Chapter 9
NINE
WAS THAT A THREAT? A reassurance? A promise?
Damn her inability to interpret tone. His fingers laced between hers to lead her through the door halo and into, ah, a kitchen.
A huge kitchen with granite counters and a plumbed central island.
It kept on going. A twelve-place dining table, then a seating area with couches and end tables in front of the glass wall at the end.
Wow.
The windows were inky black, filled by the mystery of night. What lay beyond? Wasn’t that the question of the moment? Hardly fair he could ask her personal questions and she couldn’t ask about the yard. Did he have a pool? Was there a patio? Did he own or rent?
Her questions stayed unanswered. Bastian took her into an enclosed, ascending stairway.
At the top, he gestured at the door straight ahead. “That’s the bathroom.”
“Bathroom, got it.”
“I’ll sleep in here,” he said, touching the door to the left. “Room on the right is yours.”
Room on the right was so big, she’d guess it was the size of the garage beneath. A bed in the center of the room took up most of the area.
“This is a big room,” she said admiring the solid oak furniture while he closed the curtains.
Shedding her shoes, she curled her toes into the thick carpet, opening and closing, squishing the pile that could almost be liquid, gobbling her up.
Bastian put her purse on the bottom corner of the bed. “I’ll get you something to sleep in, and a toothbrush.”
A toothbrush? Like a spare toothbrush? He must entertain a lot. Thinking about it, and his irrefutable hotness, it wasn’t a leap to assume he entertained women a lot. Like a lot. There wouldn’t be many immune to the dimple.
She stayed put, toe squishing the carpet. It kept her entertained. Though it was taking a lot of effort not to drop down there and bury her hands in it too.
That would be wrong.
What would be right?
Etiquette for these situations was not in any dating guide.
Not that they were dating.
As promised, he came back with a tee-shirt, a pair of shorts, and a toothbrush still in its pack.
“Bastian,” she said, taking the items. “Why are you being nice to me?”
In one backward stride, he put more than physical space between them.
“Trying to seduce you,” he muttered without an ounce of sincerity.
They both relaxed when she laughed.
Hugging the clothes to her chest, she exhaled. “You didn’t sign up for this.”
“Get changed,” he said. “I’ll get you a glass of water.”
When he left the room, she stripped off and pulled his tee-shirt on over her head.
The shorts wouldn’t stay up. Letting them fall to her ankles would be more embarrassing than going without.
The tee-shirt fell to her thighs, keeping her decent, so the shorts got folded away with the rest of her clothes.
Bastian knocked. At least, she assumed it was him. He wouldn’t want to walk in and see her naked.
“You’re good,” she called out.
Crawling onto the bed, she kneeled in the middle as he entered with a glass of water that he set on the nightstand.
The only thing left was to say goodnight. For some reason, that wasn’t appealing.
“You never told me why you were in the Grand the night we met,” she said. “We can’t be more than an hour from there now. Why would you be in a hotel if you live so close?”
“Back-to-back meetings,” he said. “I had a dinner appointment and a pre-breakfast meeting in one of their conference suites. It made sense to spend the night.”
Made sense, but the Grand wasn’t cheap. Her immediate family considered spending the night of the engagement party too.
Until they calculated how much that would cost. With that, Adara also crossed it off her possible wedding venue list. Their father made good money, but not good enough money that they could afford to blow the entire wedding budget on one ballroom and some champagne.
“Do you like hotels?” he asked. “Did facing Damon in one put you off?”
“No,” she said, sinking into the luxurious linen spread on the bed. “I don’t stay in hotels often. Work takes precedence over play.”
“So Adara said.” Bastian came over to rest his legs on the side of the mattress. “I can respect that. I’ve been accused of the same.”
Conversation in the privacy of the bedroom wasn’t usually held like this, with one party lying down and another standing up. Falling into the obscure seemed to be their thing.
One undeniable point rose above the others…
By loitering, Bastian betrayed he wasn’t ready for goodnight either.
“You don’t have to be afraid,” she said, lifting a hand toward him. “Lie down with me.”
What did they have to fear? He’d never pressured or harassed her. If they were what people thought they were, they’d have done the same, or more, several times. No one was watching, they didn’t have to perform. Would that put him off?
No. He toed off his shoes and took her hand without hesitation to lie at her side. It shouldn’t feel right, their intimacy was a lie conjured for others. Yet her body, her mind, her hormones responded as though it were all true.
With one liberty came another and she rested her head on his chest. They’d been this close when dancing. Nothing wrong with it. Nothing strange. Did horizontal matter more than vertical?
Listening to his heartbeat soothed in the silence. One, two, three. Sharing heat, the sure arm he closed around her shoulders kept her safe.
He inhaled the scent of her hair. It should be strange and creepy, yet she couldn’t remember ever being so at peace.
Bonding didn’t have to be sexual or conversational.
Being in this private space, in the intimate position, she closed her eyes and brushed her palm up and down the shirt buttons that concealed the flesh of his torso.
Learning his shape, his scent, his rhythm only made her hungry for more.
“Your mom is nice. I see where you get your kindness from.”
“I’m sorry for her tonight,” he said. “I don’t know what she was thinking, suggesting that you come back here.”
At the time, the suggestion surprised her, but lying there with him, she couldn’t be sorry.
“You’ve met my family,” she said, “but I know nothing about yours.”
“What do you want to know?”
Was that an invitation? One he may come to regret.
“You sure you want to do that? Ask such an open question?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “Ask and I’ll see.”
Was there a tinge of humorous dubiousness? Is that what she heard? Emotion, why was it so damn difficult to decipher? Amusement? Reluctance? She needed to know this man better.
“Are your parents still together?”
“They are.”
“Siblings?”
“Younger sister.”
“Is she married?”
“Not last time I checked.”
“Do your family live in town?”
“Yes.”
“You see them regularly?”
“Yes.” He laughed. “Wow, you really are good at this.”
Interrogation?
She sat up because looking at him might give her a better clue of his tolerance. Might.
“Sorry, I just…”
“No, it’s okay,” he said, his fingertips drifting up the arm she planted to keep her upright. “Ask whatever you want, I have nothing to hide.”
“Families always confuse the hell out of me. We’re born into this bloodline that—most people don’t even like their families.”
“Well, I’d say I like mine, most of the time, despite what my mother did tonight. She can be determined.”
“With a smile though,” she said. “That makes a difference.”
“I guess it does.”
“Acting with love is well intended.”
“Where my mom’s concerned, it’s more to do with her than me.”
“Meaning?”
“She looked after me and Keely, raised us full-time while my dad worked. Our futures are something she’s been dreaming about a long time.”
“And she’s ready to see them?”
“To know how they’re going to play out? Yeah.”
“Because she wants to know you’ll be okay.” He shrugged, still caressing her arm. “That’s very caring. I can see why you like them.”
From the affection in his tone, it was obvious his family was important.
This was too far away. She relaxed her arm to return her head to his body.
Since the moment they met at the engagement party, his altruism was palpable. In the various moments she’d thought of him since then—which numbered higher than should be admitted out loud—she never thought she’d have the chance to quiz him on his motivation.
Now they were lying there together, being honest, she got her chance.
“Why did you do it?” she murmured, loose, salved, and sated. “Why did you come to Adara’s party to rescue me?”
Beneath her cheek, he took a deep breath.
“I don’t know. It was a… drive. An impulse I couldn’t ignore.
I’ve been single most of my adult life. Like you, I prioritize business.
Fielding questions about why you’re not coupled up, deflecting attempts at matchmaking, I’ve been there.
You deserved a night off from that crap. ”
How many times had he wished someone would swoop in and save him?
“That’s very sweet.” Her caress slid lower, just grazing his belt. His explanation made sense for their first encounter, didn’t for the second. “Why did you come to the hospital tonight?”
He stroked her back. “I’ve been thinking about you. I’d be lying if I said otherwise.”
So she wasn’t the only one. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.” Believing his selfless act was a one off. “I’m happy I did.”
He’d asked nothing in return for supporting her. Amazing in this day and age. Bastian wasn’t like other men.
The bed was warm and the embrace comforting. Shirking the last shred of tension, her body sank into his. Long time since she’d fallen asleep with a man. Bastian may not have signed up for this, but when her hand stalled on his abdomen, she went with it.
Bastian exhaled. “So am I.”
“Will we see each other again?” she murmured on the cusp of slumber.
“I don’t know,” he answered, his finger grazing her jaw before his hand settled over hers. “I don’t know, Sweet.”
Her eyes closed when she tucked her head deeper under his chin. “You’re a good, kind man, Bastian,” she murmured nuzzling closer. “A good, kind man.”