Part 28 (2/2)
”No. There's a shower stall in the bathroom. You don't have hot water in your houses?”
”Not unless you heat it over a fire.”
He turned on the water, adjusted the temperature, and showed Rinna the soap and shampoo-and how to turn the water off again without getting burned.
As she stood looking at the modern marvel, he pictured himself stepping under the hot spray with her, heating her up in more ways than one. But he knew she wouldn't react the way he wanted, so he left her alone.
Probably she was thinking that he'd walk in on her because she was finished in record time, then scurried into the walk-in closet in the master bedroom to towel off and change into the knit top and pants he'd selected for her. He took his own quick shower. By the time he emerged, she'd gotten her hair almost dry with the towel.
Twenty minutes after they'd entered the house, they went back down to the kitchen, which he saw had been recently remodeled. The cabinets were of warm oak, and all the appliances were sleek stainless steel.
While he checked provisions in the pantry closet and the refrigerator, Rinna tiptoed across the ceramic tile floor, exclaiming over the equipment.
She tapped a toaster oven that looked like the one Haig had used, only it was plugged into the wall.
”This heats food?”
”Yes.” He picked up a bag of bread from the counter, took out a slice, and put it on the rack. He pressed the on b.u.t.ton, and the elements heated-then toasted the bread.
Opening the door, he used a fork to pick up the bread, which he offered to her. ”Careful, it's hot.”
She took it gingerly, then nibbled at the edge. ”Do your people like bread this way?”
”I guess it's an acquired taste.” He opened the refrigerator, found the b.u.t.ter, and cut off a pat, which he spread on the toast.
She tried it again. ”It's good now.” She turned back to the refrigerator. ”That keeps the b.u.t.ter cold?”
”Uh huh.”
”How do they work? And the oven?”
”Don't ask me for a technical explanation.” He gestured toward the range. ”This is the main cooking appliance. It's connected to natural gas lines, and the refrigerator works by electricity.”
He watched her look around uncertainly. Probably she expected the homeowners to come back at any moment. He was pretty sure they wouldn't.
”While you were in the shower, I found a calendar in the upstairs office. The people who live here aren't scheduled to come home for another three days.”
”Good,” she murmured. Of course, breaking and entering wasn't the only thing bothering him. He and Rinna had started a conversation they needed to finish. So he pulled a can of beef and vegetable soup from the pantry and a hunk of cheddar cheese from the refrigerator. He would have preferred a rare steak, but the soup and cheese would do.
While he worked on the simple meal, he tried to think of how to talk to her about the two of them. He might only have known her for a few days, but he knew she was his lifemate. And he wanted her to understand that they belonged together. But he suspected that she didn't see herself belonging to any man.
She watched him cut some chunks of cheese, then heat the soup in a saucepan.
”I should help you, but I'm afraid I'll break something.”
”You can help wash up,” he said as he carefully poured the soup. ”If we clean up very well and put everything away where we found it, the owners might never know we were in here.”
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