Free Stranger in Paradise by Amanda McIntyre

to sleep really well.”
    “Liar,” she stated, brushing off her hands. “You won’t sleep at all until you know who or what was lurking outside the cabin earlier.”
    Having only recently met, she knew him pretty well. That could backfire. He learned the hard way the lesson of letting people get too close. It was safer not to. “You’re probably right. That’s why I get paid the big bucks to get you safely tucked in, and then I can bunk out in my chair and keep an eye on things.”
    “Big bucks, huh? I’ll have to speak to Harry about that.” They walked through the short, wooded trail leading to the cabin. “By the way,” she said, touching his arm, “you don’t need to sleep in the chair tonight.”
    His body went on full alert.
    Her hand dropped away as she realized what she’d implied. “I meant there are plenty of bedrooms to choose from.”
    He grinned. “Down the opposite way of your bedroom, you mean.”
    She took a deep breath, preparing to launch into some explanation, and he stopped her by taking her arm and bringing her around to face him. “No explanations necessary, Kacey. I’m here to do a job. And you’re here to do yours. We both want you to feel safe.”
    “I-I do feel safe with you.” She met his gaze in the dim light of the cabin lights they’d left on.
    “Yeah, I’m not sure you should consider me that noble.”
    She held his eyes a moment longer, then started out ahead of him without a response.
    He unlocked the front door and had her wait in the foyer while he did a quick check of the cabin. Comfortable the house was safe, he came to the bottom of the stairs. “All clear, madam author.”
    She appeared from the hallway, her hoodie draped over one arm and her hair, once banded in a ponytail, now loose. He fought the urge to thread his fingers through it and kiss the tired look shadowing her eyes. “It’s been a crazy night, huh?” he asked.
    She nodded with a weak smile as she passed him and started up the steps. “Thank you.” She turned to face him, eye-to-eye. “Sorry about the whole driftwood thing.”
    “It’s okay…it’s…aw, shit.” He said quietly as he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her, not knowing why or even if she’d respond. God help him. She did.
    Her hands clutched his shirt as she slanted her mouth over his, giving as much as she took. Zack pulled away before he hauled her over his shoulder and up the stairs to—hell, whichever bedroom came first.
    She released his shirt. “Goodnight,” she said and hurried up the steps.
    Zack ran his hands down his face, hoping to awaken himself from the unexplainable pull he had toward her. It wasn’t due to a lack of women in his life. He was a good-looking guy, amazing in bed, if rumors were true. Mostly out of loneliness, there’d been one or two one-night stands since Jessie. Kacey, however, wasn’t the one-night stand type. Tapping the railing with his fingers, he eyed the stairs, considering the possibilities if he followed through. With an ache in his chest and places lower, he released a deep sigh and decided to make one last check around the parameter of the cabin. “I’m going to take one more look around the house, but I’ll lock the door and be right outside, ok?” he called up the steps.
    “Do you need me to come with you?” she responded from her room.
    Zack raised his brows. “That thought is going to linger,” he muttered. “No, go ahead and get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.”
    “’Night, Zack.”
    He gently hit the top of the stairwell post with his fist. “Yeah, g’night.”

Chapter Six
     
    The shower didn’t help. And Kacey realized with a dismal thought, that she hadn’t bothered to purchase new batteries for her “vibrating companion” in months. After the nasty break-up with her ex, she hadn’t even wanted to look at another man, much less jump his bones. Which had made it even more of a challenge to write sexy, when she couldn’t remember