Free Against the Wild by Kat Martin Page A

moved closer to her door, then they stopped, as if the person stood in the corridor just outside. But no knock came at the door.
    Surely it was Dylan. But when he didn’t knock or didn’t move away, a shiver ran through her. Caleb had said the former owner had heard footsteps in the hall but no one had been there. Heart pounding, she grabbed her robe off the foot of the bed, tiptoed to the door, and cautiously pulled it open. No sign of Dylan or anyone else.
    Just then, his door swung open and he stepped into the hall. He was barefoot, wearing only his jeans. His magnificent chest was bare, and he held a flashlight in one hand.
    â€œWas that you I heard in the hallway?” he asked.
    â€œI thought it was you.”
    He shook his head. “Stay here.” Striding off down the hall, he went into Emily’s room, apparently found her asleep, then checked the other bedrooms in the wing, which were empty.
    A memory of her erotic dream surfaced as she watched him walking back toward her, and color washed into her cheeks. She hoped it was too dark for him to see.
    She still couldn’t believe she had almost climaxed in her sleep. It had certainly never happened before. Dylan headed downstairs and Lane waited in the corridor. The only footsteps she heard were Dylan’s bare feet on the stairs as he climbed back up to the second floor.
    â€œMust have been the wind,” he said.
    â€œIt sounded like footsteps.”
    â€œWeather’s coming in. Supposed to rain tomorrow. It was just the wind.”
    â€œI guess.” But Lane was no longer certain the happenings in the house could be explained so easily.
    â€œWill you be able to get back to sleep?” Dylan asked, and even in the dim light in the hall, she could feel those hot blue eyes on her.
    Desire slipped through her and she fought not to tremble. “I’ll be all right. Good night.”
    â€œGood night, love.” He waited till she was safely inside, the door closed behind her, before he returned to his room.

Chapter Seven
    After breakfast, Dylan went over Lane’s choices for the plumbing fixtures, impressed by the interesting geometric designs that gave them an Indian flavor. The fixtures were perfect for the concept Lane had presented, yet the price was well within the budget he had mentally calculated as he’d laid out his plans for the lodge.
    â€œI’ll put the order in today,” she said.
    â€œSounds good.”
    Lane went over to the computer and pulled up the product distributor on the Net. Dylan walked up behind her, set his hands lightly on her shoulders. He thought it was a good sign that she didn’t pull away.
    â€œI was thinking . . . you know, we work hard around here, but once in awhile we deserve a little time off. I thought maybe you’d like to take a boat ride, do a little camping.”
    She swiveled around to face him. “Camping?”
    â€œSure. I know a good place. We can take Emily and Finn. We’ll pitch a tent big enough for all of us, just take enough supplies for one night.”
    â€œI don’t know. I’ve never been camping.”
    â€œYou’re kidding, right?”
    She shrugged. “My dad was more into sports. It just never happened.”
    â€œThen we’ll make it happen. Soon as the weather clears, we’ll go.”
    She smiled up at him. “Okay, it sounds like fun.”
    He liked that she seemed to have an adventurous spirit. Completely unlike Mariah. But then, everything about Lane was different from his ex-wife.
    He let her go back to work and went upstairs to check on the crew. The drywall was up in the bathroom additions. In an area downstairs, some of the walls between the bedrooms had been removed, making the rooms large enough to create two suites. Those would have gas fireplaces that looked liked old iron stoves.
    It was lunchtime before he saw Lane again. When Dylan walked in, she was sitting at the kitchen table next