And he didn’t have time to learn everything he wanted. Even if they worked out an arrangement for the duration of this case, he still had to return to New York. He needed 200 more billable hours for the promotion to partner. Hours one good long litigation case, like this one, would yield. He’d worked too hard to even consider staying in Colorado with her.

Not that he was really considering. He just…

He just hadn’t expected last night would bring such satisfaction and leave him craving for even more.

Brad sighed and shoved the log in the fire. Damn it, this couldn’t go any further than the few days they had together. Then there was the fact that as much as he now knew she needed to win this case, he didn’t have any intention of losing. He needed the win as well. And when he pushed, when he put on his litigation suit and employed his skills, she was bound to take it personally. This existential peace they’d discovered wouldn’t last beyond the bedroom.

Damn, he needed a means of putting a comfortable distance between them before his thoughts tangled any further. Problem was, distance didn’t equate to comfort—as he’d explained to her last night. But if he failed to do so, she would remember him all right. She’d remember him as the asshole who abused her body for a handful of days before he disappeared.

Satisfied the fire would catch, Brad stood and dusted his hands on his thighs. “Cassie, I’m going to turn on that generator.” Maybe he’d shovel some snow as well. A bit of solitude would help him sort through options.

Or so he hoped.

Cassie appeared on the overhead balcony. “You don’t want to eat?”

“I will in a bit. Go ahead without me.”

“Okay.”

The confusion that registered in her features made him want to kick his own ass, but somehow he’d lost control of this situation. What had started out benign, full of intoxicating pleasure, had become complicated when he least needed complications in his life.

He summoned a false smile, hoping it appeared somewhat reassuring. “I won’t be long.” God, don’t let that be a lie.

Cassie frowned at the interior garage door. Something was definitely not right. The power had blipped back on a good twenty minutes ago, and Brad hadn’t returned inside. She could hear him rustling around out there every now and then, but nothing indicated he’d be returning any time soon.

Why?

She drank from her coffee cup, tucked her feet beneath her on the sofa, and stared at the blazing fire. His entire demeanor had changed after she’d admitted she didn’t know the boundaries. If he hadn’t been so blatantly abrupt about tending the generator, she’d go outside and see what he was up to. Maybe he was restless. Maybe being confined with her and unable to leave made him uncomfortable. Heck, he’d walked away from food moments after saying he’d fall at her feet for breakfast.

What in the world had crawled under his skin? He didn’t seem like the touchy type.

Another muffled thump came from the side of the house. That did it—she was going to investigate. Tucking her robe around her more tightly, she opened the door and braved the cold cement floor. The garage door stood wide open, tiny snowflakes rolling inside to dust the top of the Cherokee she couldn’t see around. On her toes, she jogged toward the wide open bay.

Brad hunched over near the east corner, ankle-deep in a snow bank that pressed against the house’s exterior, a snow shovel in his hands. Behind him spanned a three-foot wide stretch of cleared concrete. He heaved a shovelful to the side at the same time a breeze blew. Icy particles billowed up to pelt him in the face. Spluttering, he wiped it away with his coat sleeve.

Cassie giggled. “What are you doing?” She bounced from one foot to another to keep her bare toes from turning into clumps of ice.

He leaned on the shovel. “The better question is what are you doing? It’s below freezing out here.”

“Yeah, well, I heard noises.” She shifted her weight again, tucked her chin deeper into the robe. “You don’t have to do that. I can call someone when the roads are cleared.”

“Nope.” Shaking his head, he extended an arm toward the open garage and the banked snow that had collapsed inward when he raised the door. “Didn’t know that would happen. Can’t shut it till I clear it out.”




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