The front door opened just as I flipped the first pancake. “You’ve got fifteen minutes before breakfast is ready,” I announced, bending to put the bacon in the oven and setting the timer for seven minutes.

I glanced at the door to make sure Caden heard me and froze. He was leaning against the doorjamb, his upper body coated in a sheen from his run, his t-shirt slung over his shoulder, arms crossed—a lazy smile on his face. My heart stopped for a second and I resisted the urge to press my legs together to alleviate the immediate response in my pussy. He was damned sexy and looking especially fine today. Something inside me was drawn to him like a magnet. It was strong and becoming increasingly difficult to resist.

In a matter of seconds, all my plans to put the handsome SEAL in his place fled, my own body a traitor.

His eyes narrowed, and he moved away from the door, closing it behind him, crossing the space between us before I took my first breath. But once he reached me, he simply squeezed my arm, then abruptly turned and moved toward the bedroom.

That was weird. I could have sworn he was going to kiss me. “Fourteen minutes left,” I reminded him.

“Roger that,” he replied, closing the bedroom door behind him.

I refused to read into it, determined to hang onto the excitement I felt on day two of my mini-vacay. I had a short list of items on my Do While in Tahoe list that Luna had helped me compile, and I didn’t want to assume Caden would join me—although I sincerely hoped he would. I bit my lower lip, I would have to research maps for the areas I wanted to explore. I could not have a repeat of yesterday’s fiasco. No more mountain roads for me, at least not on this trip.

The timer reminded me that I was in charge of breakfast. I added the final pancakes to the griddle, flipped the bacon, and set the timer for the final seven minutes.

Caden beat my fifteen-minute time limit, of course, and butt bumped me on his way to the fridge.

“You seriously just butt bumped me!” I feigned exasperation as I flipped the cakes for the final time.

He walked behind me a wrapped his arms around my waist, I leaned back into him without hesitating, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

He nuzzled my neck. “Morning, beautiful,” he murmured into my ear.

“Morning handsome. Can you grab OJ from the fridge? Everything else is ready.”

“Roger that,” he murmured in my ear.

It tickled and I couldn’t suppress a giggle.

“Music to my ears, babe.”

I’d intentionally set our plates at the island bar. It felt less threatening to sit beside Caden rather than across from him at a table. I needed a break from those intense, assessing eyes.

Little did I know he’d be on his best behavior, anyway. It was confusing after our afternoon of sex yesterday—was that all it was to him? Was it over?

“Penny for your thoughts.”

I could feel his eyes on me. I’d jinxed myself. “My thoughts are worth far more than just a penny, Doctor Stone,” an eyebrow raised for good measure.

“Speaking of, how are you this morning?”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m fine. Perfectly fine. How was your run?”

“You were right,” he admitted. “Thirty minutes isn’t a real run.”

I snorted. “It’s really not. How far do you typically run?”

“Less now that I’m not involved in active missions, but I still run anywhere from six to ten miles, with one day off per week. You?” he asked.

“Five is my minimum, although to be honest, I rarely have time for much beyond that, except on the weekends, and sometimes not even then,” I admitted.

“Workaholic, huh?”

“Partner track,” I countered. “You can’t expect me to believe that being a SEAL isn’t similar to being a workaholic.”

“When teams are deployed, we can be away for as long as six months at a time, but we don’t work every day. It’s situation-specific, but we also have times when we’re at our home base for up to six months and during those times it’s not uncommon to have weekends free. There are times that the demands are insanely intense for days at a time, but there are also days when the most intense situation I face is my workout routine. All work and no play makes a dull boy,” he added.

I felt my cheeks growing red. I needed to change the subject. There was no way I wanted to get into my work schedule with him. “Do you have plans for the day?” I redirect.

“I have a few things in mind if you’re interested in some company.”

I smiled. “I’d love some company. What do you have in mind?”

“Do you have specific things you want to do while you’re here?” he deflected.

“I have a short list of items, but I got the burning desire item out of my system yesterday.” I shrug as though it’s nothing, but we both know that’s not true. “I’m open to suggestions.”

Part of me wondered if he would suggest that we stay in all day. I had to admit, part of me would jump at the chance to spend the day in bed with Caden.

“I have a friend who has a houseboat on the lake. I asked him if anyone was using it today, and it’s available. Are you afraid of the water?”

I squealed. “Seriously? That’s one of the items on my list, and no, I grew up spending my summers on a lake in Maine. I can’t think of anything I would rather do today.” I jumped up from the bar stool and gathered the plates.

“I’ll take care of these,” he laughed. “Grab a bathing suit and anything else you might need. Bring a jacket, too, if you have one. The nights get cool here, even in the middle of summer.” “Are we spending the night on the boat?”

“We can if you’d like. I asked a buddy of mine to swing by to check on Cocky, so he’ll be all set. If we decide to spend the night, he said he would take Cocky to his house.”

“Sounds perfect,” I agreed, turning to grab my things, then turned back. “Caden?”

“Yea, babe?” he asked, his eyes meeting mine.

“Thanks. I appreciate this.”

The smile that lit his face nearly did me in. It hit my eyes and raced straight to my clit. I was in serious trouble.