Chapter 1

Her name was Layna Eldridge. She was twenty-two years old. She lived in Durham, where she'd just graduated from college with her friends, Tinley and Piper. Both of those friends were now residents of this town.

Layna was house sitting for my neighbor, Grayson, who was on his honeymoon up in the mountains with Layna's friend Tinley. I hadn't met Layna yet, but every night at nine-thirty sharp, she undressed in the bathroom at the side of the house, not realizing someone was watching from a window nearby.

That someone was me.

She was early tonight. And when she flipped on the light in the bathroom and reached for the hem of her T-shirt, her eyes caught on the window. A window that overlooked my own bathroom, where I stood brushing my teeth and staring directly at Grayson's bathroom.

Her eyes widened, and that was when I remembered the light in my bathroom was on. Normally, it'd be dark in here and I'd be a lot stealthier about looking. But normally, I'd also have finished brushing my teeth and changing into the shorts and T-shirt I slept in.

What did I do now? I paused, toothbrush hanging loose in my mouth as my arms fell to my side. Layna dropped the hem, letting the T-shirt fall back into place, before turning and running.

She was going to call the police and say I was a peeping Tom, no doubt. Was there anything illegal about looking out my window? How would a guy know someone would start stripping next door?

And would any warm-blooded male look away once he saw what I'd seen?

I frantically searched my surroundings as my heart rate shifted into overdrive. The last thing I needed was the police sniffing around. Not with my record. I'd moved here after leaving the military to get away from my past, but I was always just one police database search away from the truth coming out.

Three loud thumps blasted through the silence in the cabin. I was in the process of spitting out the toothpaste and setting my toothbrush back in the holder when I heard them.

Could the police have gotten here that fast? There was only one sheriff's deputy for all of Blackbear Bluff, but it was a small town with not much going on. It was possible the deputy just happened to be driving past this road where a dozen or so other military vets lived.

I checked my appearance in the mirror, took a deep breath, and headed toward the door. I'd just show the deputy everything was fine. It was a simple misunderstanding. No, I had not been catching glimpses of Layna's tits through my bathroom window every night. No, I had not been jerking off at least three times a day at the memory of the sight. And no, I certainly hadn't cyberstalked my neighbor's house sitter, learning every possible detail I could about her.

Not that it was all that difficult. All I had to do was input her name into a search engine and up popped one of her social media accounts. There, she gave away all kinds of information about herself.

I wiped my hands on my jeans before reaching out and jerking open the front door. I had a smile fixed on my face, but a smile didn't look natural with the rest of my haggard features. I had to do everything I could to disarm this officer, though.

But it wasn't the baby face of the town's deputy on the other side of that door. No, it was the very woman who'd filled my dreams—waking and sleeping—for five solid days.

I cleared my throat and forced out, "May I help you?"

Best to play it off like nothing was wrong. Especially since it was clear from her posture that seeing me face to face had chipped away at some of the panic I'd seen when she fled her bathroom.

"I saw you in your window," she said.

My smile had faded by then, but I needed it back. This was when my wry sense of humor could come in handy.

"You're spying on me?" I asked.

Layna narrowed her eyes. "No, but I was about to take my clothes off."

My eyes widened. "And you think I was standing in my bathroom, just waiting for that to happen?"

I didn't want to lie to her, but I couldn't tell the complete truth either. She'd definitely call the police then. Yes, every night I'd been standing at that window in the dark, hoping to catch a glimpse of her.

But tonight, I'd been innocently brushing my teeth. It was a full fifteen minutes or so before she normally took off her clothes, washed her face, and pranced naked from the bathroom. Which meant she probably slept in the nude—a thought that had led to me relieving myself before bed every night.

"I was brushing my teeth." I shrugged. "I look out the window when I do that."

That was sort of a lie. Looking out the window was something I did a lot. But tonight, I'd looked out the window, thinking about her, wondering what she was doing at that very moment. Was she watching TV? Chatting with a boyfriend? Eating a bowl of ice cream and licking every drop of sweet cream off the spoon before dipping it back into her bowl again…?

Yeah, I couldn't tell her any of that.

"But you saw me reach for my hem," she said. "You had to know I was going to take off my shirt soon."

I frowned at her. "I'm a living, breathing mammal. A woman takes off her shirt, I'm not going to look away."

Especially if that woman had large, plump breasts and curves for days. Not to mention a sweet face with thick, kissable lips and big, blue eyes. Now that I'd seen her up close, I'd probably end up with a permanent hard-on.

"So if I'd taken off my shirt, you would have just stood there, watching?"

This was weird. She didn't look angry anymore. Mostly curious. It was as though she was intrigued by the possibility that I might watch her undress.

"I wouldn't have walked away," I said. "Name a man who would."

"A gentleman would."

"I'm a gentleman." I crossed my arms over my chest and widened my stance. My goal was to show I was standing my ground. "I pull out the chair for a woman, hold the door, and pay on a date. But I'm human, and I'll bet you can't find a man in this town who wouldn't find it hard to look away from the sight of you naked."

Her eyes widened. "How would you know?"

I backtracked, trying to remember what I'd said. Oh, right. The sight of her naked.

"I can use my imagination," I finally said.

Nice save. She'd almost busted me.

"So you're imagining me naked?"

Fuck. I couldn't win here. Every which way I turned, I was being forced to face my inner perv.

"Right now?" I lowered my eyes to her chest. "No, but I could. Give me a second."

She sucked in a breath, making that generous chest rise. What I wouldn't do to flick my tongue over those beautiful nipples. To slide my cock into that wet pussy—wet because she was turned on by me.

That was the fantasy. But it could never be more than a fantasy. Women like Layna didn't fall for fuckups like me. If they slept with us, it was just so they could say they screwed the bad boy.

Suddenly, she relaxed her stance, looking past me into my cabin. "Sorry." She looked down. "I guess I accused you unfairly. I just got a little freaked out when I saw someone watching me. I'm not used to small-town life, and it can get kind of quiet and creepy up here at night, especially when you're alone."

"You're not alone."

I blurted the words out, meaning them to be reassuring. Did they come across that way? I sure hoped so. I cleared my throat and started over.

"I mean, I'm here and my buddy Wes is across the street if you ever, you know, need help with anything."

Layna nodded. "Well, I'm only here until Monday morning. That's when the Stewarts come back."

The Stewarts. That threw me for a second. Stewart was Grayson's last name. I wasn't used to it being plural, but he was married now. He and his bride met less than a couple of months ago when some of the guys on our logging crew dared her to show up at his house with some muffins. Muffins that supposedly made people fall in love with just one bite.

It was ridiculous, but it seemed to be working. Maybe I could get this woman to take a bite.

No, I tried the muffins a couple of weeks ago, and nothing happened. Unless the reason I couldn't stop thinking about this woman had to do with that muffin.

"Thank you for the offer," she said, taking a step back. "And I'll try to avoid taking my clothes off in front of windows."

"Probably a good practice."

I was surprised how much I meant those words. Yes, I was being cut out of the privilege of seeing her strip every night, but it was far more important to keep her safe. If she stripped in front of her window when she was back in the city, no telling what kind of lunatic could see her.

"If you get scared or anything, come on over here," I said. "I've got an extra bed you could sleep in. Or I'll come over there and keep watch all night."

I'd do it too. I wondered if she could tell that from my dead serious expression. Her gaze lingered a little longer and she nodded, flipped around, and started back toward Grayson's cabin. All I could do was watch her walk away, wishing there were some way to keep her in my life for good.