Beyond Control (25 page)

“Tomato?” I asked, laughing as he shoved the key into the lock.

“Don’t kill the messenger. She’s a rescue and came with the name. I call her Tommie.”

“What kind are they?” I asked as he pushed open the door.

“You’ll see,” he said, his voice hesitant as two bouncing dogs came running up to him. I was in shock as I looked down at Tomato and Sunny. One was an English Bulldog and the other a Sheltie. This was nuts! I turned to him and scowled, crossing my arms as they leapt on him, and he scratched their chins.

“Did you rent these?” I asked grinning, and pointing at the two spoiled pooches.

“Wow, Ms. Sullivan, is that a smirk I see unfolding on your lips?” he asked, his playfulness igniting something deep inside me.

I rolled my eyes and pushed him gently before scratching the sheltie’s ear.

“No. Didn’t have time to go to the rent-a-pup this morning. They’re all mine. Aren’t you, girls?” he said to them, petting their heads. “Do you really think I’d go to that much trouble to get you in bed?”

“Do you really think that’s all it would take?” I laughed.

“I think I had you the moment I saw you on the bridge,” he murmured, as the girls ran off down the hall.

“Is that so?” I said, absolutely astonished that he was so sure of himself. But he was right.

“I see your softer side is coming out again,” I said, hitting his arm, but he grabbed my hand. “Now show me around before—”

“Before what?” he interrupted, pressing a kiss against my knuckles.

“I don’t even know,” I said, my pulse quickening as his eyes locked on mine.

A wicked grin spread across his lips as he feigned a victory.

“What is it about you?” I started laughing nervously as I thought about my words. Really… what was it about him that was so arresting, so absolutely mind-numbing? It had to be more than that smile. There were a lot of good-looking men out there so what was it about him that pulled me to him like this? Made me feel like I was the luckiest person in the world?

“Now to show you around,” he said abruptly, knowing exactly what he was doing to me. “This is the entry.”

“I figured that,” I teased, looking around.

Actually, I had been so blindsided with Tomato and Sunny that I hadn’t really looked around. The interior was as beautiful as the exterior. There was a bench pushed along the far wall, and a set of stairs to the right. The room was painted a deep burgundy, but rather than making the place feel dark or small, it just made it feel cozy.

“This way takes us to the great room,” he said, pulling me down the hallway. When we made it to the room, I saw the two pooches snuggled together on a chair; one of them was gently starting to snore. The room was perfect, absolutely perfect. It wasn’t bare. There were actually things on the shelves and magazines on the tables. A large slate fireplace was in the corner of the room. Two large leather couches were in an L-shape surrounding the hearth, and I felt more at home here than where I lived.

I turned to the left and the view took my breath away. How I didn’t notice it right away was beyond me.

“Wow. I’ve never seen anything like this,” I said, walking toward the glass wall.

“It works like a garage door. The whole wall rolls up. It brings the outside in,” he said, almost apologizing. “It might be a little over the top, but I really like it.”

I looked out over the water at his private Northwest lagoon and completely understood why he loved it here. I would too.

“It’s amazing,” I said, looking out over the deck.

He followed my gaze to the outside shower, and I blushed.

“Isn’t it a little cold here for one of those?” I asked, raising a brow.

“You’d be surprised. It’s really refreshing…” A slight tug of his lips and I knew he was trying not to give away too much. There was more he was trying to say.

“Well, I’d love to try it out sometime,” I said unabashedly as I turned toward the kitchen. “It just keeps getting better,” I whispered as I walked into the kitchen, taking in the large Viking stove and double ovens.

“Does it?” he asked, knowing full well the kitchen would impress me.

“Do you cook much?” I asked.

“Enough. I actually enjoy it,” he said, coming up behind me.

He slid his arm around my waist, and my breath caught as I thought about his touch elsewhere.

“I’ll show you the upstairs, and you can make yourself at home while I finish preparing dinner,” he murmured, sensing my wandering thoughts.

“That sounds like a wonderful idea,” I agreed. I really wanted a shower or bath or something to wash away the day of riding. “We’ve gotta get my bag off your bike.”

“Right,” he said. “I’ll go grab it. Did you want anything to drink? I’ve got wine, iced-tea, some sort of lemonade that has bubbles, and probably a few lone beers rolling around in the fridge,” he replied, heading back down the hall. “Help yourself.”

I opened the door to the refrigerator and saw bins full of fresh produce and a glass tray with something marinating. For a guy who doesn’t drink, he certainly keeps a stocked fridge. I grabbed a carbonated fruit juice and twisted the cap off. I felt the cool liquid trickle down my throat, unaware of how thirsty I was.

“Got it,” he shouted from the foyer.

“So there’s a place I can take a shower?” I asked, grabbing my bag from him.

I caught a flicker in his eyes as he nodded, and my insides completely melted.

“Come on up. I’ll show you the upstairs, and then you can have free reign of the place,” he said, grinning.

“Better watch out or I’ll take you up on that offer.”

When we got upstairs, he pointed to the first two bedrooms and bathroom and kept walking.

“You can put your stuff in here. This room’s got an ensuite attached so you don’t have to worry about bumping into me in the hallway,” he said, his eyes mischievous. I followed behind him as we walked into the bedroom. It was huge. The walls were painted a soft beige, but there was some sort of light texture on the walls. The furniture was light pine and the comforter was bright white with pleats. It actually had a very feminine touch to it.

“Is this your room? I don’t want to—”

“Definitely not,” he said, laughing. “My room’s down the hall. This was the decorator’s choice.”

“Thanks,” I said, feeling a slight distance growing between us. Or was it just in my head because things had gone so well, and I was scared. But what was there to be scared of? Spending a dinner with him didn’t mean it had to lead to something. And if it led to something, it didn’t mean it had to mean something.

“Don’t wear yourself out overanalyzing everything,” he murmured, his eyes revealing his softer side once more.

I smiled and nodded, realizing how little there was I could hide from him.

“See ya downstairs,” he said, grinning as he closed the door.

I put my drink on the dresser, careful to place it on a magazine, and walked to the bathroom. I let out a deep sigh as I looked at my dream bathroom. Now this was simply ridiculous. The claw-foot tub was placed in the far corner, overlooking the shimmering water. The room was soothing, with its soft shades of blues and greys, and the tile floor was warm as I stepped on it. Heated floors. I shook my head, smiling as I thought about the day we spent together. There was something about him that was so endearing. He was full of confidence, knew what he wanted out of life, but didn’t seem to let that jade him. He was willing to listen to others’ dreams and engage in the possibilities, no matter how small.

“Absolutely beautiful,” I whispered to myself, not sure if I was referring to the view or who Jason was turning out to be.

I turned on the bath water and found a bottle of bubble bath and a packet of sea salts that I sprinkled in the water. There weren’t any blinds or curtains to draw, but I didn’t really want to block the beautiful view anyway. It wasn’t like he’d be able to see me if he was down there, and it wasn’t like he hadn’t seen me already. Stripping off all my clothes, I stepped into the warm water and slid my body under the bubbles. The view was breathtaking as I watched a pair of ducks circling, finally landing on the water. This was a view I enjoyed far more than our city one. I wondered how angry Brandy would be if I did move to the islands one day.

I heard the dogs getting excited downstairs, their paws tapping on the floor, and barks echoing through the house, and for a brief moment, I let my mind imagine what it would be like to be here, to live here, with him. I heard what sounded like a garage door below and realized Jason must’ve been opening up the glass wall. I took a deep breath in and leaned my head against the edge of the tub as the barks drifted outside. I propped my head so I could continue to look outside and was surprised when I saw both dogs playing on the grass near the water. I couldn’t see Jason, but I could tell he was throwing something for the dogs to retrieve. Was this what he did on his nights when no one was here? I continued watching the dogs play for several more minutes before I decided I should probably quit spying on Jason and get down there to actually spend time with him.

I stepped out of the tub, releasing the water and grabbed one of the pale blue towels that hung on the heated towel bar. Boy, he didn’t miss a beat.

I wrapped the towel around my chest and quickly went to the bag that Brandy had so thoughtfully packed for me to avoid one of my meltdowns. As I unzipped the bag, I gasped at what I saw inside.

Nothing.

I mean there was something, but it didn’t resemble clothing. I was going to kill her. Absolutely kill her. I lifted out the two pillows, which she stuffed inside as decoys and found nothing more than the damn lacey black thong and bra. Nothing that resembled clothing at all. I looked over at my pile of clothes, and there was no way I was putting them back on, not after my wonderful bath. I grabbed my phone and sent a quick message to Brandy.

Going to kick your ass!

She must’ve been waiting for this moment all day because she texted right back.

You can kick it tomorrow all you want, but something tells me by tomorrow you’ll forgive me. xx

I started laughing aloud and tossed my phone in the bag. I wandered over to the bathroom window and looked down, seeing Tomato and Sunny chewing on the same toy. It didn’t look like the game of fetch was going on any longer. I secured my towel around my chest a little tighter, pulling it up to hide the scar as much as possible and took off down the hall.

I didn’t hear anything in the kitchen as I wandered down the hall but felt the wonderful breeze coming in from the water. The view was beautiful and a table was set for two, but I didn’t see any sign of Jason. Maybe he had gone upstairs to shower.

As I sauntered out onto the open deck, I heard a faint trickle and glanced toward the outdoor shower. The cedar door was closed, but it only covered the middle of him. His eyes were closed as the water sprayed down his back. He was rinsing the shampoo out of his hair, and I suddenly felt like I was watching something far more intimate than it really was. My eyes happily cruised along his body, taking in every ounce of him. I knew he was fit from the way he wore his clothes, but seeing him like this took it to an entirely different level. His body turned slightly and my eyes dropped to his pecs, flexing as he continued rinsing. My breath caught as I began backing up. I felt like I had stumbled upon something that I shouldn’t be watching, because what it was doing to me inside was like a nuclear time bomb about to go off. And that wouldn’t happen if it were only innocent thoughts running through my mind.

Graceful as usual, I bumped right into the table behind me.

“Hey,” he said, opening his eyes. “I didn’t hear you come out.” Surprise surged across Jason’s face as my gaze dipped immediately. An inward flush rolled up my cheeks as he caught me admiring every square inch of him. There was no talking my way out of this. And I was in a towel!

He stroked his hand over his arm, rinsing the last of the soap off.

“After the whole hot tub incident, I didn’t want to be blamed for anything so I thought I’d come out here to rinse off…” he hesitated. His eyes ran across my bare shoulders. “And then you show up like this?” The expression in his eyes made me feel like the most sexy and adored woman that ever walked the planet, and I couldn’t help but smile.

“It’s complicated,” I said, laughing.

“It always is with you,” he grinned, turning off the water.

After explaining my predicament, he showed me his closet to find something to wear. He found a pair of cargo shorts and a shirt for himself and went downstairs to put on the clothes and continue preparing dinner. The smile never left his lips from the first moment on the deck to him leaving me to stand in his closet wondering what in the world to wear.

Everything was going to hang on me, but it was only temporary since we had put my other clothes in the washing machine. I didn’t want to go through his things or intrude any more than I already was, but I still opened the drawer closest to me. Bingo! I found a pair of flannel boxers, which I pulled on and twisted at the waist, securing the knot with a hair elastic. I slipped a navy shirt over my head and turned off the light.