Midnight Thunder(INCR) by Vicki Lewis Thompson Page B

set of sheets and a blanket out of the laundry basket. He had no idea how true that was.
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5
    C ADE FOCUSED ON the job at hand as best he could with Lexi over there making up his bed. They’d never had sex on it because they could easily have been interrupted. Back then the cabin hadn’t been a particularly private spot.
    Today, though, it was extremely private. Plus, earlier she’d been ogling his butt. The vacuum made a fair amount of noise, but even so he would have heard the floorboards creak if she’d stepped outside to get the sheets. Those boards were loud, always had been. He and his brothers used to amuse themselves by dancing around the cabin playing those boards like a xylophone.
    But he hadn’t needed the lack of creaking boards to know she’d been standing there motionless while she watched him clean. He’d been able to sense her gaze on him from the first time they’d met. When he’d leaned over to get the far corner of the mattress, he’d picked up on her little gasp of pleasure, even with the vacuum going.
    That little gasp had sent a message straight to his groin. He had a whole slew of mental images that fit that sound, and in all of them she was naked. He’d nearly said to hell with the vacuuming. Now in addition to having a killer headache, his balls ached. If Lexi wanted to, she could help him with both issues, but several things had kept him from asking.
    First of all, he was supposed to be thinking about Rosie lying in the hospital. That was his whole reason for being here. Making love to Lexi would make him forget that, which seemed wrong.
    Also, he was beyond scruffy. He’d kissed Lexi once with this beard, and he didn’t plan to kiss her again until he’d shaved and showered. He was also worried that she’d reject him, and he wasn’t mentally in shape for that right now.
    Last of all, they had a job to do. Damon and Finn would be here in a few short hours, and he wanted the cabin to be ready.
    So instead of trying to seduce her, he’d settled for teasing her. She’d denied ogling him, of course, but they both knew the truth. He could still get her attention. He could build on that, and eventually maybe...No, he wouldn’t plan that far ahead and risk jinxing the whole program.
    They worked well together, but that was to be expected. They’d shared chores like this for years. When they’d been young teens, their cooperative efforts hadn’t been very smooth, but then they’d grown up a little. And he’d kissed her.
    From their first kiss on prom night, everything had changed. Suddenly they’d known what to do and how to be with each other. Even though they’d been virgins, sex had been amazing from the beginning. He hadn’t appreciated how rare that was until he’d slept with someone else.
    He shouldn’t be thinking about sex at all with Rosie in the hospital and no word yet about what was wrong with her. But Lexi was right here, her scent swirling in the air as she tucked in sheets and arranged blankets. He’d always felt nothing bad could happen when he was holding her. Good thing they’d never made love in this cabin or he’d be dealing with those memories, too.
    She had to stand on a desk chair to make the top bunk, the one Finn would use. Cade kept vacuuming, making sure he got all the nooks and crannies of the windowsills. But he sneaked glances over at her while he worked because she was too beautiful to ignore. She had cut her hair. It was a cap of curls instead of hanging down past her shoulders, but at least she hadn’t colored it.
    And boy, did she look terrific in jeans. She also looked great out of them. He’d spent many a night admiring the sleek curve of her hips as they tapered to silken thighs. And between those thighs... Ah, he’d spent many happy hours there, too.
    He’d loved everything about her—her sharp mind, her bossiness, her