Out front, I started to walk to the driver’s side, but then thought better of it. “Hey, Langston?”
When Jagger looked up, I tossed him the keys to the Range Rover. “You drive. It’s time you break the passenger-princess streak.”
He chuckled, but waited for me to climb into the passenger seat and shut the door behind me. His grip on the steering wheel as we backed out of the driveway did all kinds of things to my libido. This evening had been the first time I’d been in Jagger’s presence that I hadn’t felt like a horny schoolgirl. But looking at his muscular forearms now sent me right back to the eighth grade.Damn it. He rested one hand on the gear shift, while the other wrapped around the leather wheel, and my mind drifted, imagining those confident hands touching me all over.
I needed my head examined when it came to this man. One minute I was telling him my deepest, darkest, secret, and the next I wanted to jump his bones.
When we pulled into Jagger’s driveway, I wasn’t anywhere near ready for the day to end. I looked up at his picturesque home perched on a cliff and sighed. “Your house really is incredible.”
He shifted the car into park. “Thank you.”
“Could I…see it?” I nibbled my bottom lip. “Maybe a quick tour of the inside?”
Jagger hesitated. “It’s late. That’s probably not a good idea.”
It felt like he was making the responsible decision, yet something about the way he said it told me it wasn’t the one he wanted to make. “It won’t take long.”
Our eyes met in the darkness. I could see he was still struggling, and I thought he was about to turn me down a second time. “Please?” I asked.
Jagger’s jaw tightened, yet in the end he nodded. “Sure.”
He led the way to the oversized, arched door, unlocked it, and flicked on lights before moving aside for me to enter first.
I took one step in and stopped. “Holy shit.”
Soaring ceilings made the entry feel grandiose, but the real spectacle was the view. Standing at the front door, you could see clear through the massive living room and out to the ocean, even in the dark.
“It’s so lit up outside.”
“There are a ton of lights out back, including some spotlights installed on the bluff. I flicked on that switch along with the interior lights.”
“Your view is the polar opposite of the one in New York City, yet there’s still something similar about it.”
He nodded. “It’s the big windows as soon as you walk in. The rest of the house was a bonus. I knew I was buying this place the moment I stood here.”
“I can see why.”
Jagger ushered me in, yet he stayed several feet away as I looked around. An oversized, cream sectional withplush pillows acted as the centerpiece of the great room, positioned in front of a massive stone fireplace. White walls were decorated with colorful art, and a few antiques blended everything together. The only sign that anyone was staying here were the piles of paper on the glass coffee table.
I pointed. “Were you working from here earlier?”
He nodded. “I spend too much time inside working as is. The least I can do is take in the view while I’m doing it.”
“Do you come out to Montauk year-round? I bet it’s beautiful in the winter, with a big fire going, snow falling, and the ocean in the background.”
“I should, but it’s been a while since I’ve been out here.”
“How long?”
“Not since last fall.”
My jaw dropped open. “If this was my house, I’d be out here every weekend. Hell, if I were you, I’d move the office to Montauk.”
Jagger smiled and nodded toward a hall. “Come on, I’ll show you the rest of the house.”
The remainder of the beautiful home was on par with the grandeur of the great room—a gourmet kitchen with not one, but two islands, a solarium-turned-office with a glass ceiling and walls, four bedrooms decorated to perfection with plush bedding and coastal-style furniture. All through the tour, though, Jagger kept more distance than usual. Perhaps it stood out to me because of how physically close we’d been earlier. When we came to the last unopened door, he opened it but stayed in the doorway.
While I walked in and looked around, he leaned against the jamb with both hands in his pockets. His broad frame filled almost the entire width of the opening. His bedroom had French doors that led to a deck with anotherincredible view, and there was an en-suite bathroom with a clawfoot tub and separate shower with a dozen heads. Jagger might have been across the room, but I felt his eyes follow my every step.
