I walked up to you, you looked...scared.” His frown deepened. “I hope you’re not scared of me. I promise I would never hurt you.”
She pressed a hand to her throat, afraid he could see how swiftly her pulse was beating and that he would guess that his nearness was the cause.
“I’m not afraid of you,” she said, avoiding the truth. She was afraid of her body’s reaction to him. The man awakened something deep inside her that she thought had died with her husband.
Raw, searing, hot desire.
Like a heater turned up full blast, her body burned from the inside out, radiating heat from every pore, an inferno blazing at her core.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” Gerard asked. “You look...”
Hot? Sex-starved? Desperate?
Sweet Jesus, she had to get a grip. “I look like I need a shower?” She forced a laugh.
“Yes. I do. I think I’ll get that shower.
Now.” She spun on her heels and marched her horny ass into the house, down the hallway, through the master bedroom and into the bathroom.
After she closed the door, she turned and locked it.
Not to keep him out but to keep her from begging him to join her.
She pressed her palms to her burning cheeks. “What is wrong with me?”
She was tired. That was it.
And stressed.
Who wouldn’t be after finding body parts and death threats? Her lust could be a way for her body to distract her from the real issues.
She reached into the shower and turned on the water, leaving it all the way in the cold position, determined to douse the errant flame before it burned out of control. Then she shed her clothes, dropping them on the floor around her feet.
For a moment, she stood naked, letting herself imagine what out-of-control might manifest into.
Like marching naked out of the bathroom and throwing herself at the man whose job was to protect her.
Or calling out to him for help and then trapping him in the bathroom, where she would strip his clothes off and run her hands all over his body.
Bernie moaned. “Enough.”
She stepped beneath the shower’s spray and gasped. Cold water pelted her skin. For several long minutes, she fought to catch her breath, gooseflesh pebbling her skin.
Slowly, the heat abated, leaving her shivering in the cold spray.
Relieved that the cool water had done the trick, she turned the handle, adding warm water to the shower head.
Then she worked shampoo into her hair and soaped her body, washing away the dirt and grime normal for a day’s hard work on the farm.
She ran her hands over her neck and arms, across her breasts and downward to the juncture of her thighs.
And just like that, she was on fire all over again.
Twisting the handle back to cold, she stood under the punishingly cold spray until all the suds disappeared down the drain, along with her desire, and she was clean.
Bernie shut off the water, grabbed a towel and attacked her skin, rubbing harder than necessary to dry herself.
She wrapped the towel around her and pushed the door open just enough so she could see through to the living room.
Damn. She’d left the bedroom door open.
She hadn’t brought a change of clothes into the bathroom with her. Which meant she had to pass in front of the bedroom door to reach her dresser with her clothes inside.
If Gerard happened to see her in her bedroom, wrapped only in a towel, so what? All the important parts were covered. She had nothing to be afraid of.
Unless her fingers slipped and the towel fell to the bedroom floor, exposing her naked body to the Marine.
Bernie tiptoed across the floor, holding the towel in one hand as she reached for the door to close it.
As her hand connected with the doorknob, Gerard appeared in front of her.
“Oh,” he said. “Sorry. I was just going to check to see if you were okay.” His gaze swept over her in a brief sweep from head to toe.
“You look...okay.” He swallowed, the muscles in his neck contracting.
“I’ll just leave you to finish.” Gerard grabbed the doorknob and pulled the door closed between them.
For a long moment, Bernie stared at the door, willing it to open again so that she could drop the towel and throw herself at the man.
The door didn’t open.
She dropped the towel anyway and debated whether to wear a bra or not.
Usually, she didn’t wear one at night. She opted for the bra, not wanting Gerard to think she was coming on to him.
Then she grabbed a T-shirt from one of her drawers and a pair of stretchy shorts.
Once dressed, she stared at the door again.
If she were smart, she’d leave the door closed and go to bed, avoiding temptation.
Yeah. Well, she wasn’t smart, and it wasn’t very late. If she went to bed now, she’d lay awake staring at the ceiling. She might as well watch TV in the living room and quit fanaticizing about sex with her bodyguard.
After dragging a brush through her hair, smoothing out all the tangles, she sucked in a breath and marched for the door.
Her hand on the knob, she breathed in, held it...
A knock sounded on the door, startling Bernie.
She let go of the breath she’d just sucked in, yanked open the door and faced the man who’d been on her mind for half the day.
He grinned and held up a bowl of popcorn. “Care to watch a movie with me?”
She frowned. “Depends on the movie.” That was a lie.
He was asking if she wanted to watch a movie with him.
Her answer was yes. The movie didn’t matter in the least. Unless it was a horror movie with things that jumped out at them and made her have nightmares.
In that case, she would have to sit quietly with her eyes closed throughout.
“It’s a romantic comedy,” he offered with a smile.
“Couldn’t you find an action-adventure movie?” Bernie asked.
“I thought you’d like to watch something light and funny to take your mind off some of the day’s events.”
“Light and funny wouldn’t keep my mind engaged. I need action, fight scenes, dodging in and out of trouble, being surprised at every corner.” She grinned. “That will keep my mind off today’s revelations.”
Gerard chuckled. “Action-adventure, it is.” He nodded toward the sofa. “Have a seat. What would you like to drink?”
“I can get it,” she said. “You don’t have to wait on me.”
Gerard handed her the bowl of popcorn. “It’s my pleasure. Just give me your order, and I’ll be right back with it.”
“I’d like a beer,” Bernie said. “I’d go for whiskey, but I want to remain half-aware and fully awake for all the action scenes.”
“Got it.” Gerard tipped his head toward the kitchen. “I hope you don’t mind that I made myself at home.”
“Not at all,” Bernie said. “Do you need help finding anything?” She started to follow him.
Gerard turned back. “Nope. I already found the popcorn and sodas. I saw beer in the fridge, cookies in the pantry and seasoning salt on the counter. What more do we need?”
Bernie grinned. “Sounds like you have it covered.”
“Find a seat, choose your poison in your favorite action movie. I’ll be right back.”