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She almost missed his next comment because she was so busy ogling at the enticing curve of his neck and the way his Adam’s apple moved when he talked.
    “They don’t know.”
    “I see you’ve thought all of this through,” she teased good-naturedly.
    “I figured I’d fix one problem before I tackle the next,” he said, smirking.
    His gray eyes stopped on her and it felt like the air got sucked out of the room all of a sudden. For a second, time stood still around Tiana and she felt like a fish out of water under his intense gaze. He definitely knew how to catch a girl’s attention and imagination.
    “Yeah?” she croaked, grabbing for her wine glass again to down another sip. “And what’s your current plan of attack then? If I am a problem to be solved I imagine you have it all figured out already.”
    Royce broke the tension by grinning and shaking his head. He stood up and plucked both of their plates up, moving them to the sink.
    “ Tsk, tsk . Don’t you know that a bear never reveals his hand?”
    “I think you’re mixing metaphors here,” she laughed.
    “As long as they do the trick,” he said casually, grabbing a glass from the drying rack and finding a bottle of whiskey in the kitchen cupboard.
    Watching him move was pure poetry. He had the easy gait of a predator, but the power of a tank. Picturing him on top of her, his rough hands grabbing at her sides while he bottomed out into her, was so easy that the lump she’d been fighting in her throat pretty much lodged itself in place and left her speechless.
    God, Tiana, you’re in so much trouble, she thought, putting her cool hand on her cheeks to try and will herself to stop blushing all the time.
    There was a hint of danger in the air. Unlike when the perps had broken into her bakery in Dallas, this time the threat seemed real. But it wasn’t to her health, or her livelihood. It was to her heart.
    She hadn’t been in a relationship for years, by her own choice. There were only so many failed stories she could tell, and after the third man who ended up disappearing because she had her own thing to do—or something else to occasionally pay attention to other than him—she’d given up on the hope of finding a man strong enough to stand by her side. With Royce, she had to wonder if she was strong enough to stand next to him . She hadn’t expected the tables to turn on her quite like that.
    “Come on,” he beckoned, appearing by her side with a glass of whiskey in his hand.
    He’d also conjured up a fleece blanket from somewhere, and his hand was reached out for her. Instinctively, she took it and stood up, suppressing the yelp of surprise that raised to her lips when their skin touched. There was that electricity again that she’d convinced herself was all in her mind before. But it wasn’t, was it? Every time they touched, it was like a surge of energy went through her, making her toes curl and her heart beat twice as fast.
    She followed him like an obedient puppy dog, trying to figure out whether she liked that or not. Opening the porch door, they were greeted to the most perfect view of the sunset Tiana could imagine. Royce set them up in two chairs, kicking back comfortably, and draped the blanket so it was over both of them. The day had been hellishly hot—for Idaho standards anyway—but as soon as the sun dropped it would get far colder.
    Snuggling up to him like that, close but not too close, was nice. She cradled her wine glass and Royce chuckled, throwing his arm over her shoulders. Protesting was the furthest thing from her mind.
    “Welcome to Idaho. I hope you enjoy your stay, Tiana,” he said.
    I hope so too.
 

CHAPTER SIX
    Tiana
     
    Tiana woke up the next morning having slept better than she had in years. She stretched lazily, enjoying the feeling of the crisp covers and the relatively cool air in comparison to mid-summer Dallas. The room she was in had one of those big, arching ceilings that seemed to be impossibly