Chapter one
“Sorry!” He gasped in shock as he stared at the sexy form of the unknown naked woman in his bathroom. Her back was turned to him. His first thought was how beautiful her butt looked, tight and firm like a ripe peach waiting for someone to take a bite out of it.
Head bent, her towel swished around her legs as she dries the simmering liquid which, to his mind, danced down smooth flawless skin. He wanted to look away, but couldn’t. Her supple, tanned flesh wove a hypnotic trance, which teased and invited his immediate attention.
“I didn’t know anyone was in here,” Dane said, stuttering as he backs away to the shriek of her stunned surprise, as she whipped around to face him. Her body was appealing, and transfixed him to the spot, making him unable to turn around and leave.
He watched as the towel tumbled from her fingers to the ground, exposing ample breasts, which plunged forward. Her arms flapped like crazy as she scrambled to decide, which body part to shield.
What caught his eye was the clumsy way her hands left her breasts uncovered and squashed them between the V-shape formed by her arms. Leaving her dusky brown nipples to beckon him, like heat-seeking missiles of promised pleasure. To cover the perfectly waxed bald mound of womanhood, she tried desperately to guard from him with both hands.
Unable to take his eyes away from the vision before him, he moved in slow motion, retreating. It had him forgetting this was his house and he had no idea who this woman was. What he did know was she had his heart racing, goose bumps crawling their way to the surface of his skin.
The thin material of his swim shorts did nothing to hide or disguise the growing bulge, tenting his lack of self-control, and was damn right embarrassing. It wasn’t like he’d never seen a naked woman before, yet the sight of this one unhinged him. He had no idea anyone else was in the house.
His brain scrambled to make sense of what he was seeing. Had he entered the wrong house? He looked around the room. No, he was in the right place; his stuff was everywhere.
His sister said she and her friend would arrive in the morning. He even had a wakeup call scheduled so he wouldn’t be late. This girl—correction, woman—was definitely not his sister.
There’d been no evidence anyone was home when he came in, plus he established this was his bathroom.
As the shock of seeing her, subsided. He began to feel irritated.
What the hell was this woman doing taking a shower in his bathroom, and using his towel to dry herself? And why the fuck was he apologizing. What he needed to do was find out who she was and how the fuck she got into his house.
He took a step forward unable to take his eyes off her beautiful twin assets. God, they were lovely. Naked like this, she left nothing to the imagination that was for sure.
“Who are you?” he asked, to her back as she turned and bent over, staggering to pick up the lost towel.
She muttered something, but he couldn’t make out the words.
Did she even speak English? He moved toward her.
“How the fuck did you get into my house?” His irritation grew with the betrayal of his body and mass confusion, teetering on the brink of him wanting to do something stupid like dragging her and shaking her to get answers. Foreign or not, she was in his house, not the other way round.
He didn’t care how hot she was, he wanted answers. To think he even apologized for stepping into his own bathroom. Someone had some explaining to do and it wasn’t him.
Other than the initial scream and her incoherent utterance, that lasted mere seconds after being caught with her pants down. She stayed silent, fumbling with trying to secure the towel around her. Dane’s patience slipped, he marched up to her gripped her by the shoulders and spun her around to face him.
“Answer me. Who are you, and what are you doing in my house?” He shook her gently, but enough to hear her teeth clatter as she tried to speak. Her mane of thick Auburn hair curtained her face gleamed streaks of red fire flashing in the sunlight reflected off the window, shone down on them.
“I’m—I’m Megan’s friend. She said it would be okay to use this bathroom. I’m sorry.” She garbled in a soft timid voice, her head bent clutching her towel with both hands to prevent it from falling again as her shoulders rocked back and forth.
“My sister?” He hands stilled, resting on her shoulders. He took a step back, but didn’t release his hold. “If that’s true, why didn’t you use the bathroom adjoined to the other guest bedroom?” He asked.
Being this close to her, he was overwhelmed by her sweet scent titillating and tantalizing his senses. He shook his head; he needed to concentrate get to the bottom of this. Why was he so angry? Where was the attraction coming from? He couldn’t let his attraction to her distract him.
Her explanation was plausible: She knew his sisters name, and her assertions made a lot more sense than what he was thinking. Besides what self-respecting burglar would stop to take a shower?
However, his sister and her friend weren’t expected until tomorrow. If what she said was true, Megan would have sent him a text stating she’d changed her plans.
Her school didn’t let out until later that day. Then there was the flight and a ride from the airport, which would take some doing. His sister was too entitled to want to do something so mundane. She’d expect to be picked up, her bags carried, even unpacked for her.
The woman’s smooth, sultry voice woke him from his contemplating.
“This is the guest bathroom. Megan said that was my room while we were here.” Her head jerked toward the opened door on the opposite side of the room. “She took one of the other rooms further down the hall.” She shook her hair from her face and raised her head.
This was the first time Dane got a good look at her face.
Frightened deep green eyes stared back at him.
His heart stopped and fell to the pit of his stomach, his mouth went dry and he let her go, as if stung by a team of jellyfish. The velocity, of which he released his hold, sent her backward. His eyes bulged and beads of sweat formed on his upper lip and forehead.
She looked just like… it wasn’t possible.
He stepped back, struggling to swallow, his airways cut off, too tight to breathe through. He closed his eyes and tried to breathe again. This time a rush of air filled his lungs and he coughed out.
“Where is my sister now?” His voice was hoarse, his eyes pinned to the ground. He couldn’t look at her. He didn’t want to see her face ever again, and he would tell his sister as much. “Get dressed,” he said, not waiting for an answer to his question, and rushed from the room.
No way was this happening. He leaned against the door on his side of the bathroom. He must have been seeing things. His sister would have to be mad or plain stupid to think she could bring this woman into his home and it not be a problem. He should go look for the little idiot and wring her freaking neck.
Megan was supposed to take the bedroom on the other side of the bathroom the two bedrooms shared.
He wished now he’d told his parents to make other arrangements for his sister and the unwanted guest. It’s not as if Megan wasn’t old enough to take care of herself over the summer. Why saddle him with the problem of looking after a younger sibling?
He knew why they did it.
Just who was supposed to be looking out for who?
His parents knew he wanted to be alone. He needed to be alone. Maybe that’s the problem—he was seeing things. They say seclusion can do that to a person. How long had he been hiding out in his beach home, nine months? A sigh escaped him, he knew exactly how long it had been, right down to the minute.
A glance at his watch brought his left foot into view, which made him realize his own state of dress. Barring his swim shorts he was barefoot and naked from the waist up. He’d entered the house through the screen doors leading from his bedroom onto the patio, then onto the beach.
He pushed off from the bathroom door, and made his way into the hall. He had to find Megan; they needed to go. He’d call his parents and explain, but he wanted that woman out of his house today.
