“What are you doing here?” she said through clenched lips.
He shrugged, strolled over to grab the towel off the hook above the stove and dropped it on the floor to keep the beer from running under the fridge. “I came for the weekend.”
She blinked. “Didn’t you see the white board?”
“Yeah. I wrote my name on it when I got here this afternoon.”
There was a long hesitation and he could practically see her brain working through her dark irises. “You can’t be here. This is my weekend. I texted you.”
He took two strides toward the counter and leaned against the edge, crossing his ankles as he became comfortable. He wasn’t sure what had her panties—if she were wearing any—in a bunch, but he was a patient man. Since the night they’d shared together, she’d treated him like a raw, infected pimple on her ass.
Hell, did she think he enjoyed sharing Cross House with her? The last thing he wanted, or needed, was to be stuck anywhere near her. In fact, several times since he’d inherited his half of the property, he’d been ready to sign it over. However, just like now, each time he debated the option, she came at him in a tirade and he decided he wouldn’t give her anything.
Blowing out a long breath, he held her gaze. “You didn’t let me know anything.”
“Yes, I did.” She clutched the tablecloth like it were a lifeline. He wondered if she remembered he’d seen it all once before? He certainly hadn’t forgotten.
“Wrong. Otherwise, I would have changed my plans. No way in hell would I spend my time with a…”
Her narrowed gaze could have cut him in half.
“With what?” she ground out.
“With an uptight woman who obviously loathes me.”
“No.”
“You don’t dislike me?” He popped up a brow.
“No to being uptight. Now since there’s been a miscommunication, you can grab your bag and head home.”
He chuckled. “Not happening.”
“As you know, staying here together won’t work.”
“Then maybe you should go considering you were the one who miscommunicated your plans.”
“I’m here to work on the renovations, something you wouldn’t understand considering I’ve done most of the work so far.”
His gut twisted. “It was your idea to do the renovations and you just assumed I was going to fall into place and do your bidding. But I don’t jump upon command. You should know that by now.”
“Oh, I get it. You can’t take some time away from all the big breasted, one-nighters to lend a hand.” Her expression grew colder.
Pushing away from the counter, he laughed. “I think you might be a little jealous.”
She laughed. “You can’t be serious. Me? Jealous of the newest flavor of the week? I could care less. What I do care about is getting this house finished soon.”
“I’ll say it again. I’m not leaving. The last ferry has left for the day. You’re more than welcome to find a way back to mainland if you’d like. I’d suggest if that’s your plan, you hurry, get dressed, and start moving.” He shouldn’t allow her to nestle under his skin.
“You’d like that wouldn’t you?”
“You should consider yourself lucky because I’m here. Want me to help with the renovations, then this is the time.” Working all weekend hadn’t been his plan. For the last three months, he’d been neck deep in a case involving a teenage girl who’d disappeared from her bed. The abductor had left few clues and he’d been in the lab for days going over every bit of evidence with a fine-tooth comb. Thankfully, they’d had a breakthrough in the case and for the first time in a long while, he didn’t feel guilty about taking a break.
“You mean you’re suggesting that we stay here for the weekend? Together?”
He didn’t like the humor in her voice. “Well, you could pitch a tent outside, then technically we wouldn’t be ‘here’ together.”
Her cheeks were flushed and her drying hair was wild around her flushed cheeks, making her eyes brighter. “There’s not a chance you and I can manage being here together. The island isn’t big enough.”
“Then grab your things, sweetheart. Enjoy your weekend back in the city.”
“I’m not your sweetheart. Let’s get that straight!”
“Okay, Jayde. Better?”
“No. It’s not.”
He shrugged, strolled to his bag and picked it up, dragging it over his shoulder. “In case you’re wondering, I’ll be upstairs in my room. Whatever you decide to do is up to you, but I’m crashing. I worked a double shift on a case and I don’t have time to argue tonight.”
Half expecting something to be whirled at his head as he headed up the steps, it was her high-pitched groan that reached his ears. He laughed. For some reason, he got a lot of enjoyment seeing her feathers ruffled.
2
LAUGHTER RESONATED FROM the living room.
Jayde’s chest tightened and her heart did a painful triple flip. She frowned, hating that her body responded to Merf in such a spontaneous way. If it wasn’t enough that she’d been plagued with dream after dream of him last night, ultimately needing a cold shower this morning, she now had to face him for a second day in a row.
A part of her hoped he would have decided to catch the ferry back to the mainland this morning and therefore save her a lot of humiliation, but she should have known he wouldn’t do anything to help her out. The first thing she did last night when she’d gone upstairs after mopping up the spilled beer was check her phone. Unfortunately, Merf had been right. She hadn’t sent a message. After racking her brain, she realized she’d been so caught up in the zoning issue that she’d completely forgotten to reach out to him. So he wouldn’t have had any idea she would be here. What made it worse, he’d sent her a text early yesterday morning letting her know he was coming, but again, she’d been so involved in the problems she had overlooked it.
Oh well. The fact remained that being together at Cross House wasn’t safe. With that, she couldn’t demand anything from him because the moment she would, she knew he’d do the opposite just to push her buttons. In her business, she’d learned that a smile and friendliness worked so much better than sour pickles.
So, by the time she stepped onto the last rung, she had a smile planted on her lips and squared shoulders.
The house, situated on a rise overlooking the ocean, couldn’t be described in one word, but if she had to, it would be ‘amazing’. The living room, built for gatherings, was a rustic and comfy space that comprised most of the bottom floor. A huge, stone fireplace nearly covered one end wall with a large deer head hung above the mantel. Devon had been an avid hunter. At the other end of the room sat a rough, pockmarked long table surrounded by different shaped and colored chairs. The rustic wooden ceiling vaulted to a high peak and the water facing wall was nothing but ceiling to floor windows. French doors stepped out to an outdoor deck that was scattered with comfortable furniture with large, puffy pillows. Inside, a large sectional sofa and two flowered chairs flanked the rustic coffee table made simply with a slab of sanded and stained wood.
This was a room Jayde hadn’t touched.
Her focus landed on Merf who had his back to her and his attention on the TV. A movie was playing. Casually, he glanced up at her and smiled—one that made her knees weak. “Good morning. I made coffee if you’d like some.”
How could he be so, well, cool? “Morning. I guess you’ve decided to stay.”
“Yes. I guess you have too.” He shrugged.
She tried not to admire the way his broad shoulders stretched the black cotton of the T-shirt. Or how the muscles coiled in his neck or how his thick biceps were covered in tribal tattoos, probably from his days spent in the marines. Each time he moved the shirt clung to a part of him that reeked of masculinity.
A man built this good, this lethal, should be outlawed from wearing close fitting shirts of any type. Although he was a brilliant doctor, he could have easily been in the Mari
nes still because of his rough and tough nature which held a certain natural danger. Or he could have a side career as a model, one who wore sexy underwear. Truthfully, she was attracted to tall men with nice asses, and Merf fit that description. Knowing what he looked like under the cotton and denim made things only more difficult for Jayde.
Standing less than ten feet from him, she could barely breathe. Her inner thighs worked and her knees knocked, so she pushed any thoughts of Merf naked straight out of her mind before she passed out.
Yet his body wasn’t the only thing that she appreciated.
His face was intriguing with a prominent square jaw, high cheekbones, and a crooked nose that had been broken a few times. Several years ago, it had been hit with a baseball. She remembered how his face had swollen and had a black and blue eye, yet he still had been dangerously handsome. Although his features were sharp, the soft blue of his eyes counteracted the harshness of his jaw. When he smiled, showing off a nice row of even teeth, crinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes. His black hair was cut short with a few strands longer in front. She remembered how the short-cropped spikes felt on her palms… and her inner thighs.
Sweat beaded between her breasts.
Gulping down heavenly air, she wiped the corners of her mouth for good measure, afraid she might be drooling. Sometimes she did that while sleeping and having erotic dreams. She’d done her best to get over the silly crush she had for him and failed, and she’d rather be sprayed by a skunk than let him in on that fact. He’d probably use it against her. Maybe even laugh at her.
“Did you see that I sent you a text message yesterday morning telling you I was coming?” He flicked off the TV and turned his complete attention toward her.
She gave a slight shrug and meandered into the kitchen to the fridge, finding a bag of frozen fruit. Dropping some into the mini blender, she sniffed the almond milk to make sure it was still good and poured it in too. Hearing his footsteps behind her, she didn’t dare look as he strolled to the breakfast bar and leaned his elbows onto the counter, watching her with a curious gaze.
“Jayde?”
Pressing ‘start’ on the mixer, the machine whirled. She pushed stop.
“Hello? Jayde? I asked you a question.”
Again, she hit the button. After several seconds, she repeatedly hit the pulse button, knowing it was irritating him as his jaw had tightened. She didn’t stop the blender again until everything was completely mixed.
“For heaven’s sake. Are you done yet?” he grumbled.
“Yes.” She poured the smoothie into a glass and took a sip, still refusing to look at him. “And to answer your question, yes, I did see you had messaged me.”
“Good, because I wouldn’t want to be accused of coming here just to make you angry.”
She leaned against the counter and finally looked at him over the rim of her glass. “We’re adults. We need to stay focused on the issue at hand. That is working on the house. This is why I came.”
He nodded. “True. We’re adults.”
She wasn’t sure why, when he said it, she conjured up images of the two of them tangled.
Probably because one corner of his mouth lifted into a flirtatious grin that she was sure he used as a hypnotic tool on every female he approached.
That thought slashed through her. He could have any woman he wanted and, for one night, he’d chosen her. She was angrier at herself than with him because she’d walked straight into the Cross web, eyes wide open and legs spread. Blaming the two alcoholic beverages she’d had that night would only be lying to herself. They’d both been sober.
Her stomach growled, probably more from hunger for sex than food, but she decided to try and ease the ache with toast. Dropping two slices of bread into the toaster, she grabbed butter from the fridge and, once the bread was toasted, spread a thin layer on the pieces. “I can’t believe this bread is still good.” She looked at the bag for an expiration date.
“Thank you.”
She cast a glance at him. “For?”
“I bought groceries when I got here yesterday. Feel free to share.”
Although there was no sarcasm in his tone, she realized sharing anything with him, even groceries, was dangerous. “I’ll go myself here in a bit. So, since we’ve agreed we’re both staying, then I need your assurance that we can get a lot done this weekend. There aren’t many renovations left and we may be able to knock most of them out.”
He shrugged. “I’m up for some hard labor. Nothing eases the mind more.”
Wanting to move the direction of the conversation to a safer topic, work was always the best. “You having it tough at work?”
“As always. Yours?”
“As always. Zoning limits are only getting stricter.”
“I checked out the renovations you’ve done here and they look great. These changes certainly do add value to the place.”
Chit-chat. Yes. She could manage this with him. “Would you be opposed if I take down the deer head in the other room and hang something up more…well, pleasing to a variety of people.”
“What? Are you saying you don’t like the deer head watching you?” He laughed.
“It’s not my style.” She cleared her throat. “Maybe you’d like to take it back home with you since it belonged to Devon.”
He scrubbed his jaw that was covered in a day’s worth of stubble. The sandpapery sound targeted her inner thighs. “Hunting was his thing, not mine. I tend to hunt criminals and evidence. Were you aware that Allison hated that deer head?”
Jayde nodded. “I know I couldn’t believe that she let him hang it, in the living room of all places.”
“They’d made a deal. He could hang it above the fireplace if he allowed her to decorate the rest of the house. Devon agreed.”
Taking another bite of toast, she swallowed. “How’s your mother? Last time I spoke with her she just had a second surgery.”
His jaw tightened some. “She just finished up the last round of chemotherapy. Dad has been a trooper helping her.”
“Have you thought about inviting her here for a visit once she’s strong enough? The water, the sunshine, the fresh air is wonderful for healing. Plus, she might want to take a look at some of the furnishings to see if she’d like anything.”
“Have you managed to go into the master bedroom yet?”
She licked a little butter from the corner of her mouth. “No, have you?”
“No.”
“Are we being silly? I mean, what’s so different about their bedroom from the rest of the house?”
He caught her gaze. “I think that’s obvious.”
She nodded. “You’re right. I know I’ll have to eventually pack their things up, but just thinking about packing up their clothes, their life…” She blinked back tears.
“I miss them every day. I can’t believe it’s been two years.” There was a slight hitch to his voice.
“Being here, everything reminds me of them, but although I’m sad, I’m also at peace when I’m here. Something I don’t experience anywhere else.”
An uncomfortable silence blanketed them. Although probably not for the same reason. This was the longest she’d spoken to him without feeling anger in a long time. Allison would be proud of her. When his gaze met hers, she said the first thing that came to mind. “How’s Dana?”
“Danika?”
“Yes. Danika.” Taking a huge bite of her toast, she inwardly groaned. Why had she stepped into a conversation about his flavor of the week? Or, in this case, flavor of the year.
“Hell if I know. She and I haven’t seen each other in a few months.”
“Ah, I’m sorry. Break ups stink.”
He laughed. “Come on, Jayde. That was about the weakest sorry I’ve ever heard. In fact, when Danika and I ran into you at mom’s gathering and you barely said more than two words to me, and even less to her.”
Merf was right. Jayde had been on her worst behavior when she saw Danika hanging onto his ar
m. Although Jayde always had a thing for him, it hadn’t been jealousy that made her distant that particular day. She had still been reeling from emotions over her best friends’ deaths, and needed to speak to them—needed to speak to someone. On top of that, no one liked Danika, especially Jayde who’d witnessed the other woman roll her eyes more than once while at the gathering to support May Cross before she’d started chemo. “Okay, I won’t lie and say I liked her, but if you did, that was your business.”
“Well, thank you for checking on mom throughout the last two years, and especially since she found out she had cancer. She’s always thought a lot of you.”
“And I have of her. I used to tell Allison how much I envied her for having such a sweet mother-in-law. Mine, not so much.”
“Yeah! That’s right. You were married once.”
She hadn’t meant for the detail to slip out because she hated talking about that tornado she’d experienced when she was twenty. “Yeah, for about five minutes.” She grabbed her plate and smoothie and took a seat at the table. He joined her, taking the chair directly across from her so that she had no choice but to look at him. Her body temperature had already risen to an insane level.
“Admit it,” he said.
“What?”
“You aren’t really sorry that Danika is out of my life.”
“Are you sorry?” She picked at a corner of her bread.
“Not one bit. I found out she came on to one of my buddies.”
She blinked. “Yikes! I can’t say I didn’t expect that coming.” Realizing what she said, she stuffed her mouth full.
He flashed a grin. “There it is. There’s that snarky side.”
“Why? Because I could see straight through her and you, well, couldn’t see past your zipper?”
The heat of his gaze burned into her, causing an upheaval in her body. Something in the blue depths reminded her of a warm sunny day on the beach. It almost seemed like…oh shit! Was he attracted to her? No. Couldn’t be possible.
Her core trembled.
Oh lordy!
Smooth as Hell (Studs in Scrubs Book 3) Page 2
