“I miss you, Caroline,” he whispered, his words drowned out by the sound of the water splashing against the tile. “I miss you so much. I'm so sorry.”
Getting turned on by Lily in her panties was the first time Wyatt had thought about another woman besides Caroline. Despite the fact that he was a billionaire and beautiful women often tried to woo him, he had always stayed true to his marriage. This was true before his wife died and it continued to be true afterward. He hadn't even begun to think of another woman in a sexual way since the first moment he Caroline. It just hadn't happened.
So Lily popping up at the forefront of his mind was something he wasn't ready for. It had come out of left field, completely unexpected and surprisingly powerful. On one hand, he liked it. He enjoyed the tingling feeling of attraction in his belly. It reminded him that he was still alive and that life was full of infinite possibilities. On the other hand, though, any of the excitement that seeing Lily in her panties had brought him, was completely drowned out by the sickening feeling of guilt.
“I have to be true to Caroline,” he whispered, turning off the cold water and stepping out of the shower.
He dried off quickly and crawled back into his bed without putting on any clothes. He took his usual spot on the right side of the King-size bed. It was the side closest to the door. Caroline had asked him to sleep there when they've first moved in, saying that she slept better knowing he was there to protect her if someone broke in. With him sleeping closest to the door, he could be a barrier between an intruder and her. It was a role that Wyatt had been happy to take on, considering he was the man of the house and it was his responsibility to protect his family.
Caroline had been gone for over twelve months, though. He didn't have a wife to protect in the off-chance an intruder broke into the house. It was just him in the bedroom now. Even so, though, Wyatt still slept on the right side of the bed just like he had since the very first day they'd moved into the house.
With a sigh, Wyatt rolled over and faced what used to be Caroline's side. On her nightstand was the romance novel she had been reading. There was still a bookmark at about the halfway point. He never touched it, he just let it sit there. In addition to the book, there were his wife's glasses and her alarm clock. All things he couldn't bare to get rid of.
Still, though, the empty spot on the bed seemed extra empty for some reason now. It looked the same way as his heart felt. He wished so badly that someone was laying there with him. Someone to hold and to cuddle with, someone to laugh and flirt with. Someone to love.
Then, for reasons unknown to him, he imagined Lily laying there in that spot. He thought about her bundled up under the covers with her head on the pillow, sound asleep. It wasn't a sexual thought this time, though. Surprisingly, he didn't find himself getting turned on at the idea of Lily laying there with him.
Something did happen, though. For the first time in twelve months, his heart seemed to ache just a little bit less. With just the idea of someone in his bed again, he felt the tiniest bit of weight lift off of his shoulders. A small, insignificant amount of weight, but still enough for him to notice.
He sighed, gazing at the empty side of the bed for just a moment longer. Then he rolled over, bringing his back to it.
I've got to get some sleep, he thought, closing his eyes.
Soon, he drifted off into dreamland. Somewhere in his consciousness, the fresh memory of a pantie-clad Lily was floating around, wishing to be seen and admired. He chose to ignore it, though. He figured that was the best thing he could do in the situation.
Chapter 6
Lily
Stupid, stupid, stupid, Lily thought, shaking her head in disappointment at herself. What in the hell was I thinking, walking around in Wyatt's house in just my panties and a t-shirt? I should have known he'd get home early. It's Murphy's Law. Whatever can happen, will happen. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
She had been blushing since the moment he had walked in and laid eyes on her a few minutes before. Her cheeks still tingled from the embarrassment, but it wasn't long before the blood drained back into the rest of her body. She felt so ashamed by the incident that it made her want to crawl out of her own skin.
“I seriously can't believe that just happened,” she whispered to herself.
Even though she was now in the privacy of her room, she went ahead and grabbed a pair of pajama pants from her suitcase and put them on.
Well, that's an awkward start to my week-long job, she thought, crawling onto her bed.
She laid on her back and stared at the white ceiling. The overhead fan spun slowly above her. She tried to focus on the movement of the blades in an attempt to distract her for a moment, but it didn't work. All she could think about was what had happened a few minutes before.
Lily replayed it in her mind. Wyatt had just stepped around the corner casually, his eyes panning the room, until they landed on her. She had covered herself up as quickly as possible, doing her best to hide the front of her panties and her nipples, which were poking out against her shirt. She had been so reactive when it had happened, though, that she hadn't really paid much attention to the expression on Wyatt's face. Now that she thought about it in detail, though, she was sure that he had have given her a quick once over.
Right before he had looked away, his eyes had moved down her body and then back up, staying locked onto her chest for just a moment. It had happened so quickly that she didn't notice it at the time.
Did he really check me out? she wondered.
The more she thought about it, the clearer it became. Lily was experienced enough with men to know the look they gave when they were checking out a girl. She used to joke with her friends that it was the one time in a man's life when was so focused that nothing could distract him. That was how Wyatt had looked at her when he'd come around the corner. His eyes were focused, staring straight at her chest and then down the length of her body, almost like he was peeling off her clothes with his gaze.
For whatever reason, her embarrassment about the situation began to fade. It became replaced with a warm, tingling sensation. It started between her legs and radiated outward, down her thighs and up her belly. She tried to ignore it, but the sensation was impossible to ignore.
No, Lily, she thought to herself. You can't let yourself get turned on over him.
It was bad enough that she already had dreams about making love to Wyatt on occasion. Now, though, the thought of him was turning her on in her waking life as well. A powerful urge to touch herself swept through her. Without even realizing it, she had slipped her thumbs into the waist strap of her pajama bottoms and was about to pull them down.
“No, I shouldn't,” she whispered, snatching her hands out of her pants and placing them by her side.
If she had been at home, in her own room, she probably would have done it. She was in Wyatt's guest bedroom, though. His room was just down the hallway. He could have walked in at any moment. It wasn't like the door was locked.