He kept his eyes on the road. “Not far.”
That wasn’t an answer, but the calm way he said it made me feel like asking again wouldn’t get me anything better. I tugged the sleeves of my hoodie over my hands and stared back out of the window. “You always take women on surprise rides in the middle of the night?”
His eyes slid toward me briefly before returning to the road. “You scared?”
The honest answer was yes but saying that felt too vulnerable after everything I had already confessed inside the club. “A little.”
“I wouldn’t have brought you if you needed to be.”
That should have comforted me. Somehow, it did and didn’t. I settled deeper into the seat and watched the scenery change as he drove farther from the noise and bright lights. The buildings became more spread out, and the traffic thinned until we were nearly alone, as tall hedges replaced the businesses that lined the earlier streets. Every now and then I caught a glimpse of a large house far behind iron gates, but the darkness kept most of them hidden.
The faint smell of salt reached me before I saw the water. I cracked the window a little farther, letting the cool breeze brush across my face. “We near the beach?”
“Yeah.”
“Is that where we going?”
He gave me another sideways glance. “You ask a lot of questions.”
I pressed my lips together, swallowing the reply that wanted to come out. Anybody else would have gotten something slick but I gave Lev silence. That was the difference between being intimidated and being stupid.
He turned onto a narrow road lined with palm trees, then slowed down in front of a tall private gate. The gate opened before he stopped completely, revealing a long driveway illuminated by small lights set into the ground. The tires rolled across pale stone while I leaned forward, trying to see beyond the landscaped trees and thick tropical plants surrounding the property.
When the house finally came into view, I forgot all about trying to play it cool. It sat low and wide against the dark sky, with cream colored stone, and glass. The warm light glowed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, reflecting off a strip of water that ran along the front like a shallow fountain or something. The place didn’t look like the kind of house somebody simply lived in. It looked staged for a magazine spread where nothing was ever out of place. Lev pulled beneath the covered entrance and cut the engine.
I stayed seated for a second, staring through the windshield. “This yours?”
“One of mine.”
Of course it was one of his. I had forgotten I was dealing with a man who could say things like that without sounding impressed by himself. He got out, and I followed, stepping intoair that smelled clean. The wind carried the ocean, damp plants, and floral scents from the landscaping. I trailed him toward the front door with my eyes moving over the house and the Range Rover parked off to the side.
Lev unlocked the door and stepped back enough for me to enter first. The inside was even prettier with a wide-open space that stretched from the front entrance to a wall of glass at the back of the house, with pale wood floors running beneath oversized furniture in shades of cream, brown, and charcoal. A large piece of abstract artwork hung above a low fireplace, and the kitchen sat off to the left beneath black pendant lights that looked more like sculptures to me.
Everything was expensive, but it was not loud about it.
That was what made it feel different from the houses of men who wanted every guest to know how much they had spent. Lev’s place didn’t need to announce money because the materials and the space did it for him.
I moved farther inside while he locked the door behind us. “You live here?”
“Nah.”
He crossed toward the kitchen and reached for a set of switches on the wall. One press caused the lights near the back of the house to brighten, revealing an outdoor space that made me stop walking. Beyond the glass sat a long rectangular dark blue pool, surrounded by a wide patio with furniture and a covered section built around an outdoor kitchen. Past the pool, a wooden walkway cut through a strip of sea grass and disappeared toward the beach. The moon hung low above the water, showing a pale trail across the waves.
I slowly approached the glass. “Oh my God.”
Lev slid one of the doors open, and the sound of the ocean rushed inside. The air was cooler near the water, andthe constant rhythm of the waves calmed something inside me. “This is beautiful.”
Lev came to stand a few feet away with his hands tucked into his pockets as he looked past me toward the beach. “I bought it for the location.”
“You rent this out?”
He shrugged. “When I want to.”
I turned toward him. “As an Airbnb?”
He nodded answering my question. I looked back at the house. “People must tear this place up.”
“Some try.” He replied.
