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moment longer as he stared ahead blankly, not acknowledging her comments. She carefully measured her words, wanting to know yet not wanting to antagonize him with her prying. “I still don’t understand why you insisted on staying here rather than at the lodge.”
    He turned his gaze on her, sending a little shiver of anxiety through her body. She wasn’t sure what to make of his expression. It was as if he had chosen to no longer accommodate anything other than his own thoughts and concerns. A new level of uncertainty rose inside her, but she refused to allow it to deter her from her goal of finding out why Dylan Russell had shown up out of the clear blue to invade her personal sanctuary.
    â€œThere isn’t anything here that wouldn’t be morecomfortable and convenient for you if you were at the lodge.” She looked at him questioningly, waiting for a reply.
    Something flashed through his eyes but it disappeared before she could read it. Could it have been anger? She shifted her weight uncomfortably under the scrutiny of his unrelenting stare. Had she pushed him too far? A hint of trepidation shivered through her body.
    â€œI don’t mean to be rude, but I don’t believe my reasons are really any of your business.” Dylan turned his gaze away from her, once again seemingly staring out at nothing in particular. “Besides, since neither of us can leave it’s a moot point.”
    Jessica bristled at his attitude. “Quite the contrary…I believe your having climbed into my bed makes it very much my business.”

Four
    T he second the words were out of her mouth Jessica wished she hadn’t said them. She vividly recalled the moment Dylan’s arm slipped around her waist and the way his body nestled against hers. The sensual heat produced by the memory quickly spread through her body until it touched every part of her existence.
    She hated not having any better control over her thoughts and feelings than what had been happening to her since the moment she opened her eyes that morning. She gathered her resolve. Absurd, that’s what it was. She was not about to allow her hormones to dictate to her, regardless of how sexy and desirable she found this man.
    â€œThe bed was empty when I climbed into it.” He forced a lightness to his voice, attempting to take the edge off the tenuous situation. “So technically you crawled into bed with me.” The memory of thoseearly-morning minutes spent snuggled together in a warm bed washed over him. There had been no intentional intimacy between them. It was all very natural and comfortable. It felt very right, not at all the same as with other women over the years.
    He regarded her a moment longer. Things were already strained enough without him making it worse. He placed his hand at the small of her back and guided her toward the cabin door. “Come on, let’s go inside. It’s too cold to be standing out here.” He extended an encouraging smile as they stepped back inside. “Besides, there’s a perfectly good fire in the fireplace that’s going to waste.”
    Dylan put forth his best effort to be pleasant. He stoked the fire and added another log. “There…that should do it for a while.”
    Jessica stood in front of the fireplace, hugging her shoulders. “The heat feels good.” She rubbed her hands together as her chill began to subside. “I didn’t realize how cold it was out there, although I think it’s the damp as much as it is the temperature.”
    â€œYes, that damp air has a way of cutting right through you before you realize it, and suddenly you’re chilled to the bone and can’t seem to get warm again.” It was an inane conversation made up of polite yet strained comments. He sauntered across the room to the couch, picked up the book she had been reading and leafed through a couple of pages.
    â€œI’ve been meaning to read