by Becca Monroe
Her head laid back against the seat. “You’re right. I do know they care about me, and I’ll remember they do and reach out next time. Honestly, I meant to tell Josh when he was around before and forgot.”
Why did it eat away at me she didn’t feel she could turn to me? A better question was why did I want her to come to me when she needed anything? I’d been the one who made certain we kept our distance. The entire reason she didn’t feel comfortable was because of what I created, and I hated it. It needed to change and fast.
By the time we pulled up to the house, she was asleep. I turned the engine off and looked over at her. Curled up in the seat, her knees tucked up close to her chest, her head leaned back against the headrest, those long lashes seemed to lay flawlessly against her skin.
She didn’t move when I opened her door and tried to wake her, so I leaned in and carefully and picked her up. The soft moan she made piqued my desire to kiss her. Obviously not the correct response in this situation. “We’re at the house, and I’m just getting you inside,” I whispered.
I loved the way her head fit in the crevice of my neck, and I could feel her breath on my skin. She was so light in my arms and holding her in them wasn’t a feeling I wanted to let go of.
“Don’t hurt me,” she whimpered, still sleepy.
My arms wrapped around her a little tighter as we entered the house, and I carried her to the guestroom just down the hall from mine. I laid her on the bed and covered her up with the quilt, offering a quiet promise. “I would never hurt you, and nobody else will either. Sleep well.”
Again, she thought I would hurt her, but why? Was I giving Delaney a feeling that I was a danger to her, or was it something from her past? When she uttered the words, it was a desperate plea. This woman was getting more and more under my skin with every moment we spent together. I needed to learn everything I could about her.
The house phone rang just as I closed the door to her room.
“Hello.”
Josh’s smartass question flooding over the line. “You and Delaney get to your place, okay?”
“Hey Josh, how did you know she was here?”
“Mike. He called to see if I thought you needed a babysitter,” he said, laughing at his own comment.
I rolled my eyes in frustration. “Why would I need a babysitter? The heater isn’t working, so we are getting her a new one tomorrow. She just needs a place to stay for one night.”
Josh made an obnoxious uh huh sound, and I wished for a moment he was in front of me so I could kick him out of my house. “Want to explain why it had to be you? You could’ve taken her to mom’s.”
“Jesus Josh, why do you care?”
Josh couldn’t help but laugh at my defensive tone. “Significant question that I will throw right back to you. You pretended you didn’t give a shit about her until this morning. What gives? Are you finally acting on the fact that you find her attractive? Because Mike said there are some serious feelings flying around between you two.”
“Mike talks too much, and there are no feelings. I just realized I had been an ass to her, and I can help her out with this. It’s one night, not a big deal.”
His laughter filled the line. “Try a week,” he said.
“A week?”
“At least a week. The suppliers are out. We had a call for a vessel taking on water today. Turns out it was carrying the stove supply and a ton of other hardware items for the island stores, including mom’s. So the new stoves won’t be in until next week.”
I grabbed the food out of the fridge for the dinner I was going to make. “Did you get the crew off the ship?” I asked.
The arrogance in Josh’s tone clear. “Hello! I was the pilot, and my team is the best! Yes, we got them off! What kind of outfit do you think we’re running out here?”
“My baby brother, hero of the high seas, military officer, and unable to maintain a relationship with any of the female population for over one night,” I teased.
Josh liked to joke, but he was fantastic at his job and he knew it. “If your ego gets any larger, you won’t fit in the cockpit of your chopper,” I snipped.
He laughed at my comment, then quickly jumped in with the only truth he could. “We will make it work and the rest of your comment is simply not true. I have three women in my life. The only three I need, momma, Josie and Delaney.”
“You can’t have sex with any of those women. Can’t marry them, or have children with them, so…”
“Why not Delaney? She’s free.”
I knew he was baiting me. Trying to see if I would fall for it, and come back with some blatant declaration of love for her, but regardless of the thoughts running through my head, they had to stay tucked inside it for now.
“She’s a friend of all ours now, and that’s it. If you were interested in her, you would have acted on it long ago.”
“True, but you are at least coming to your senses. Looks like one night of kindness has turned into seven nights of temptation,” he chuckled.
“I’m hanging up now,” I said, and I could hear him laughing as I disconnected the call.
He wasn’t wrong. The more time I spent with her, the more I wanted her in my arms and my bed. Seven nights with Delaney under my roof, and in my space. I only hoped to God I could be a gentleman the entire time. But even saints had their limitations, and I was no saint.
Delaney
I sat up in bed and grabbed my head. Ugh, tequila is not my favorite drink. I took in the surrounding room. Beautiful wood logs made up the walls, watercolor paintings of snowcapped mountains, and waterfalls hung throughout the room. Glass doors opened to what appeared to be a deck just outside. I glanced at my watch. It was a little after midnight.
The light in the bathroom was on, and I walked in, noticing my bag was on the countertop. My stomach grumbled. Not eating anything but a couple of chicken wings and ice cream for dinner was problematic. The bathroom was beautiful, with a brass clawfoot tub set just inside the bay window, and I knew the view in the daylight was stunning. Brass sink fixtures were perfect with the marble counters and black wood cabinets. I changed into my pajama shorts and a tank top, hoping that I could find the kitchen and get a bite to eat without waking Jake.
When I rounded the corner into the kitchen, my eyes widened in amazement. Someone who loved to cook had to have designed this space. It was so perfect for anyone who loved to make delicious food for the people they cared about. My fingers brushed along the cabinets and appliances, taking in the intricacies of the design. There was an enormous amount of preparation space, two separate stovetops, with two different ovens and two sinks on either side. It was a chef’s dream kitchen, massive and designed for cooking, with plenty of people able to gather and socialize in the room.
“Holidays here would be a dream come true,” I said aloud.
“You like it?” Jake’s voice interrupted my holiday fantasy, and my hand flew to my chest, startled by his presence. “I didn’t mean to scare you. When the light came on, I figured you were hungry. I made your dinner earlier. Give me a second to heat it up.”
“Thank you. I woke up with a killer headache, thirsty, and starving.” He smiled at me, and his eyes scanned my body from head to toe. I crossed my arms, realizing I’d removed my bra when I got home from the bar earlier and stripped out of my NYU hoodie when I woke up and changed into my pajamas.
“You cold? I have a sweatshirt you can borrow. Hang on.”
Why did I feel naked? Shorts and a cotton tank weren’t near enough of a barrier between Jake and me, and that realization hit me hard. Maybe staying here was a terrible idea.
He appeared a few seconds later with a large black hoodie that had Army stenciled into the front of it. “This should do the trick and you can take these after you eat for the headache.” He dropped two Ibuprofen into my hand.
“Thank you for being so nice, I know it isn’t easy for you to have me here.” I slid the hoodie over my head, and it swallowed me up. His scent
engulfed my senses. Pine, freshly cut wood, and all things Jake had me closing my eyes and burying my nose in the fabric.
“You okay?”
When my eyes opened, I found him staring at me. “Yes, sorry. It smells like you and the outdoors.”
“I’m sorry, I can grab you another one.”
“No, please, it’s perfect. Thanks.”
A broad smile crossed over his beautiful mouth and my girly parts tingled in a way I hadn’t experienced for a long time. “Okay, well, let me get this food warmed up. It’s nothing big, just chicken linguini.”
I stood near the island and watched him getting the food together. “Can you use that step over there and grab two glasses out of that top cabinet for me?”
“Your kitchen is beautiful. The entire house is breathtaking. I mean, what I’ve seen of it.” I climbed down off the step stool and found him staring at me.
He shook his head, as though he was trying to clear his thoughts and put the linguini in the oven. “This will take a few minutes to warm up, come on, I’ll show you the rest.”
“You can just throw it in the microwave for me. I’m sure you want to get to bed.”
Jake was tall, so tall that he had a good foot over me in height. His eyes were the color of amber and his olive skin color and dark hair gave new meaning to the phrase, ‘tall dark and handsome.’
“You don’t understand how accurate that statement is,” his eyes held a devilish look. “Come on, it will just take a few minutes, and for future reference, I don’t use the microwave.”
He winked, and I could have sworn the heat between my thighs increased to the temperature of the sun.
Jake
The moment I took Delaney’s hand in mine, I felt a charge of electricity run up my arm and throughout my entire body. The same feeling I experienced the first time I met her at the Kodiak Crab Festival all those months ago. With the simple contact of our skin, my body came to life. Maybe it was a mistake to have her stay here or to take her hand in mine and show her around my place, but the moment she said my sweatshirt on her was perfect, my brain lost all sense of reason. Whatever I was feeling, she was experiencing it too, and that made me want to explore what was happening with us, while my common sense took a hike.
I showed her the family room and the formal dining room. My heart ached a little when she admired the hand-carved table, with enough seating for twelve, and she talked about how holidays would be perfect here. She cast me a look of utter bewilderment when I told her I hadn’t held a single holiday dinner in my home yet. It had only been three years. Why the rush?
“Ok, I have a question for you,” she said.
“Let’s hear it.”
“You’re a single guy. Why did you build this beautiful, massive home and then never entertain and use it to spread happiness around?” The honesty in her eyes made my heartache. It was like she was asking me my favorite food, and not a complex question about why I self-isolate and choose not to allow many people inside my private world.
“You kind of go straight to the heart of it, don’t you?” I said, grinning like a complete idiot.
She shrugged with a smile. “There isn’t much point in dancing around what you want to know, is there?”
I nodded and watched her as she studied the contents of the china cabinet. Maybe it was because it was after midnight, or maybe it was the glass of whiskey I had a while ago, but Delaney’s picture-perfect legs and her tiny frame wrapped in my favorite hoodie made my dick stand at attention. Not a brilliant look for a guy trying to earn a woman’s trust after spending months being an asshole to her. I didn’t want Delaney to think I just wanted to get close to have sex with her, but getting lost inside her was at the forefront of my mind.
“No, I guess there isn’t. We all have holiday dinners at mom’s place, and I don’t want to take that away from her. I built the house because it was my dream to design and build the home my wife and children would live in one day.”
“Ah, I see. Well, you have the home, now you just need the wife and children.”
The image of Delaney’s belly rounded with carrying our baby flashed through my mind. What the hell was wrong with me?
“Someday, I’m not in any rush,” I lied.
Why did I feel as though I was in a rush suddenly?
“Oh, I know,” she chided.
“Wow, that was jam-packed with insinuations,” I joked back.
Verbal banter with Delaney was quickly becoming my new favorite pastime. The more time I spent with her, the more I wished I hadn’t wasted so much time trying to keep my distance.
She put her hands in the air and used her fingers to make little quotation marks.
“Well Jake, you don’t exactly give off the ‘I’m looking for a wife vibe,’ that’s all.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at how insanely adorable she was, using air quotes to drive her statement home. We walked back into the kitchen, and I placed her dinner in front of her. “I don’t like to date, it’s complicated, and it isn’t as though there are a lot of options up here.”
She took a huge fork full of the pasta, and I burst out laughing when she tried to respond to my last statement with a mouthful of linguini. By the time she finished chewing that first bite, I knew I was falling hard for her.
“Sorry,” she said and grinned. “This is fantastic, did you make it yourself or just buy and heat it up?”
My stare must have looked intense because her eyes flashed with that look of fear for a moment. “I never buy processed food and heat it up. One thing you should know about me is that I love to cook.”
“We have something in common, after all,” she whispered.
A nice silence fell between us for a second as our eyes locked.
“Well, tonight is my lucky night, I suppose. I get excellent food, pleasant company and a comfortable bed. What more could a girl ask for?” She shrugged, devouring another bite.
“The guest bed is very comfortable until you try mine. It’s the best,” I said, not taking my eyes from her.
She started choking and set her fork down, reaching for her water. After she took a long drink, she ignored my comment about the bed and moved on. “I can see how dating up here would be difficult. Plus, everyone knows you and your family. Actually, everyone knows a lot about everyone, that dynamic is difficult. Sometimes disappearing into a larger place helps.”
“Is that what you’ve done? Disappear into a larger place?”
Delaney laughed, the perfect sound filling the space between us. It was so beautiful I longed to hear it again. Why was I so drawn to this woman?
“Kodiak is definitely not larger than most places.”
Moments passed, and I let her eat, but I had to know why she moved here. My curiosity was in overdrive, and I suddenly wanted to know everything I could about her. “So, what made you move up here and why do you want to leave where you were?”
She finished her meal and walked to the sink to rinse off her plate. “I suppose sometimes it’s not about how large a place is, but more about how far away it is. Kodiak is beautiful, and I guess I wanted a change. I’ll move when it’s time.”
I heard the words, but there was no conviction behind them.
“Where did you move from?” I asked.
She turned to face me. “Thank you for the meal and for allowing me to stay here. I appreciate it, but I should try to get some rest. Goodnight, Jake.”
Delaney didn’t enjoy talking about herself or her life before she moved here. By itself, that minor piece of information wouldn’t bother me, but on two separate occasions, I had witnessed fear in her eyes when she felt like she was in a vulnerable position. Fear, combined with wanting to move somewhere far away from her past and never talking to anyone about her life, made me believe she was hiding something. I just didn’t know what or why.
Tonight had been a nice evening, and I wouldn’t ruin it by pushing her to share all her secrets with me, so letting her get some sleep was the
only thing I could do. “Sleep well Delaney and if you need anything, you know where my room is.”
She smiled, but her eyes never met mine. “Thanks again,” she whispered and disappeared down the hall.
CHAPTER FOUR
Delaney
By the time I got out of the shower, it was past when we should have left. Jake smiled when I walked into the kitchen. “How’s the head?” My hand reached for the traveling coffee mug he offered as we walked out to the truck. “It’s black coffee, no cream or sugar, is that okay?” he asked.
The skin contact made my thighs tense. Thank God I made it through one night under the same roof as this man. Any more and I might do something both of us would likely regret.
“Black is perfect, thank you, and the head is okay. I have to say, that shower in my bathroom is amazing. The tub is what I wanted to do, but I was already short on time.”
He grinned and my girly parts tingled again. “Well, I meant to tell you last night, but you will need to grab some more clothes after work today. The stove won’t be in for a week, so you’ll be able to use the tub tonight if you’d like.”
I stopped walking and turned to face him. “A week? I can’t stay at your place for a week.”
“Why not?”
Realizing what I said, I lied through my teeth. “Next Thursday is Thanksgiving, and I was hoping to be in my place, that’s all.”
He opened my door for me, and I climbed inside. “You have friends or family coming for the holiday?” He asked, handing me my seatbelt.
The reality of how isolated I’d become slammed into me like a freight train. “No.”
My phone rang, and I dropped it to the floorboard, trying to answer it so quickly. Jake grabbed it and handed it to me. I answered, knowing it was Kelly. “Hello?”
Jake slid into the driver’s seat, so I couldn’t say much. “I’m not alone,” I whispered, knowing he could hear every word. “What’s wrong? Are you sure?” I listened to Kelly explain some of what she needed to. “I’m worried about you too. Call me Saturday, promise? I’m ok, staying with a friend. Ok, lady, I love you too and we will talk more soon.”
