Five

by Christie Rich

  Roger, it seemed, was a bit of an eccentric. He lived off campus with a bunch of roommates in a large house that his parents left him when they retired.

  How would it be to spend every day basking in the Caribbean sun on your own private beach? I hoped to find out one day.

  We pulled up to the scrolled ironwork gate separating us from the vast estate beyond. The hedge-lined private driveway wound in and out of copses of trees. I couldn’t see the house, but it had to be a doozy from the look of the sculpted gardens—as in plural.

  Sam rolled down his window. He pushed a button a few times impatiently.

  “Yeesss,” said a butlerish voice.

  “Quit messing around, Roger,” Sam said. “Why do you have the gate closed?”

  An imperious laugh rang out. “I feel dramatic today. Welcome, friends and all.”

  A loud buzz pierced my ears. Even though I expected it, I jumped. Zach laughed, placing his arm around my shoulder. I grimaced, looking away.

  “Great!” Natalie said with a huff. “He’s on one.” Natalie turned around in her seat, eyeing Cassie. She gave her a small smile, not genuine at all. “I promise he’s usually not this bad.”

  I glanced at Cassie, wondering if she found Roger annoying or funny like I did. The only thing I could see in her was bright, shining curiosity. Her face was aglow with mirth. Why was Natalie being so harsh? Did she have a complicated past with Roger? I hoped he was decent for Cassie’s sake.

  The lawns were expansive. We must have driven a mile before we reached the house. Sam pulled the car into a parking spot on a lower lot. I stifled my gasp when I got out of the car.

  The place was more than massive; it was colossal. A grand set of triple ascending stair cases rose above us like the proverbial stairway to heaven. Two gigantic turrets jutted over the sculpted hedges on either end of the building like gilded upside-down sugar cones.

  When we reached the top of the stairs, I asked, “Why didn’t we park up here?” There was plenty of room. An entire lot lay empty.

  “It’s one of his rules,” Natalie grumbled, walking by arm-in-arm with Sam.

  The house was a French Tudor classic on steroids. Leaded diamond glass gleamed in the sunlight from five stories of windows cozily set in aged stucco charm. The raised mahogany beams were rough-hewn and stately. Beautiful earthen flagstone covered the walkway, making me think my next stride could transport me into a different century altogether.

  The path split around a large three-tiered fountain that cascaded into a crystal-blue pool. The cool mist tickled my skin as we walked by. I greedily sucked in a refreshing breath.

  The grand portico held three arches with beautifully carved mahogany columns. The front doors had to be over fourteen feet tall and ten feet wide. The etched pattern mirrored the crosshatched design of the mortared beams.

  Before anyone had the chance to ring the bell, the doors swung inward theatrically. The man greeting us was quite handsome by human standards. His blond locks were swept to the side, tucked elegantly behind his ears. His deep brown eyes were fringed by dark lashes any girl would envy. The planes of his face were broad and masculine.

  He walked forward, arms splayed in greeting. “Welcome to my not-so-humble home. For those of you visiting Wayne Manor for the first time, I have few rules of conduct.”

  Who’d this guy think he was—Batman? I took in my surroundings again. Given recent events in my life, anything was possible.

  “However, I hold dearly the ones I do have,” he continued. “First, no man shall enter this home that is handsomer than me.” He looked pointedly at Zach. “Sam, you complement me, my friend.”

  Sam cocked his jaw to the side, tongue firmly planted in cheek. Zach smiled like the biggest rogue you ever did see, pulling me possessively closer. Natalie rolled her eyes.

  “And second,” Roger continued. “I shall have first rights to seduce any beautiful woman entering my home.”

  “We’re leaving,” Zach groused, twirling me toward the car.

  Roger laughed wickedly. “I should clarify—I shall have first rights to seduce any unattached beautiful woman that enters my home. I do have some scruples, man.” He smiled broadly at Zach who chuckled lightly.

  Roger gave an ostentatious sweep of his arm. “Please, come in.”

  We all filed in past him. Even the way he shut the doors had flair. He turned around, striding toward Cassie with pure intent in his step and on his face.

  “You have got to be the most spectacular woman I have ever had the pleasure to lay eyes upon.” Roger took her hands in his, bringing them to his lips gently. “You grace me with your presence.”

  “Thank you,” Cassie said meekly.

  I thought he was way overdoing it, but she seemed to devour his attentions like a starving animal. Zach cleared his throat, obviously annoyed by Roger from the expression on his face. Roger looked up as though it just hit him that we were all still here.

  “Ah, yes. Well said, Zachary.”

  Zach glowered at him. “The name is Zach.”

  Roger went on as though he hadn’t heard the irritation in Zach’s response, “I am neglecting the rest of you. Shall we retire to the lounge?”

  He led us down a hall, up some stairs, through another hall, down two flights of a circular staircase, and through more double doors into a cavernous room at the back of the estate. The rock fireplace jutted from floor to forty-foot ceilings. Three cozy seating areas surrounded it. The couches were overstuffed and inviting. An elegant grand piano rested on a raised platform on the other side of the room. The wall of gleaming windows revealed a pool that belonged in a tropical paradise, not the mid-west. Several small streams cascaded down a craggy hillside with a central gigantic waterfall crashing into the Olympic-sized pool.

  “Oh, how lovely,” Cassie said, walking toward the back doors.

  “You like my little oasis?” Roger asked, turning to Cassie with a warm smile on his lips.

  “It looks quite refreshing,” she replied.

  Roger clapped his hands. “Well, then, we have found our entertainment for the evening.”

  Panic shot through me. If he thought I was going skinny dipping, he was insane.