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But she wasn’t going to sit in the house, worrying whether the stranger ht reinjure himself on another trip to the beach or back alone So he was stuck with her, whether he liked it or not Besides, staying there and worrying about the intruder’s return wasn’t an option either

He shook his head, yet the corners of his htly upward

He walked the rest of the way to the house, ain or fall too far behind At least that’s what she assu was difficult

They headed inside and he set his firewood on the rack Taking the wood froood Boy Scout, despite looking too roguish to be one, he set up a perfect fire Slowly, the fla in front of the fireplace, he frowned up at her, his darkening gaze drifting again to her turtleneck "Why don’t you get into so dry"

"I’ll be fine" She couldn’t admit she was afraid to be by herself

"Your clothes are soaking wet You’re shivering The house is freezing You’re not fine Lock the bedroom door, if you’re afraid"

She clenched her teeth She wasn’t afraid of the veritable god Well, loves and parka, tossed them on the coffee table so they’d dry by the fire, and then returned to the bedroom and locked the door--as a precaution She tried the phone; still no dial tone She glanced at her bedside table The gun

She jerked the drawer open Her heart skipped a beat No gun

Blind rage filled her Feeling violated, she collapsed on the edge of the bed If soun to coht to her Not to mention she couldn’t count on it for protection now

How had thelooked like it was out of place

Focus--get war violently from the cold, she stood, peeled off her wet clothes, and dumped them on the floor

She shoved on a pair of e heavy-duty socks, and her fur-lined boots Feeling a little warmer, she hurried down the hall and duhts centered on the naked man

Did he really have amnesia? Or was it just a ploy to keep his identity a secret? He seeerous, maybe because he was so powerfully built Her brother and the uy

She twisted the dryer dial to turn it on high No response Das out of the dryer and hung theht crossed her mind What if the ice storm hadn’t knocked out the electricity? What if the intruder had done so to it?

She hurried to the coat closet to check the circuit breaker, glanced in the direction of the living rooolden flaone Her heart fluttered with fresh apprehension

She rushed to the back door and saw hi as the first Curbing her annoyance that he would sneak out and chance injuring hilowered

Even her brother couldn’t carry that much, certainly not if he had had been injured like this hland warrior, his brow creased with deter, his body hard and ready to win any battle no matter how much his enemy had beaten him beforehand A kilt was all he needed to coht her eye and offered her a hint of a sain

"Do you have anything in the house to eat?"

Walking past her while she locked the door, he sed outdoorsne would drive women crazy With a clunk, he deposited the wood neatly with the rest, shaking her loose fro" She returned to the coat closet and pulled the door open She yanked on the light switch pull and then shook her head when the bulb didn’t coh her brain there was no electricity?

Before she could get the flashlight, he placed another log on the fire and said, "I already checked the circuit breaker"

He ay ahead of her "You think the ice storuest didn’t mess with the circuit breaker, that’s what I assu breath If the intruder had shut off her electricity, it probably would mean he’d return Hopefully, this un Unless he realized she was alone and would return later to steal more The newspaper had covered the press on her brother’s story for weeks Everyone knew she was by herself now Instantly re-chilled, she rubbed her arms and returned to the kitchen

"I have a rack that we can put over the fire and grill some steaks," she offered

"Rare" He walked into the kitchen, sure of hio

Her brother’s sweats would never look the saed this guy’s et her mind off the man’s physique and concentrate on dinner She had never atte in her fireplace Would it work? Or be a total disaster?

"Garlic? Le it was at least defrosted, she pulled the meat out of the freezer

"However you prepare it is fine withas it’s rare"