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Rae
“Time for bed,” Ash yawns half an hour later.
I drink the beer I’ve been nursing at the patio table while the guys kicked the ball around, trading stories and jokes.
“What’s Barney chewing on?” I ask, realizing the dog has been quiet since knocking me over, content to lie in the corner and ignore both the ball and me.
“Oh bollocks.” Ash cringes.
I cross to the dog and pull a pair of panties out of his mouth. “Seriously? You stole my clothes and fed them to Barney?”
“I stole. He fed.” Harrison glares at his brother. “Did you not take her bag up to my room like I told you?”
“I thought she’d like to make up her own mind about you.”
“Thanks. I think.” I frown as I stare at the mangled fabric.
“I’m going to take a shower before bed. Raegan, I’ll put your bag upstairs. You two sleep well.” Ash disappears into the house, followed by a whining Barney.
It’s just Harrison and me.
I drain the last of my beer and grab the other bottles from the table. “When I left, you were ready to beat the crap out of your brother. What changed?”
Harrison waits for me to go ahead of him into the house, and I try to ignore his physicality. He’s as strong as ever, naked to the waist, tan, carved muscles. His beautiful eyes track me, his cut jaw twitching.
“I asked him a question. He answered correctly.”
Inside, I turn so fast he bumps into me. “Whether I slept with your brother is none of your damn business.”
He takes the bottles from my hands and continues toward the kitchen, chuckling under his breath. “That’s not what I asked.”
The sound of water comes on upstairs. Ash.
“What’s so funny?” I call after Harrison, not bothering to keep my voice down now that his brother is occupied.
“It’s nothing.” He deposits the bottles by the sink before returning. “I’m going to clean up here.”
I’m surprised, but instead of commenting, I go upstairs and find my bag in my old room. Unzipping the suitcase, I retrieve my toiletries and some pajamas before realizing Ash is in the second full bathroom.
Harrison’s still downstairs, so I head into his bathroom. When I get there, I brush my teeth and wash the makeup off my face. I turn to hang the washcloth on the towel rack, noticing pieces of grass and stuck to the butt of my outfit, plus a smudge that’s probably a grass stain from when Barney knocked me over.
This wasn’t the plan for tonight. I was supposed to be having a long, hot bath before collapsing into bed at my hotel, twenty feet away from Ash’s soft snoring. Instead, I’m in Harrison’s bathroom, resisting the impulse to sniff his soap for another hit of familiarity.
I untie the halter neck and strip out of the jumpsuit, tugging it off my bare feet. I’m standing in my underwear, running the fabric under water, when the door opens.
Harrison fills the doorway, a silent, hulking presence. He’s stripped down to his shorts, his hard body impossible to ignore.
“Ash was using the other one,” I say over the thudding of my heart as I turn back to the sink, continuing to rinse my outfit.
“What is that?” He’s at my side the next moment, catching my wrist and turning it over so his thumb presses against the sensitive underside. He traces the shape, and his touch sends my pulse skittering more than the feel of the needle buzzing across my skin.
“A tattoo.”
“You copied my scar.”
My jaw drops at his audacity. “First, that’s not a thing. Second, it looks nothing like your scar. They’re crowns. That’s the only thing alike. Mine is small. Simple. These parts are curved, and… it’s part of my logo. Little Queen is part of me.”
I jerk my arm back, balling up the jumpsuit and dropping it on the counter.
