2. Katelyn
Katelyn
The deep voice behind me is so unexpected that I let out a short scream, spinning around and clutching my chest. Only to find myself face-to-chest with … a beast.
All I see is a vast expanse of man-body, covered by a black button-up that’s tight enough for me to tell that this guy is built .
With slight trepidation, my gaze traces upward, where I find the top two shirt buttons undone, exposing a bit of dark chest hair.
I’ve never been attracted to chest hair before, but good gods my hands are itching to reach out and touch it.
Continuing the theme of dark hair, my view reaches the bottom of his beard.
It’s not a long beard, but it’s not trimmed close to his face, either.
Maybe it’s like an inch? I don’t have a measuring tool on me at the moment, but - if I did - you can be damn sure it wouldn’t be his beard I’m measuring.
Scruffy beard or not, it doesn’t hide the wide jaw with a mouth showing exactly no emotion.
Not a smile or a frown, just man lips held in a firm line. Sexy. Tempting. Man lips.
I almost hesitate, but there’s no turning back now.
With a swallow, I drag my eyes up to meet his.
They’re almost eerily blue, set off by long dark lashes.
Not dropping his stare, I’m able to see his hair is the same dark brown as his beard.
It’s unruly and longish, reaching just past his ears.
A natural wave making it look both rugged and touchable.
Stick an apple in my mouth. Drop me on a platter. And ring the bell.
I’m done .
This guy is my wet dream come to life, served up in a dark secret library. I cannot imagine a single scenario where I get out of here with my dignity intact, but I am going to try. I’m going to try real hard to focus on reality, and not on climbing this man like a tree.
“Well?” he says.
Oh right. He asked me a question. The one that gave me a heart attack.
What’d he ask? Find what you’re looking for?
“I did find it… A hideout.” Ugh. I want to slap myself. I sound like an idiot. Clearing my throat, I try again. “So, um, I came down here to hide. What brought you to this gem of a room?”
He raises an eyebrow. “Gem of a room?”
Gah, his voice.
I don’t really know what to say to this guy. His silence is making me want to fill the quiet. But I, more than most, know that oversharing is a problem in these situations. So I force myself to take a breath and glance away.
In doing this, I see that second caramel laying on the floor next to this man’s foot. I must’ve released my grip when he scared me half to death. Not wanting to waste the delicious morsel, I quickly crouch down to retrieve it.
Straightening back up, I realize I’ve moved dangerously close to the stranger, so I take a large step back.
Except now he’s looking at my hand. And that’s when it dawns on me.
.. This might be his place. Not only because he’s huge, fit, and could for sure be a professional athlete, but also because he seems very at home down here.
He knew about this room. He’s not looking like this is his first time down here .
Find what you’re looking for?
This is his room. His home. His homemade caramels.
Shit.
“Sorry,” I say, holding the caramel out to him.
“This is yours, isn’t it? I didn’t mean to intrude.
I just wanted to get away from the crowd for a moment and got sidetracked with all your beautiful books.
When I first saw the staircase leading down here, I thought there might be some sort of hidden sex chamber.
You know… for going all Fifty Shades and shit.
But a secret library is way better. And when I saw these puppies -” I indicate the caramel - “I just had to try one.”
Ohmygod for the love of humanity, stop talking!
I clamp my mouth shut.
“Hmm...” is his only response.
Good lords, the sound coming from him is deep and rumbly, and I swear I feel it vibrating through my bones. But it still doesn’t reveal how he feels about our situation.
I make eye contact with him, arm still extended with the caramel between us. He slowly looks down my body, assessing me, taking me in. I know what he sees. I’m cute. Cute, pretty, occasionally beautiful, but I’ve never been called hot. Unless you count hot mess .
I can feel that my hair has lost some of its curl. I’m sure my makeup is smudged. And the icing on the cake, I’m barefoot. My damaged shoes casually discarded somewhere between here and the door, along with my purse.
By the time his eyes meet mine again, my candy offering has lowered to my side.
I feel small. Literally, because this man is a good foot taller than me.
But also because the past two hours of being surrounded by perfect human cyborgs has dented my tough exterior. Dulled my shine. Bruised my confidence.
His voice pulls me back to the now. “I’m not really sure where to go from here. I’ve never found a girl like you in my place before, trying my mama’s caramels, making herself at home.” He pauses. “You sure you should be eating those? ”
I feel my throat constrict. Isn’t that a line I’ve heard too many times in my life. Should you be eating that ?
You know what? Fuck this guy. I came down here to get away from Bashing Bradley, and then this Adonis takes all of a minute to assess me and dole out his findings. I am so over this night.
Setting the caramel down on the nearest bookshelf, I look at my toes. I’m trying to decide if I want to unleash my rant on this guy or just walk out. The last thing I'm expecting is for his large hand to come up and cup my chin, applying just enough pressure to have me looking up into his eyes.
His face shows pure puzzlement, and I’m sure he’s taking in the sudden, and embarrassing, shine in my eyes.
I swat his hand away.
“I may not be the perfection that you’re used to, like all the gorgeous creatures upstairs. And I may have come into your library uninvited, but that doesn’t give you the right to make me feel like I’m less.” I straighten my spine. “I’m sorry for disrupting your evening.”
I move to step around him, knowing it’s past time for me to go.
“Whoa now, hold on a second -” he reaches out and grabs my arm just above the elbow.
I pause but I don’t look back over to him. Even though I don’t know him, I don’t feel any fear being alone with him. But I’ve already made a fool of myself in front of this complete stranger, and I need to get away from civilization before I punch someone in the throat.
He doesn’t let go of my arm. “I have a sister I’ve pissed off more times than I can count.
Seeing your reaction, and replaying my own words back in my mind, I think that maybe there was some miscommunication between us.
” He gives my arm a little tug, causing me to turn back toward him.
He leans in to make sure I’m looking in his eyes before he continues.
“You, my little Kitten, have some claws hidden in that enticing package. And right now, I’m looking at the only gorgeous creature that has captured my attention tonight. ’
“I saw you upstairs earlier, so that once-over wasn’t the assessment you seem to think it was.
That was me taking in the details up close.
Now - I’m trying to be polite - so I won’t make a comment about your delicious curves in that dress.
Rather I’ll comment on how much I like your attitude.
And when I said ‘Are you sure you should be eating those,’ that was in reference to you thinking I had a sex dungeon down here for - how did you put it?
- going all fifty shades and shit . For all you know those could be laced with some sort of mood-altering sex drug.
They are homemade, after all. But since my mama makes me those caramels, and I’ve eaten plenty, I’m fairly certain that there aren’t any roofies in them.
I can text her to ask though. If you want. ”
Oh. Wow.
I’m legit speechless right now. And anyone who has ever met me knows how momentous that is. I feel like I should be apologizing for thinking the worst of him, while also thanking him for his compliments.
But all that comes out is . . . “ Kitten ?”
He smirks. And freaking crap, it’s adorable.
“Yeah, Kitten. You’re equal parts little and fierce. It seemed appropriate.” He holds out his hand. “Jackson Wilder. Pleasure to meet you.”
I can’t help the blush that rushes to my cheeks while I place my hand in his. He doesn’t shake it, nor does he pull my hand up to kiss it like some old-timey weirdo. He just holds it. His giant palm completely consuming mine while adding just a hint of a squeeze. It’s way hotter than it should be.
As he releases my hand, I find my voice. “Hi Jackson, the pleasure’s mine.” This brings his smirk into a full-fledged grin. “I’m Katelyn Brown.”
“Hmmm. Katelyn... Kitten... I was pretty close. Do you go by your full name?”
I shrug. “You’re the first one to change it to a feline form, but some people call me Kate or Katie or Kay.
I’m pretty lax on the nickname thing.” I can’t help but to ball my hand into a fist. His palm was so warm against mine that the loss makes it feel almost cold.
“Thank you for your hospitality tonight. I know Daniel really appreciated that you opened your home to him.”
Something flashes in his eyes. “Daniel... as in - the man of the hour? Are you two close?”
It takes a moment for me to get what he’s hinting at, and I can’t help my snort of laughter while scrunching up my features into a grossed-out face.
“Sure, we’re close. Daniel’s my twerp of a cousin.
He’s three months older than me and likes to pretend that makes him some wise old prophecy-maker rather than the giant dork that he is.
” I quickly add, “But you should totally vote for him. He’s great. ”
“Copy that.” The damn smirk is back. “So, if Daniel’s your cousin and you’re down here hiding by yourself, is it safe to assume that you’re flying solo tonight?”