Goddamn asshole had known exactly what he was doing. He’d scored a beautiful woman. He could have made the decision to give her the world, but he broke her instead. The worst part was, I’d never in my life wanted a woman so badly. Her body, curved in all the right places, breasts the perfect size for my hands, made me dizzy with desire. All the blood ran from my brain to my dick.
I let the water pound down on me, the ice-cold droplets stinging my heated skin as I tried to think of anything but the sexy vixen down the hall. The one who had no clue how appealing she was, or she’d have ditched her husband a long time ago. Damn it! I needed to get my mind away from Dominic, and the idea of Elena and Dominic, or I was going to end up killing him. Uncomfortable as it might be, I was just going to have to make do with a lethal case of blue balls.
Work.
Loans.
Sports.
I ran through a list in my head—anything that would clear out the image of Elena in that dress. And her eyes. She was completely oblivious.
Work.
Loans.
Loans!
Shit.
I had to collect a payment in a few nights. Another asshole who’d borrowed more than he could pay back. What in the hell was I supposed to do with Elena? Under no circumstances would I involve her in any more of my business. I had family connections and I couldn’t wait to get the hell out. I couldn’t have her anywhere near it.
Resolving to keep Elena away from that side of my life, I got out of the shower and I threw on a pair of track pants and a T-shirt, heading downstairs to wait for her to pick a movie. Goose bumps still covered my skin but when I stepped into the den, I wanted to march right back upstairs and add ice to the shower.
So much for clearing my head.
With her back to me, she stared at the shelves of pictures and artwork that lined the walls, her ass encased in a pair of black yoga pants that showed every curved muscle. I clenched my teeth as I surmised that she probably worked out to keep from getting fat, like a good wife would, swallowing against the lump at the back of my throat.
Sensing my presence she turned around, still as shy as she’d been when she knocked on my office door only a few hours earlier, and I watched her tongue dart out to wet her lower lip before she drew it between her teeth and met my gaze. I managed to stifle my groan, thanking the Lord that her shirt was nowhere near as low-cut as her dress had been, but it was still fitted enough to allude to her shape underneath. It would seem Elena didn’t have to do a lot to get me worked up but as long as she stayed seated, keeping that ass from view, I could keep from thinking with my other brain.
“I wasn’t sure how to work anything in here.” She gestured toward the TV.
I laughed, the sound strained as I attempted to get myself under control. “How about I turn it on, while you pick a movie.”
She took a seat on the couch, her back straight, hands folded in her lap. Innocent didn’t fully describe the scene in front of me.
“No, you’re going to pick what we watch tonight.” Walking over to the table, I grabbed the remote and pulled up my Netflix account.
“But . . . but—”
“No excuses, Elena. We’re going to teach you how to make decisions for yourself.”
Her face blanched and for one brief moment I felt bad for pushing her. Then I remembered what it took to break Aunt Veronica out of it. I sat down next to her, my thigh running the length of hers, and showed her how to flick through the choices to find a movie. The slight tremble to her hands told me she was uncomfortable. She flipped through and although I’d expected her pick one of the romantic comedies she passed them all by, and it struck me that even though I would rather gouge my eye out with a spoon than watch one of those films, I would have endured it if she’d made the choice. Then she surprised me. Rush was an older movie; one I was willing to bet she hadn’t seen. She looked up at me through her long russet lashes.
“Is this okay?”
She thinks this is what I want to watch. “Elena, is this a movie you want to watch, or did you pick something you thought I’d enjoy?”
“I’ve wanted to see since it came out, but I can pick something else if you’d prefer?”
“Enough.” I covered her lips with my finger. Probably not the best move on my part, especially when I felt how soft they were. “I told you to pick, which means I’ll watch whatever you chose. Now let’s sit back and enjoy the movie.”
She slid back on the couch but her back remained ramrod straight, the tension in the room was thicker than the fog after a summer storm.
“Elena?”
“Yes?” She looked over at me.
“You can relax. I won’t bite.”
I realized I was giving her permission, which went against my plan, but she immediately responded, pulling her knees up to her chest, her shoulders losing most of their tension. She wrapped her arms around her knees, hugging them tightly. It seemed protective, or maybe it was just comfortable. I preferred to think of it as being the latter. She hadn’t eaten much at dinner. She had to be hungry. And what went better with a film than snack food. “I’m going to grab something to eat. Would you like something?”
“Umm . . .” She shrugged her shoulders. “Sure.”
“Give me a minute.” She leaned forward to get the remote but I said, “You can leave it play. I’ve seen it before.”
She grabbed the remote anyway, clicking pause before retreating back into the couch, her chin coming to rest on her knees. “I’ll wait for you.”
“I’ll be right back.”
I headed for the kitchen, moving quickly through the house. Cursing myself for not thinking of this sooner, I figured that popcorn would be the best choice. It hurt to think that Elena probably hadn’t been to the theater in years, and I wondered just how much she’d missed out on. Things that I likely took for granted were a luxury to her. The thought made me uneasy.
Searching through the pantry, I found a box of microwavable popcorn and, tossing it in the microwave to cook, I went to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of beer, soda, and water. If I gave her a selection, she’d have to make her own choice.
I carried everything out to the den on a tray, met by a wide-eyed Elena. “Wow,” she said dropping her feet to the ground. She started to get up and I pulled the tray back, away from her reach.
“Sit down and relax. Remember, you’re my guest.” I set the tray on the ottoman. “I wasn’t sure what you’d want to drink, so I brought you some choices.”
“Beer with popcorn?”
Her eyebrows scrunched together. It was adorable, and something I never thought I’d like about a woman. But with Elena I did. It was refreshing to see her question things without fear of repercussion. Whatever caused her to let her guard down needed a repeat; then again, maybe she hadn’t even realized she’d done it. “Absolutely. Beer goes with almost anything.”
She looked skeptical but reached for one of the bottles of amber liquid. Taking my seat, I hit play and music filled the room.
As the film progressed, Elena relaxed further, tucking her feet underneath her, shoveling popcorn and beer into her mouth and leaning forward at each climatic part of the film. She was enjoying herself, the smile on her face making her glee evident. It was a good thing I’d seen it before because I watched her more than I watched the screen, all the while doing everything in my power to keep myself from turning it into a teenage night in my parents’ house. I couldn’t stop thinking about how much I wanted to forget the movie and make out on the couch. As the evening wore on, I edged closer and closer to her, the soft scent of lavender and jasmine permeating my senses, making my head spin. Holy hell, I was screwed.
As the credits rolled, Elena stood and began cleaning up our mess.
“Leave it,” I said. “I’ll take care of it.”