Free Fall Into You by Roni Loren Page A

Charli’s name sat
     full on his lips as his hard, pulsing release splashed against his abdomen and the
     shower wall.
    He leaned his forehead against the shower door, his breath rasping out of him as his
     cock went soft in his hand. The water turned cool long before he had the desire to
     open his eyes to his always-empty cabin.



SEVEN

    Charli pulled her hair into a twist and kicked up the volume on the small radio in
     the cabin’s bedroom. This place was too damn quiet, especially at night. And who would
     want to stay anywhere without a television?
    Serenity made her antsy. She’d had better luck relaxing by riding roller coasters
     or learning to kickbox. Things that turned the adrenaline up and her mind off. Things
     like getting pressed up against a shower wall by a fully clothed cowboy and riding
     his hand until her brain exploded.
    That had been a pretty big adrenaline rush—well, up until she’d realized she was the
     only one into it. That the mere thought of kissing her had made him recoil.
    God, what had she been thinking? Talk about making a fool of herself. Nothing like
     coming across as desperate and sex-starved.
    And drunk.
    She couldn’t forget that part.
    Nice job, Beaumonde.
    She sat on the edge of the bed, trying to shake off the memory,and booted up her iPad so that she could catch
SportsCenter
and her own station’s end-of-the-day wrap-up show. The sports radio was not cutting
     it. And after her long day of purposely avoiding Grant and then an evening chasing
     down a lead that didn’t pan out, she was ready to relax, watch the night’s highlights,
     and get to bed. Plus, the network was going to introduce Blondie as the new sidelines
     reporter on-air and for some reason, Charli felt compelled to watch it.
    The screen came to life, but when she tried to access the Internet, she got the no
     signal message. “You’ve got to be freaking kidding me.”
    When she’d done her morning check-in text with Grant, he’d let her know that he’d
     moved the router in his own cabin, which should give her access to his connection,
     but apparently it hadn’t done the trick. She wasn’t quite ready to chat with Grant
     in real time. She needed the mortification of the previous night to settle a little
     longer before she crossed that bridge, so she sent him another text. But after a few
     minutes, she hadn’t heard back. She stared down at the absent signal icon on the tablet.
     “Damn.”
    She frowned at the screen. She should go to bed. What good would seeing it be anyway?
     Why torture herself? But the urge to have that closure was too strong. With a sigh,
     she got up and toed on her tennis shoes. If Grant wasn’t answering a text, he probably
     wasn’t home. She could probably sneak over to his yard and borrow his signal long
     enough to see the show.
    Not ready to repeat the debacle from last night, she made sure she had a flashlight
     before heading out. The walk over wasn’t very long and if she stayed on the gravel
     path this time, she’d be fine. Plus, being sober always helped. She grabbed her backpack
     and slipped the tablet inside, then locked up behind her. Grant had told her the grounds
     were secure and locking doors wasn’t necessary, but frankly, at night the place looked
     ripe for a Friday the 13th installment. And she’d prefer to skip the ax murdering
     tonight.
    She walked carefully along the path, making sure to keep an ear out for any animal
     sounds and holding the light out in front of her. But besides a rabbit that darted
     in front of her and inspired a near heart attack, she was alone on her trip over.
     Grant’s porch light came into view and she let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d
     been holding. His truck was there.
    She paused, suddenly panicked that he’d discover her out there. What if he wanted
     to discuss last night? Or had a woman over or something? She didn’t know anything
     about his life really. Hell, maybe he had a girlfriend