He nods.
I pick up my phone and make a call I’ve been dreading—she answers on the first ring. “I need a favor.”
Chapter 20
Maya
Emma went to the grocery store, Ethan disappeared to who knows where, so it’s me and Squeak at the beach house. The deck off the back door is fenced in, so she’s able to roam and play while I lounge by the pool.
The water feels so refreshing; I dipped my toes in earlier. I never learned how to swim, and I don’t have a bathing suit, so I settle for lounging in a chair watching videos on my phone.
A good smut book would be nice to read, but I don’t have any actual money. One of the girls I worked with at the diner used to lend me some of hers to read on my breaks. It’s the only way I was ever able to read anything other than schoolbooks.
I assume what money I would’ve made from working on the farm went towards funding my living expenses. That’s only fair. Nick never told me, and I’m too afraid to ask.
Now that I’m back here, I’m even more curious about what kind of job he’s going to have me do. I try not to let myself get bogged down in that, since it can’t be worse than anything I’ve been through so far.
I’m lost in my own thoughts when a deep voice from behind me nearly sends me launching into the pool. “How many times are you going to watch that same video of a man jumping rope?”
I drop my phone. Busted. Thankfully just me and not the phone.
“That’s none of your business.” I don’t dare look at him as my cheeks heat from embarrassment.
Good thing it wasn’t the ex-delivery guy’s videos. The way he makes you think he’s talking directly to you, the way he blushes during some of his videos, the tattoos covering him all over—he’s my favorite.
“Everything that goes on in this house is my business, cupcake. I ask to give you a chance to tell me. If I really want to know, I’ll just pull your browsing history from the Wi-Fi data.” His shadow lingers over me as he steps closer.
“Can you do that?” I really hope he’s bluffing.
“I can and I will,” he murmurs, amused.
Shit. I’m in trouble if he pulls my data and sees that I put his name in my Google search earlier.
Naturally, I was curious about the man I’ll be living with—and the women he’s been photographed with. There was only one though. A blonde bombshell with long legs and perfect figure. She could be an ex-girlfriend.
My gut twists a little, maybe she’s his current girlfriend. After all, I haven’t spent enough time with him to say I know him on a personal level. I only spent a few days here before I moved to the farm, and it’s not like he talks to me unless it’s something pertaining to me and my therapy progress.
I shove the imaginary thoughts of me by his side in the back of my mind. I’m not tall and lanky, and I’m definitely not pretty enough to catch his eye. “What would sir prefer me to do?” I give him a questioning look.
A hint of a smile twitches at the corner of his lips. “Take a walk with me.” He holds his hand out for me and my heart skips a beat.
“I have to get my shoes and put Squeak back in the house.” I stand, without taking his hand, and turn towards the house. Physical contact with him makes me too nervous and I’m already embarrassed that he caught me scrolling thirst traps.
“You don’t need shoes and she’s fine out here.” He opens the gate to the boardwalk leading to the beach and motions for me to go ahead of him. I get butterflies in the pit of my gut just being within such close proximity to him as he follows just inches behind me.
I try to hide my excitement, I’ve always wondered what the sand would feel like between my toes—and as I always imagined—the warm, soft, and grainy sensation is amazing.
Nick walks by my side to the edge of the water, I take a deep inhale through my nose, reveling in the smell of the salty sea air. The sun’s glittery reflection off the endless horizon just about takes my breath away. I’ve dreamed my entire life about the moment I would see the coastline. Pictures do not do it any justice. I’m completely enamored.
“Theres something to be said about something that’s so beautiful but dangerous at the same time.” Nick’s looking directly at me, catching me off guard.
“Excuse me?” Was he talking about me? Am I hallucinating?
“The Gulf, oceans, large bodies of open water in general. The exterior is so breathtakingly beautiful we often forget the dangers that lurk beneath.” He turns away from me.
Mysubconscious scolds me for trying to interpret something in a way it wasn’t meant. I’m smart enough to know that he wasn’t talking about me.
Maybe…he’s talking about himself.That would make more sense. He looks like he was personally designed by the heavens, but he’s as dangerous as the devil underneath the gorgeous facade.
