Gabe had originally been on the first floor, too, but after her impulsive decision last night, now he’d be in the room adjoining hers. No one would raise an eyebrow. They both had to open a door in order for either of them to enter the other person’s room, so they were assured of privacy.
Her romantic brain had spent most of last night spinning fantasies of him scratching at her door. She’d open it and discover him standing there, roses in hand. Hair down. Butt naked.
Self-torture. That was what she was into, clearly.
Just sticking her neck out. That was all. Sticking her neck out wouldn’t necessarily lead to butt nakedness.
She crept down the hallway, her shoes in her hand. No light shone from under Gabe’s door. A stab of disappointment ran through her. While a part of her had been relieved to be stuck in traffic, another part had been hoping to start practicing sticking her neck out tonight. Just a normal, twenty-something woman who could interact with a man she liked.
Not being weird.
She opened the door to her room and hit the light switch, the lamp on the nightstand bathing the pristine white bedding with a golden glow. The little-girl decor made her itch, but she only had to bear it for a week.
She placed her suitcase next to the dresser and tucked her shoulder bag on the floor next to it. A large tray on the writing desk had her prowling closer. She lifted the domed lid and smiled at the spread of fruit and cookies underneath. A little envelope was tucked under an orange.
Eat something. I made sure the pool is heated. I’ll see you in a few days.
N
Her face softened. Her brother was always looking out for her, even when he wasn’t in her immediate vicinity.
She chose an apple and bit into it as she opened her bag and sorted through it for her swimsuit. Her brother knew her too well. The indoor pool and Jacuzzi underground had been one of the reasons she’d brought this estate to her brother and Livvy’s attention.
Half-mermaid. That was what their mother used to call her. When she’d been very young, they’d had a lake house not far from here, and she’d grown up splashing in every body of water she could find.
At home, she belonged to a twenty-four-hour gym solely so she could go swimming at night. She had enough money to buy her own house with an indoor pool, but places like that were usually huge, like this. Even if she could convince Madison to move in with her, it would be too much space. From her experience growing up, big houses tended to be impersonal. She didn’t want to feel more alone.
She slipped into a cover-up and sandals and made her way through the quiet, dark hallway. The elevator took her to the lower level, where the pool was.
She stepped out of the lift and immediately stopped.
There was a man in her sanctuary.Theman.
Gabe leaned back on his hands. He was sitting on the concrete, legs dangling into the hot tub. Steam rose from the surface of the water, but nothing could obscure the fact that he wasn’t wearing clothes.
No, that wasn’t true. He was wearing clothes. They were swim trunks, damp and red. Bright. Fire engine. Red. Probably like her face.
“Well, well. Look who finally decided to show up.”
Light, playful words, but her first instinct was to run away, her guilty conscience convinced he somehow knew everything—that she was Anne, that her phone still held the Ryde notification about him having her bracelet, that she had a crush on him, that she’d told the butler to move his room next to hers—but she forced herself to walk toward him instead. “I apologize you were here alone all afternoon. Traffic.” Her voice echoed over the cavernous, dimly lit room, bouncing off the Olympic-sized pool. How was she supposed to ignore his body? She’d felt that chest yesterday, but this was the first time she was seeing it naked. His pecs were a delight, his belly a perfect washboard. Bright, colorful tattoo sleeves covered his arms from shoulder to wrist, highlighting his muscles. She wanted to grab both arms and inspect them thoroughly.
“It wasn’t easy, but I somehow managed to stay entertained in the lap of luxury.” He moved his legs back and forth slightly through the water. She tore her gaze away from his thick thighs to focus on his face. Was it her imagination, or was his smile less bright than usual?
You’re looking for reasons to run away now.“I—I was going to—” She was about to say,Go for a swim,but she recalibrated. “Soak in the hot tub.”
“You’re in the right place.” His smile widened, and this time, it seemed more like his usual friendly grin. “Be warned, it’s hot.”
“I like it hot.” It was an unintentional double entendre, but she refused to get all flustered. Instead, she dropped her towel on the nearest lounge chair and, facing away from him, grabbed the hem of her cover-up. “Have you been here for long?”
She’d asked him a question, and Gabe was going to answer it, as soon as he could rip his gaze off her body.
Eve was wearing some gauzy white thing that barely skimmed her mid-thighs. It lifted up, revealing round thighs and wide hips, the slowest striptease he’d ever been treated to.
If someone had asked him before tonight what Eve’s swimwear might look like, he would have guessed a one-piece in a neutral shade. That would have been sexy enough for him.
But this? This was enchanting. She wore a two-piece, and it was white, with tiny whimsical red cherries dotted all over it. The bottom was high-waisted, accentuating her nipped-in waist and the round curves of her thighs. There was a cute little squeeze of flesh on her back, under the strap of her bra.
He wanted to kiss it, lick it. Nip it with his teeth.
