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She deserved better than him--ht now Taking advantage of that would be unforgivable He'd done enough unforgivable things in his life that he didn't need to add to the stack

The cabin had cooled considerably, and even inside his sleeping bag, he was barely wars as far apart as the walls would allow in the little space, putting the top of one toward the foot of the other It was as lacking in intiiven the circuh that David didn't think about how nice it would be just to zip the two bags together and slide inside with Noelle Naked

David gritted his teeth until the ache in his jaw pushed away his unwelco bag to see if she seeh

Not only was she not there, sleeping, but her bag was untouched She was still sitting where he'd left her at the tiny table She had a pencil in her hand, and was scribbling furiously in a notebook he'd bought for her when they stopped at asupplies

The light fro her hair aflah her eyes were shadoith fatigue and a frown of concentration shaped her brow, she was still beautiful in firelight

He wondered what she'd look like stretched out naked beneath hi over her body

Instantly, he was aroused again, thick and hard and ready to put into action his inappropriate thoughts

David cursed silently, hating that he was at the mercy of his libido whenever he looked at Noelle It was ridiculous that he couldn't control hih to do his job But evennot to care about proprieties and protocol

He focused on breathing, like he had for his marksmanship trials, until he was able to stand without scandalizing Noelle Or tearing his jeans

Not that she'd notice if he'd walked over there stark naked The wo if not laser-focused on her work

He walked quietly over to the potbellied stove, addedembers and put an ancient percolator on for coffee He wouldn't be sleeping anyht

Noelle finally looked up and s curve of hersince he'd had a wo with a soft s and yet her open welcos after long nights spentlove It ot eaten because other, ers took over Ita ho

It s as much as he did

"Do you knohat tih with sleep and longing

"Not really Did I wake you?"

"No" She hadn'tover paper If she had, he'd have woken, no matter how tired he'd been, probably with a weapon in his hand

David eyed the plate of wilted lettuce and thenext to her "You didn't eat"

"I will in aher pencil

Frustration rose up like a tidal wave in David's chest He was sure it was only partly due to her negligent care of herself The rest was pure lust, as raw and gritty as it got

David grabbed the pencil and the notebook, and the paper away fro the irritated expression of i those!"

He slammed her papers down on the butcher block counter and shoved the plate of food back in front of her

"You're done working tonight You're going to eat, then sleep, and when you wake up, I'll give your stuff back"

Her delicate chin thrust up in the air "You can't tell me what to do"

"The hell I can't I'un, remember?" He picked up the sandwich and placed it to her mouth

"Eat"

Noelle rolled her eyes and took a bite "Fine," she said ; around a oing back to work People's lives are at stake, I'll sleep later"

David crossed his ar her his best do-it-or-I'll-et delayed because you're too sick to finish the job Don't be stupid about this" As it was, he wasn't sure he was going to live through resisting his lust for her so much as another day Delays were entirely out of the question

She scowled at him Of course, the whole effect was ruined by the dark circles and drooping shoulders Whether she admitted it or not, she was tired

"Can I at least wash up first?" she deht" She paused, frowning "What day is it anyway?"

Lord save him from distracted academics "Monday, just barely"