"Speaking of hot," I begin before I let out a raucous fake laugh.
He doesn't even crack a smile.
""Speaking of hot," I repeat with a lot less enthusiasm this time. "I'm heading back inside. I'm not used to the sun."
"I'll come by later with some beers." He squeezes my arms. "It's so good to see you, Rowan."
"Good to see you too," I mumble under my breath as I make a beeline for the patio doors and the quiet serenity of the empty house.
Chapter 35
I smooth some of the scented lotion that Graham tossed into my suitcase over my legs. I'd soaked my body in a hot bath for more than an hour. The water may have been chilled by the time I got out, but the stress it pulled from me made it worth the discomfort.
I wrap the thin robe I found in the closet in my room around my body. The temperature dips when night falls in this part of the state, but even though I'm tempted to turn up the thermostat to blast some warm air into the space, I know that I'll sleep more soundly if I don't. I may even crack open a window in my bedroom so I can drift off listening to the silence that is never present in Manhattan.
I'd heard a loud knock on the front door when I was drawing my bath. At any other time, I may have invited Ian in to share a beer and if I wasn't so intent on focusing on myself this weekend, I may even have been tempted to jump into bed with him. It would have been nothing but a quick escape from my life and a way to feel the pleasure I've been longing for.
I doubt that I'll ever come back to this place after I leave it in a few days and that assurance makes the possibility of a rendezvous with Ian that much more appealing.
It's not who I am though. I've never had a one night stand and I don't see myself pursuing it now. I want more than that. I need it and once I'm back in New York I may actually reach out to that chef that Ivy wants to set me up with.
I glance at the clock on the bedside table and realize that it's barely past ten. My imagination had envisioned me sitting out on the patio at midnight with a glass of wine under the stars. My reality is that I'm too tired to even venture out of the room to turn off the lights in the hallway. I do the only thing I can. I slide the robe off my body, slide between the cool sheets and close my eyes.
***
I feel the warmth of the sun on the side of my face and I realize that it's morning already. It's been so long since I've slept through the night that I sigh loudly. I don't open my eyes as I kick the blanket and thin sheet off my body. I stretch out, indulging in the freedom of not having any restrictions at all.
I drank too much wine and too little water yesterday. My mouth is dry and I feel the beginnings of a headache coming on. I swing my long legs over the side of the bed and shiver when I feel the cool air wafting through the open window hit my back.
I reach blindly for the robe, knowing that I dropped it on the bed before I fell asleep. I find it and the moment I've pulled it around me, I feel better.
I take the wooden stairs slowly and cautiously. I'm still sleepy and in the middle of an unfamiliar house. I left my purse, with a vial of ibuprofen in it, in the living room.
Once I
down two pills with a half a bottle of chilled water, I brush my teeth wanting to rid my mouth of the dry feeling I woke up with. I glance at the clock that is hanging on the wall in the hallway. It's barely past six.
I walk back into my bedroom, tossing the robe onto the bed as I move past it. I stop at the window. I pull open the curtains just enough to see the view. It's not ideal but I can spot the ocean through the tops of the trees. It's nothing like the view from my apartment in Manhattan. This is everything that life in the city can't offer to me.
I inch backwards until I feel the bed behind me. I fall back onto the pillow and sleep consumes me almost instantly. I'm just falling into the throes of a dream when I hear a soft tap in the room. I don't open my eyes. It's the bottom of the blind that normally covers the window at night. I hadn't closed it because I wanted to wake to the sun.
I turn onto my back, allowing my mind to go blank, wanting sleep to grab hold of me for at least a few more hours but I hear the noise again. It's louder this time.
I tilt my chin up, pushing my head back into the pillow. I should have paid more attention during yoga class when the yogi spoke of shutting off the world and finding your center.
I feel a brush against my arm and this time my eyes fly open.
My heart races.
My breathing stops.
He's standing next to the bed.
His hair is a tousled mess. His jaw covered with stubble.
He looks dangerous, desirous and as his eyes rake over my body, I know that my life will never be the same again.
Chapter 36