Page 42 of Shattered By the Currents

He turned from where he was setting towels on the counter. He wore shorts.Onlyshorts. And there was a thin sheen of sweat on his chest, like he’d just worked out.

Holy sex on a stick, the man was toned. She’d known he was. He wore tight T-shirts that showed off every ridge and groove all the time. But actually seeing those grooves without the barrier of clothing was different.Sodifferent.

“Hey.” The quiet sweep of his eyes over her body made the tingle in her belly turn into a throb. He seemed to trace her. Memorize her.

And she liked it.

What was wrong with her? She barely knew this man.

There was no reprieve when his attention returned to her eyes. It was almost worse. His gaze seemed to hold her in place like a magnet.

“Did you sleep well?” he finally asked.

She had to roll his words over in her head a few times so that her muddy brain could make sense of them. “I slept great.”

“That’s good. I was just checking that there were clean towels in here. Which there are. Water’s hot. Call if you need anything.” He angled his body to the side and eased past her. Somehow, even though they didn’t touch, not once, she still felt the heat of his body.

The second he was out of the small space, she closed the door and engaged the lock. It took her a moment to move. To turn on the water and strip off the shirt. But when she stepped under the stream, she sighed.

She’d been showering at the center, where the water pressure always felt like it was running on its last breath.

She closed her eyes and tipped her head back, then stayed under the stream for far too long. So long that she was surprised there was no knock on the door asking if she’d passed out or flowed down the drain.

When she finally managed to turn off the water, she dried and pulled on the jeans and T-shirt. Not her usual attire, but they definitely beat wearing yesterday’s clothes.

Downstairs, she entered the living room and was about to step into the open kitchen, only to pause at the framed photos that sat on a shelf.

A small smile tugged at her lips at the sight of Connor and his friends. It was the five men she knew, as well as three other guys she’d never seen before.

The rest of his team?

She lifted the frame, smiling wider at Connor’s grin. He looked happy. They were clearly at a bar, and every one of them wore a smile.

She was just setting it back down when something fell from behind the frame. A small photo that must have been stuck to the back.

She lifted and turned it.

Connor and a woman. Abeautifulwoman. She had long brown ringlets and beautiful dark eyes. They looked like they were in a photo booth, but this was just a single photo. Maybe it had been cut from the rest?

The woman was holding Connor’s face and kissing his cheek while he smiled at the camera.

Who was she?

“Hey.”

She jumped and turned to see Connor stepping off the stairs. He glanced down at the photo in her hold, his smile slipping.

“I’m sorry.” She handed it to him. “I was looking at the photo of you and the guys, and this slipped out from behind.”

He took it, his expression unreadable as he looked at the picture. “It must have gotten caught in the frame.”

“Was she a girlfriend?” She almost slapped a hand over her mouth. What the hell? Why had she gone and asked that?

A muscle ticked in his jaw before he shoved the photo into a drawer. “Ex.”

And by the tone of his voice, it wasnotan ex he cared to discuss.

Noted. She didn’t like talking about her ex either.