Chapter 3 Maya
MAYA
Imuttered under my breath as I climbed into my truck and gunned the engine.
How dare he look like that? So fucking hot, with a crisp white towel slung low on his hips, his dark hair gleaming from the shower he’d clearly just stepped out of. Naked. Because, of course, he was naked. Why would he shower with his clothes on?
Fuuuuuck.
My knuckles were white on the steering wheel as I turned onto the main highway, toward the national park. Every time I loosened my fingers, my brain served up another image. Nate in a towel. Water droplets sliding down his chest. Those ripped abs.
The flicker of heat in his eyes when I’d straightened in front of the wardrobe.
Nate O’Hare had checked out my ass, and I did not know what to do with that information.
I pressed harder on the accelerator.
This was ridiculous. I was a grown woman. A professional. I’d had boyfriends, relationships, an entire life that had nothing to do with Nate. And yet here I was, rattled to my core because I’d seen the man half-naked in a bathroom.
My bathroom. In my childhood home. Where he was now sleeping in my bed.
A sound somewhere between a groan and a growl tore from my throat.
The worst part wasn’t even the way my body had reacted.
It was that he’d noticed. He’d definitely noticed.
And instead of being embarrassed or apologetic, he’d just stood there, blocking the doorway, flicking my badge like we were old friends.
Like he had any right to be that casual with me after a decade of radio silence.
Put some clothes on, why don’t you?
God, I was such an idiot.
I pulled into the ranger station lot way faster than I should have. Deep breath. Another one. I was at work now. This was my domain. Nate and his stupid, perfect chest had no power here. Still, I needed two more deep breaths before my pulse settled enough to open my truck door.
The station was quiet when I walked in. I dropped my bag on my desk and made a beeline for the coffee machine, grabbing a to-go cup from the stack.
“Morning, sunshine.”
Brody leaned against the jamb with a mug in hand. Burly, red-haired, and blue-eyed, he looked like a lumberjack who had wandered into the office by accident.
“Good to have Nate back, huh?”
I gave him a flat look. “Don’t start with me, Brody.”
He took a slow sip of his coffee. “Just like old times.”
I cursed the warm flush creeping up my neck at the simple mention of Nate’s name. Dark liquid filled my cup, the smell of cheap coffee grounds doing absolutely nothing to calm my mood.
He chuckled. “What bug crawled up your ass?”
I snapped the lid onto my cup and spun around to face him. “Take a long walk off a short pier.”
He let out a low whistle, his mug halfway to his lips. His undisguised amusement was way too much to deal with this early in the morning.
“I’ve got a tour group in twenty,” I said flatly.
“That you do.”
I grabbed my hat from the hook by the door and headed out before he could say anything else. Cool, clean morning air hit my face. I pulled in a deep lungful as I stalked toward the trailhead.
This was fine. Everything was fine. I just needed to stop acting like a teenager with a crush and remember that I was a grown woman with a life and a career and absolutely no reason to be this rattled by a man in a towel.
A very small towel.
God fucking dammit.