An Officer and a Rebel: An Accidentally in Love Novella (Entangled Bliss) by Cindi Madsen

her hair, showing him the tiny blue flower on the back of her neck. “My mom and I got forget-me-nots right before she remarried. So we’d remember we’d always have each other, no matter what happened.”
    Nate brushed his fingertips across it, and she had the urge to show him all her tattoos. Especially the music notes on her thigh, the lace heart with purple roses on her shoulder blade, her newest one that said Believe in swirly print down her side. She’d gotten it so she could remember to believe in herself, whether it was her art or that she could move through her troubles and get the life she wanted.
    Of course there was no way to show him that one without dropping the towel.
    When she looked up at him, the desire in his eyes sent heat across her skin. “You know how beautiful you are, right?”
    Her stomach flipped.
    The lights flickered off again. She reached out and ran her hand up Nate’s arm. She trailed her fingertips up his neck, across his stubbled jaw. She brushed her thumb across his lips, a thrill going through her when he groaned.
    “You’re driving me crazy,” he whispered.
    “Good,” she whispered back. The world was so quiet she could hear every one of his shallow breaths, every thump of her fast beating heart. Instead of the dark feeling scary, it felt like a safe place they could be alone, the only two people in the world.
    “I…I need to make a call.” Nate opened the door to the room she was staying in, and the window opposite it let enough light into the hallway to see. She couldn’t help feeling like she’d just been rejected, even though she knew he was trying to do the right thing—what he thought was the right thing, anyway.
    She was fairly certain if she dropped the towel right now, she could change his mind. But she didn’t want to have to change his mind. She wanted him to think she was worth forgetting her past.
    As she brushed by him, he caught her hand. He lifted it to his lips, pressed a kiss to her knuckles and then turned and walked away.
    …
    Kelsey entered the room wearing a dark purple sweater that hung off one shoulder, showing off the stars he’d run his fingers along earlier. Even though she was dressed now, he kept picturing her in a towel, her large eyes lifted to his.
    She seemed hesitant, as though she wasn’t sure what to expect. She crouched by the fire, warming her hands as the flames lit up her pretty features, and Nate felt like an idiot for walking away.
    He’d tried to call Derek—the conversation would be awkward, but he’d talk to him man to man. Then at least he’d feel better about forgetting everything else and being with Kelsey the way he wanted to be.
    Of course his brother hadn’t answered—he’d always been hard to get ahold of, but lately it’d been even worse than usual. When Dad needed help on the farm, Derek was too busy. He’d taken two extra years to graduate college because he didn’t know what to do, and while Nate loved his brother, he couldn’t help feeling a stab of jealousy that once again, he always had to be the responsible one.
    The prettiest girl he’d ever seen—the one he’d liked for years—had looked at him like she wanted him, nearly drove him crazy with her touch, and he’d walked away. So now he was frustrated and feeling like a chump.
    Kelsey stood and brushed her hair from her face, making her sweater slip lower on her shoulder. “What are you doing, lazy butt? I was promised a Christmas tree.” She smiled at him, a smile that seemed to say she understood, and all it did was make him fall for her a little more.
    Yep, I’m a chump. But at least he’d managed to round up enough candles to light the room, in case the power stayed out, and it looked like it might for a while. They hadn’t even gotten a flicker since he’d been in the hall with her, practically drooling over seeing her in so little.
    He lifted the bowl of popcorn. “Good thing I popped this while you were in the shower.” His mind