Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
ELENA
Orion turned to me, arching an eyebrow. “Okay.” He punched my home address into his GPS monitor.
“Okay,” I repeated to myself, suddenly feeling flustered.
Being confined to this space with him did so much to my body. I didn’t know how to stop it. It was as though there was an entire team of mischievous fairies waving their wands, stirring up trouble and desires at the most awkward time. Images of his naked body, of him kissing me and doing all kinds of wonderful things to me flipped through my mind like a social media post.
My imagination had gone wild, and I had to tone it down before it got out of hand.
It’s already out of hand.
How had he become a prominent fixture in my mind?
“Are you okay?” he asked, rounding the corner.
“Yeah.” I said, remembering the fear again. “I was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“Those guys got what they deserved,” he said casually. Too casually.
I stared at him, and the mischievous sparkle in his eyes fascinated the reporter in me. “What do you know about that?”
The corner of his lips tilted. “Enough.”
I sucked in a breath. “You did that? How?”
I stared at him, wondering what else was hiding beneath the preppy fa?ade.
“With a slingshot and some rocks. I’m an excellent marksman.” He tossed me a serious expression. “They deserved that and more.”
More questions bubbled into my brain. “Were you following me? How long were you watching?”
“Is this your house?” He pulled into my driveway that needed repaving.
I was too intrigued by what he’d just admitted to care about what he thought about my home.
“Yeah. I live in a farmhouse-style home that needs some updates.”
As soon as he parked the car, something from my house thudded to the ground.
I groaned, got out, and walked across the lawn to pick up the shutter from the living room window. It had been damaged in last week’s thunderstorm.
“What are you going to do with that?” he asked, following me to the shed.
I dropped the broken shutter next to the other broken items. “Adding it to the to-do pile.” I looked up at the house. “If I weren’t afraid of heights, I’d climb the ladder and nail them in myself.”
He considered me for a moment. “So you’re handy around the house?”
I snorted. “Nope. I just do things to save money. The how-to videos on YouTube are helpful.”
“You’re an interesting woman.”
I crossed my arms. “Why? Because I can secure shutters?”
“That’s part of it.” He stepped closer, and my breath caught. “But it’s your ability to detach from a terrifying event that intrigues me.”
I intrigue him? My heart felt like it just grew wings. “What do you mean?”
“Minutes ago, you were harassed by drunken men. But right now, all I see is a woman unbothered by that horrific event. Instead, her attention is on shutters. It’s admirable. How do you do it?”
A gust of wind blew by, sending dandelion seeds scattering in every direction.He reached for my hair, plucking out the little white seeds.
I didn’t know what got into me, but I closed my eyes, leaning my head into his strong palm. Maybe his nearness had blocked out my logical mind. Maybe it was the dandelion seeds making the warm summermore magical, but I dropped into a quiet space with just him and me. This moment made me believe that anything was possible. That if I made a wish right now, it would be granted.
I was so attracted to this man that I believed in the impossible.
Like the breeze that arrived suddenly, the truth blew out of me softly.
“It’s you.” The words shocked me, and I opened my eyes to see him staring at me.
“What?” A crease formed between his brows.
Oh. My. God.
Pivot, Elena.
“Oh, nothing.” I slapped a hand on my forehead. “I meant to say it’s you who looks different.”
I had no idea what I was saying or if it answered his question.
“Me?” His eyes narrowed on me, revealing no suspicion about my fib.
Well, he did seem different tonight. More dangerous. However, my slip had nothing to do with that.
“Unless you want to be a mosquito snack, come inside andI’ll explain.”
He followed me inside.
“I leave the debris of the day at the door.” I kicked off my designerbrown flats I’d gotten on sale at an outlet store two years ago that were both comfy and stylish.
“I like that,” he said, and then mimicked my gesture, putting his shoes neatly on the mat next to my toppled shoes.
Staring at our shoes, I pursed my lips. “Look at them. What do you see?”
Amused, he studied his black Armani shoes that cost more than anything I owned in this house and my fifty-dollar flats. “Shoes, Elena. I see shoes.”
I didn’t know why, but his casual tone made me laugh. “Use your imagination.” I bumped my shoulder into his arm because he was like a head taller than me. “They’re more than shoes. They represent how different we are.” I pointed to his perfectly placed loafers. “You live in luxury. Everything is neat, organized, and shiny.” I straightened out the flat that was toppled on its side. “My life is messy, unorganized, and not shiny.” I tapped a stain on my shoe with my toe. “We are so different.”
“But I like that.”
His calm voice pulled my attention to his face. “You’re showing me something I never thought of.”
What did he mean by that statement? Part of me wanted to know, but another part was afraid, so I switched on my sarcasm.
“Like sarcasm laced with wisdom?” I winked. “You can always depend on me for shoe jokes.”
A laugh roared out of him, filling up my home. I could almost imagine the walls and all the furniture blinking awake.
I like that his energy differed from mine. Maybe that was why I was attracted to him. But drastically different couples couldn’t last. In the beginning, differences were intriguing, but in the long run those differences could turn them against each other. They’d wear each other out. That was what happened to me and Liam.
“You have an ability that no one else has.”
“And what is that?” Iwalked down the hallway.
“You can yank me out of my anxiety and drop me into another world.”
I turned to look at him, his expression serious and vulnerable. I’d never seen him like this. This wasn’t the man displayed to the public.
My heart danced because I got to see a side of him that no one else could. “That’s a good thing, right?”
Nodding slowly, he stepped closer. Only a few inches separated us.
I swallowed. “What are you doing?”
“Experimenting.” He tipped up my chin with his fingers. He was so beautiful.
“With what?”
“With how many abilities you have that affect me.” Something flashed in his eyes, and he stepped back from me. His hands dropped to his sides. What had just happened?
I ambled into the kitchen. “Please excuse the mess.”
I had several boxes in the hallway with some winter jackets toppled over them. I hadn’t had time to drop them off at the donation center.A box of tools sat on the floor of the family room. Though thehouse was old, it had character.
I picked up a small cardboard box that had fallen over and placed it on top of the stack of bins and boxes.
“Looks like you’re still moving in.”
“Not moving in. Been here a while.” I gestured to the boxes. “This is from the upstairs guest room where there’s a leak in the roof. I had to move everything out of the room for the guys to repair it.”
“Is it fixed?” he asked.
“Getting there.”
“You’ve a lot going on.”
“That’s life, right?” I shrugged.
Tonight confirmed that Orion was attracted to me, but something else had him keeping his distance. I desperately wanted to know, but I didn’t think tonight was the night to find out.
Besides, did I want to date him? It was obvious he and I were from different worlds. Why start something that would eventually end badly? I should save myself the heartache.
My stomach growled, and I didn’t want to think about that anymore. “I’m making myself a turkey sandwich. Want one?”
“Sure.”
We both pretended that the last ten minutes didn’t happen and spoke casually. I opened the refrigerator door while he browsed the kitchen.
“Why were you in that area today?” he asked.
I made his sandwich, placing it on a dish and mine on another. Then I boiled hot water for tea.
“I was investigating something.”
Besides Elliot, Orion was the only other person who knew about my investigation. I didn’t know why I told him. There was this inexplicable connection between us. Maybe he could help me see my investigation differently.
“What were you investigating?” he asked, wandering over to my living room like he was gathering information about me.