She throws her head back, letting out a full belly laugh, and I’m mesmerized. Her eyes crinkle, and her smile leaves little dimples at the corners of her lips.
Her teeth are nearly perfect, aside from her incisor on the left side that’s always had a slight angle to it.
I always thought the uniqueness of it made her prettier, something that made it even harder to look away when she smiled. She has a beauty that can’t be duplicated. I’m glad she never got it fixed.
My eyes trace a line down her neck untilit disappears under her robe.
“I might have been a poor judge of character back then, Jensen, but now I’m a grown woman and eat men like you for breakfast.” She drops her robe suddenly, stepping into the tub of water in the tiniest bikini I’ve ever seen.
I don’t blink as she sinks to her neck, gripping the sides as she battles the icy water. Her head tips back, and for a moment, she looks relaxed.
Maybe it isn’t as cold as it looks.
“You can play bodyguard, Hayes. If that eases your burdens. For repentance, whatever.” The tremor in her voice is a good indicator that it really is that cold, but the goose bumps across her skin draw me in anyway.
Her eyelids pop open when she senses my approach.
“But nothing changes between us,” she rasps as I dip my hand into the water near her thigh, letting it bite my skin as it does hers.
“As long as there’s an ‘us’, that’s all I care about.” I should move back, give her more space, because I can see the cold taking effect as her entire body trembles.
But I don’t move.
She pushes to her feet, sucking in a chestful of air as the temperature change shocks her body. Only then do I move, stepping away so she can grab her robe, but my gaze never leaves her.
She’s all woman, now, and I don’t feel guilty for admiring her like I did when we were teenagers.
And, I think it pisses her off.
“Be here tomorrow morning at 7:30 sharp. Wear something professional,” she suggests, condescendingly.
“Yes, boss.”
She cuts me a glare as she walks inside. “Don’tcall me that.” The door slams behind her, and a smile stretches across my face.
Chapter Nine
Liv
There was no waking with the sun this morning. Instead, I’ve been up since 4 a.m. because I was sick of tossing and turning.
Spending an entire day with Hayes, on purpose, feels like a mistake even though I know the reasoning is sensical.
Someone is stalking me, that’s why he is doing this. That’s all.
But I still can’t erase the way he looked at me yesterday morning when I did my cold plunge. The way his eyes burned a path across my skin.
It was a heat that I haven’t felt in a long time.
I shove my folder of paperwork and my laptop into my briefcase as hard as I can, pushing my thoughts away.
It’s 7:28, he should be here, and I wish the anticipation of that was simply about being on time to work, but I meant what I said. I’m not waiting on him.
I slip on the same heels from the other night that he placed by the door for me and step into the cool morning air.
“Good morning,” he startles me, and I nearly drop my briefcase. He’s wearing a black suit with a black dress shirt.No tie.
He’s always been handsome, but this is something else entirely. His aura is overwhelming, his charm is palpable.
