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in the back and craned his neck to inspect the car. “Cool wheels, sheriff.”
    “What about my rental car?” Cat asked as soon as Brock had settled in the driver’s seat. “It’s due back by ten in the morning.”
    “I’ll get it picked up.”
    “What about my flight? It’s at eleven.”
    He glanced over. “You can try to claim from your travel insurance, but I expect getting arrested isn’t a valid reason for missing the flight.”
    “Are you arresting us? Do we have to do another forty hours of community service?”
    The hopeful lilt in her voice curled around his heart. “No,” he said. “That’s for first time offenders. Repeat offenders get eighty hours.”
    ****
    Brock led Cat through the lobby to the elevator. The reception area was empty, but the lack of audience didn’t ease his terse mood. He didn’t give a damn if he was seen on his way up to her room. His life was turning upside down, the needs that he had tried to shut away were breaking free, and he no longer cared to fight back.
    “Thank you.” Cat paused outside her door. “I’ll be fine from here.”
    “The hell you will.” He took the plastic keycard from her and inserted it in the lock. “You clearly need a keeper.”
    “Wait.” Her hand touched his, and the feel of her smooth skin against his deepened the turmoil inside him. “You’ve taken off your wedding band.” With one fingertip, she traced the pale line at the base of his finger. “Why?”
    Brock pushed the door open and waved her through. “It was time,” he replied. “I’m closing the door on the past.” Suddenly uncertain, he paused. “Right now, I feel that I’m on the threshold of the future, and it’s up to you to invite me to take the next step.”
    For one interminable second, he waited while Cat stood still, a look of worry drifting across her face. Then a hesitant smile curved her mouth and she beckoned him to enter. Moving with her usual grace, she went deeper into the room, but the nervous flutter of her hands as she adjusted the heating controls betrayed her agitation.
    The years of abstinence inside Brock twisted and snapped, and he knew that he couldn’t handle small talk. Not now, not tonight. His ears rang with the pulsing of his blood as his body signaled its demands.
    Mindless abandon. That’s what Cat had told him she craved.
    That’s what he wanted too.
    “I’ll start the bath running,” he told her. “Take your clothes off.”
    She stared at him, surprise etched on her features. In silence, she continued to the foot of the bed and began to undress. Her movements were quick, simple, not designed to seduce or titillate, and he knew that she had sensed his mood, had understood they were beyond playing games.
    He turned away and strode into the bathroom. The feminine clutter on the vanity stoked the desire already rising swift and hard inside him. He set the tub to fill with hot water, found a miniature bottle of bath foam and poured the contents into the current. Steam curled in the air, clouding the mirror.
    Brock waited, but Cat didn’t follow him inside. He tested the water, added enough cold to prevent scalding, and went to find her.
    She stood completely bare, arms down her sides, not making any effort to shield her body from his gaze. Eyes shining with excitement, she contemplated him as he closed the distance between them. When he swung her into his arms, she gave a playful squeal of protest.
    The happy sound snapped the last of his restraints. His heart hammered in his chest. New emotions burst free inside him. Brock didn’t pause to analyze them. There would be time later on. Now he just wanted to take her, possess her.
    Turning his shoulders, he eased her into the bathroom, then stood by the tub and lowered her in his arms, until she touched the water.
    “Let me know if it’s too hot,” he said.
    “No. It’s fine.” Cat untangled her hold from around his neck, but rather than release her, he crouched down to settle