The Millionaire Cowboy's Secret by Karen Whiddon

to Matt. This had taken her by surprise. Clearly, she hadn’t planned to find him so...desirable. Unlike with his friend José, she couldn’t make herself see him in the role of villain.
    What she could make herself see him as was her lover.
    Shocked, blindsided by the heretical thought, she gasped out loud. She hadn’t taken a lover since Robbie had died, and the idea that she could even think of having sex again with a man who wasn’t her husband felt like the worst kind of betrayal.
    Once again, despite the fact that she’d eventually stopped the therapy, she could hear her therapist reminding her that she was only human. Her body had needs and she could only suppress them for so long. Eventually, she’d have to live again.
    While she knew this objectively, for so long she’d taken to regarding herself as only a police officer, then an ATF agent. Not as a woman.
    Dropping her head into her hands, she inhaled the air, still laden with smoke and water and soot, and quietly wept.
    Then, calling herself several kinds of fool, she got up. Calling Talia, she climbed the steps and went inside the trailer, undressed and climbed into bed. As if a nap would fix what was wrong with her.
    She lay there unmoving, wide-awake, as sunshine claimed the sky. Finally, sometime after noon, she dropped into a restless slumber, her beloved dog on the bed next to her.
    The sound of knocking woke her. Talia barked, jumping to the floor and standing guard at the door. Blearily sitting up in bed, Skylar rubbed at her heavy eyes and glanced at the clock.
    “Two-thirty?” That couldn’t be right. She hadn’t slept that late in years.
    Again someone banged on her door, this time with a bit more urgency. Now she understood why—she’d overslept.
    “Hang on,” she said loudly, readjusting the giant Dallas Cowboys T-shirt she slept in.
    Figuring she looked presentable for someone who had, only seconds before, been dead asleep, she opened the door, blinking at the bright sunshine.
    Matt. Of course. He frowned up at her, his beautiful blue eyes full of worry.
    Damn. How did the man manage to look so fantastic after the ordeal they’d just been through? She swallowed hard. “You look good,” she blurted, mentally wincing. “I mean, considering...”
    His mouth twitched, but to his credit, he didn’t laugh. “Thanks,” he said gravely. “Did I, er, wake you?”
    Briefly she thought about lying and saying no, but since it was so painfully obvious that he had, she nodded. “I got up so early this morning that I took a nap for a few hours.”
    “Sorry.” His gaze roamed over her, making her conscious that she wore nothing underneath the T-shirt.
    Her body reacted. She crossed her arms in defense. Beside her, tail wagging, Talia tried her best to get outside to greet Matt.
    “I think your dog needs to go outside,” he pointed out.
    “I’ll take care of that.”
    He smiled, and her body clenched up tight in response. “Let her out. I’ll watch her.”
    She stepped aside without a word. Talia barreled past her, but instead of running to the grass, she leaped on Matt, sending him staggering backward. “Talia,” she said sharply. “Go to the bathroom.”
    The border collie, ever obedient, trotted off to do exactly that.
    Matt moved back to the edge of the trailer steps, still staring. Was that heat she saw in his gaze? Surely not. She knew for a fact she didn’t look at all good first thing after waking up.
    “Um, what did you need?”
    He blinked, as though she’d brought him back to the present. “The police are here. They’ve got me rounding up anyone who might have seen anything. They want to ask you a few questions.”
    “Of course.” She wished she’d taken the time to drag a comb through her hair. “I’ll need a few minutes to brush my teeth and get dressed.”
    “Take your time.” Glancing at his watch, he took a step back just as Talia returned to the trailer. “José is on his way back here from his place in