Chapter 5
James
I finished the dishesand stalked up to the bedroom. The light in Emma’s bedroom illuminated the gap under the door and I fought back the urge to knock and invite her downstairs for another drink, maybe an apology.
Absolutely not.
In any other situation, I could put on and take off my asshole persona with ease, reading the nuances to make someone hate me and then pull them back around to friendship. I navigated people as easily as I did contracts.
Or I did until Emma floated in front of me.
After shaking off the shock of being played by a seasoned pro, one with an endearing smile and an innocent face, I’d tried to re-establish that I was in charge. But she’d outsmarted me at every turn, turning thorny when I thought she’d melt, growing soft when I expected her to act stubborn. An equal mix of annoying and captivating that didn’t give me room to get my feet under me since our first meeting.
I brushed my teeth and pulled off the suit I had somehow neglected to change out of when I first arrived. Searching my bag, I pulled out a book given to me by a client years ago that I hadn’t gotten around to reading. With no Internet and barely one bar, still energized by dinner with Emma, I laid in bed and opened the book.
Paper-fucking-thin walls.
My focus kept drifting off the book to the sound of Emma in the other room. The sound of a zipper and then rustling. I closed my eyes, imagining her removing that angelic white dress and what she might have on underneath. Thoughts of Emma hugged by red lace and laid out on silk sheets distracted me from the biopic in my hands.
A soft thud echoed against our shared wall.
I sucked in a breath, turning silently toward the wall and straining to hear. The cacophony of ocean sounds mixed with a soft sigh and a muffled conversation on the phone, growing distant as she wandered away from the wall.
That woman could drive a man absolutely crazy with lust and somehow seemed completely oblivious. Offended even.
I didn’t date often, but I was a good-looking guy. Handsome in a vacuum, but lined up alongside multi-million dollar athletes, not as appealing. I didn’t mind. I had more work than hours in the day and certainly not enough time for anything other than the occasional night together.
Another thud against the wall and Emma said goodnight to whoever was on the other end of the line. A boyfriend? A cold panic gripped my stomach. Had I been capable of having a conversation with Emma earlier, I could have wheedled that information out.
But she was in Northshore, alone. That had to mean something. I exhaled a shaky breath, turning my focus back to my book even as I stayed glued against the wall. She was going to bed, exhausted by a day at the beach and not at all concerned about my presence in the room next to hers.
My body turned stiff at the sound of a low buzzing coming through the wall.
A toothbrush? On the fucking bed? Of course not.
A low, throaty purr confirmed she wasn’t brushing her teeth.
My cock went hard and I dropped the book onto the bed, fingers clenching to keep my hand off my dick. The woman swam around in the ocean naked. Masturbation wasn’t off the table. And she’d been in the house alone, unaware of the lack of insulation or any sound-proofing.
I could stop this: slam my book shut, stand up and go into the bathroom, drag the bed as far away from the wall as possible. Anything besides the only thing my body wanted to do: jerk off the sound of her getting herself off.
But damn if it wasn’t hard.
I pressed a palm to the wall, steeling myself as her breathy pants turned into moans, desperately trying not to conjure up the memory of her naked in the ocean, hair swept all around her, nipples hard and body so captivatingly plush. I pressed my ear against the wall.
“James,” she called softly, clearly not meant for my ears but hitting me below the belt just the same.
The sound of my name on her lips broke my resolve and I bolted out of the bed, slamming the door to the bathroom shut behind me.