LITMIR.BIZ

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      A snake!

      She froze, praying sleep deprivation had fueled her imagination. But when she glanced down again, it was still there. A huge slithering creature, coiling in the splash of water.

      Windy screamed, then jumped, her feet slipping and sliding on the slick white porcelain. Suds stinging her eyes, she climbed out of the tub. Still shrieking in blind panic, she snatched her robe and raced out the door.

      In the hallway she fumbled with the robe as her legs turned rubbery. Oh no! Not her robe. A towel. A lousy towel, which of course meant her robe was somewhere in the bathroom. With an enormous snake.

      Shivering, Windy wrapped the towel around herself. What if that reptile was a rattler or a man-eating python? She’d heard stories on the news—snakes who’d attempted to eat people, swallowing their limbs whole.

      Modesty be damned. She clutched the towel and headed straight for Sky’s room.

      Two

      “Skyyyy!”

      He shot straight up from a deep sleep, blinking and squinting, trying to focus on the frantic woman screaming in his bedroom. Instantly he panicked.

      “Is the house on fire?”

      “No!” Windy pranced around nervously. “There’s a snake in the bathtub! A snake!”

      Relieved, he sighed, then fell back onto the bed, his rapid heartbeat stabilizing. “It’s okay, honey, that’s just Tequila. She won’t hurt you.”

      “Tequila?” Her mouth fell open. “You mean that thing is some sort of pet? That horrid, slimy thing?”

      Sky sat up, pushed several stray hairs away from his face and evaluated Windy with an irritated frown. Tequila wasn’t a “thing.”

      A moment later he found himself amused. There she was, dancing around, dripping water onto the hardwood floor, while struggling to keep the towel on with one hand and wiping shampoo suds off her forehead with the other. He bit down on his bottom lip to suppress laughter and watched her bat away another stream of suds. He almost felt sorry for her. Almost. The woman had insulted Tequila.

      “Dang you, Sky,” she shrieked. “I can’t believe you brought a snake into this house. A snake. My God, that thing is as big as me. I could have had a heart attack.”

      “I told you last night I was puttin’ her terrarium in the living room.”

      “I thought you were talking about a plant terrarium. Or a fish aquarium.” She narrowed her watery eyes. “If I had known you meant a snake…oh…just get that thing out of the bathroom.”

      “All right. Calm down, okay?” He slid out of bed and strode past her, reaching for the front tie on his low-riding shorts. What a way to begin the day—his gray sweat shorts nearly falling off his hips while his sexy roommate stood wrapped in a towel.

      The bathroom check proved futile. He turned off the water, grabbed Windy’s robe and returned to find her hopping up and down, alternating feet. He withheld a grin. Did she think the snake would bite her toes?

      “Tequila’s not in the bathroom. At least not that I could see, but there was a hole in one of the cabinets.” A hole leading to the wall interior, he’d noticed. “I can’t patch it till I find her, though. She might have slipped through it.”

      Windy’s sniffling grew louder, warning the threat of tears. “What am I going to do?”

      Aw shoot, Sky thought, she was gonna cry. He held out her robe and turned away, even though he would have enjoyed watching her towel fall. Watery eyes and soapy hair didn’t detract from Windy’s figure. Although her legs weren’t long, they boasted a slender shape, with just the right amount of muscle tone. Sky glanced up at the beamed ceiling, deciding it best not to envision her breasts swelling beneath that flowery-printed towel. Having her in his room proved difficult enough. She brought a feminine glow to the otherwise dark, masculine surroundings. The tall oak dresser and navy-blue bedspread would never be the same.

      She sniffed again. “You can turn around now.”

      Her fuzzy pink robe made him smile. He could almost imagine her wearing a pair of big, fluffy slippers to match. The forlorn expression on her face was hard to swallow, though. He knew Tequila was responsible for her distress. Of course, if Tequila was at fault, then so was he. That knowledge was even harder to swallow.

      She hugged herself as if to ward off snake-induced goose bumps. “Will you come in the bathroom with me and stand guard? I have to rinse my hair.”

      “Me? Stand guard?” The guy lusting after you?

      She gave a tight little nod. “I can’t go back in there by myself. What if the snake is hiding? She might attack me.”

      Tequila wouldn’t attack a mouse, he thought. Okay, a mouse, but not a woman. ’Course, she might be hiding in the drywall somewhere, it was kind of a game he and the snake played. Reptile hide ’n’ seek. “Are you that scared?”

      She nodded again. “Please, Sky.”

      His pleaded name on her lips was all the encouragement he needed. Fear never sounded sweeter. He wanted to scoop her up in his arms, imaginary bunny slippers and all. “Okay.”

      Windy tightened her robe. “First I’ll have to get dressed.”

      He cocked his head. “Huh?”

      She squinted through red-rimmed eyes, sounding quite prim and proper. “I’m going to wear my swimsuit in the shower.”

      Unable to control himself, Sky erupted into a fit of boisterous chuckles. Adorable and naive didn’t begin to describe her. He didn’t normally keep company with innocent little blondes wrapped in cotton-candy robes. “You’re somethin’ else, Pretty Windy.”

      Rather than share his mirth, she clenched her teeth. “Don’t you dare laugh at me. This is all your fault. You and that snake.”

      Sky sobered, even though he still felt like grinning. She had no idea how sweet she was. The girlish burst of temper made her look like a hissing kitten trapped in a giant robe, claws bared, matted fur drenched with shampoo. “Sorry. I have sort of a warped sense of humor. I usually laugh at all the wrong times.”

      She snorted in indignation. “A snake in the shower isn’t funny.”

      “Not to you maybe, but I bet your grandchildren will hoot and holler over it.”

      Slowly a tiny smile worked its way across Windy’s lips. “I suppose you’re right about that.” Quickly the smile faded. “But you have no idea how much I hate snakes. I’ve heard stories on the news about pythons, about how they—”

      “Tequila’s a boa,” he interrupted, thinking both pythons and boas made fine companions. “And I swear she won’t hurt you. She likes people.”

      Windy didn’t seem convinced. “Will you wait outside my bedroom door while I put my bathing suit on?” She nibbled her lower lip and cast him a nervous glance. “Just in case.”

      In case what? The snake attacked her? Windy darted into her room, and Sky crossed his arms and leaned against the door. Tequila was harmless. He was the one capable of an attack. After nearly a year of celibacy, the warrior blood was boiling, running through his veins in hot, hungry surges.

      About three minutes later she opened the door.

      “I’m ready.” Pink robe in place, she strode past him.

      He followed closely behind.

      Too closely. When Windy hesitated at the bathroom door, her abrupt halt caught him off guard. Like an oversize oaf, he bumped right into her.

      She gasped and he brought his hands forward, fisting her robe to steady her. Damn. He almost had Pretty Windy in his arms again. Almost. Just ease closer, press your face against the bubbles on her neck,

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