A_Little_Harmless_Fascination (2 page)

“Isn’t it?”

Her eyes narrowed. “I don’t have time for your fun and
games, Agent Dillon.”

He shook his head. “I’m not an agent anymore.”

“You will always be Agent Dillon, overprotective brother and
the talk of the dorms to me.”

“Talk of the dorms?”

She laughed. “It was embarrassing to Maura, but you were the
subject of much gossip when you came to visit. Anything else?”

He shook his head.

“I should finish my edits tonight, and if you want a tour of
the island, I’ll be happy to do it. Tomorrow. Afternoon. No, after one.”

He nodded. “I have a feeling I’ll crash for a while.”

She gave him one of those sultry smiles that had been
driving him crazy since he’d arrived.

“Call if you need me.”

If he didn’t know better, he would have said she was being
suggestive. While she flirted with him sometimes, he had never really taken it
seriously. There was a barrier there she put up for all men. In his
relationships, he needed something more. Submission from a partner did not work
if the partner did not completely trust him…and he had a feeling Jillian
trusted few people. Especially men.

Before he could respond, she turned and walked out the door.
He couldn’t help but admire the way her jeans molded to her very generous ass.
Once the door shut, Dillon looked around the small living space. It was humid
and hot, even with the windows open. He knew before coming that the place
didn’t have AC, but even living in Miami didn’t prepare him for this.

He sighed as he opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of
water. Jillian had said not to worry about having any groceries at first, and
she had been right. There was bread, some milk and a few eggs, along with
several bottles of water. He twisted off the cap and took a long drink.
Glancing at his suitcase, he realized that for once he would wait to unpack. It
wasn’t like him, but hell, maybe he should revel in the vacation.

Before he knew it, he’d finished off the water. He tossed it
into the recycle bin Jillian had in the kitchen area. The thought of Jillian
brought up her image in his mind. He wondered just how many tattoos she had and
just where they led to.

He shook his head, amused with himself. It was a testament
to just how tired he was that he was fantasizing about Jillian. The woman had
no schedule, led a completely bohemian lifestyle, and was friends with his
sister. She might as well be wearing a big sign that said “Off-Limits.”

Conner rolled his shoulders. Damn, he was still hot. He
grabbed his suitcase to find something to wear for the night but first, a cold
shower. Hopefully, it would help cool him off…and take his mind off his
luscious new landlady.

*
 
*
 
*
 
*

Jillian groaned when she heard the knocking on her door. She
had been up until after two in the morning working. It was Conner Dillon’s
fault. He’d broken her concentration the night before. Not because he was a new
tenant, but because he was Conner. Sexy Conner. But she’d gotten the edits back
to her editor, and she had a week off before she had any other new work to do.
Her back still hurt from the hours hunkered over her laptop. Even just rolling
over hurt. She would definitely need a massage this week, or she would end up
spending the next two weeks working the kinks out.

She buried her head and prayed whoever it was would leave.
She was sleeping in, dammit. It couldn't be important, not really. If it was,
someone would call her. More than likely it was some lost tourist. So many of
them came to Hawaii thinking that all the inhabitants of the islands worked for
the tourism board. While she normally didn't mind, today was just not the day
she could be an ambassador of aloha.

Finally, the knocking stopped. She sighed and was almost
back to sleep when the knocking started up again.

"Fuck."

She got up out of bed, barely able to see. She squinted at
the clock. Dammit, it wasn't even nine am. She was going to kill someone.
First, she would torture them slowly, until they begged for death. Then, she
would kill them. With some effort, she stumbled to the front door.

"You're dead," she said as she opened the door.
She found Conner on the other side.

Great. This was exactly what she needed. Her hair was a
mess, and the man who had broken her concentration the night before was here
bright and early.

"I'm sorry, but you said to come by around noon or
one?"

She blinked at him. "It's not even nine."

He frowned and looked down at his watch. God, the man was
gorgeous. Even in her beleaguered state, she could appreciate him. She always
had. From the first time she’d met him, she had been intrigued. All that muscle
and brawn packed into one delectable package was too much to resist. Throw in
that he was so protective of his sister and he was downright irresistible.

Until he opened his mouth.

"It's way past noon."

She frowned at him, realizing he was being serious. Jillian grabbed
his hand and pulled him closer. She looked at the watch.

"You forgot to change the time."

He blinked at her with those steel gray eyes. Damn, how
could a man have such impossibly long eyelashes and look so masculine?

"What?"

"You're five hours ahead there, Dillon. Didn't you
notice?"

He blinked again then looked down at her hand which still
had hold of his. Heat sizzled up her arm, throughout her entire body. She
released him and took a step back.

"I can't believe I didn't change my watch. Or that I
didn't notice it's only nine in the morning."

She couldn't either. She’d lived with Maura in college and
considered her a close friend, but she didn't know Conner that well. But what
she did know was that he was always on time. He was on top of things and took
control of just about every situation there was. This was just not normal for
him. Now she was starting to understand why Maura was so worried.

"Sorry I woke you, I'll let you go."

She wanted that. She
needed
that, seriously. Her brain wasn't working properly. Little sleep, and now her
brain had been sex sizzled by the former agent. But he was Maura's brother, and
the man looked completely lost there for a second. Maura had told her that he
hadn't been doing that well, but Maura tended to overreact. Still, there was no
reason to be a complete bitch.

"Come on in. I'll make some coffee."

He hesitated as his gaze traveled down her body. She looked
down and felt heat flare in her cheeks. Dammit, she was wearing an old T-shirt
that hit her mid-thigh and nothing else.

She cleared her throat. "I'll get dressed. Come
on."

He smiled, and she felt her heart do a slow roll. "You
don't have to get dressed on my account."

Her cheeks got even hotter, but she ignored it. "Do you
want some Kona or not?"

He nodded. She stepped back and allowed him into her home.
The moment he entered her space, she knew it was a mistake. Her house was just
the right size for her. But with Conner in it, it seemed small, almost
miniature. He was a big man, about six foot four. She was no featherweight, but
then she figured the muscled god now surveying the area for intruders also had
the kind of presence that was bigger than normal.

"I'll get the coffee started. This way," she said
with a nod of her head toward her kitchen. He followed her in.

"Your part of the house isn't that much bigger than
mine."

She glanced at him, wondering at the tone. Shrugging, she
grabbed the coffee canister and started measuring the grounds out, dumping them
into the basket.

"I don't need much space. I guess if I lived with
someone, it would be different."

He leaned against the counter and crossed his arms over his
chest. "How so?"

"I need space to write. I need privacy. If I was living
with someone here, it might be disastrous. I’m sure there would be a death."

He smiled, and again, she felt heat spike through her blood.
Damn, the man was making her melt right there in her kitchen. She hoped it was
just the lack of sleep. Until now, she had never even felt the urge to act on
the attraction. Sure, she had fantasized. Any heterosexual woman in her right
mind would. He was the stuff she wrote about in books. Confident, sexy, and she
had a pretty good idea that he was a Dom. Those three things had her
imagination working overtime, and for the first time, she went beyond thinking
about what it would be like. This was not a good development with him being in
Hawaii for a month.

She turned on the coffee pot. "I'll be right
back."

He nodded, keeping his attention on her but saying nothing.
Dammit, why did she like that? There was something different about him,
something that was making her want to giggle like a freaking teenager. Maybe
because he was looking at her differently than he ever had before.

She scooted out of the kitchen and headed to her bedroom.
God, it looked like a cyclone had hit her room. She must have been really lost
the last couple of days working on the book. Clothes were all over the floor
and draped over the chair. She sighed, opening the dresser drawer and pulling
out a pair of faded cutoffs and a T-shirt. Dammit, she thought, and she opened
her lingerie drawer and grabbed a bra and a pair of panties.

Five minutes later, she was dressed, her teeth brushed, and
she had her braids pulled back with a do-rag. With a deep breath, she walked
out to join Conner again.

He was looking out the front window, a mug of coffee in his
hand. His expression told her he was thinking of more serious things than his
crazy landlady's penchant for sleeping in shirts and nothing else. He looked
like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. It had always been like that
as long as she could remember. He had shown up at the University of Georgia
that first day with Maura, acting like a bulldog, daring anyone to say anything
mean to his sister.

He had been the talk of the dorm. She hadn’t been lying
about that. Girls had done everything to catch his attention, but his main
focus had been Maura, and in that she had admired him. She wished she’d had
someone looking out for her like Maura had all those years. Strong, dependable,
sexy. Okay, she wouldn’t have wanted him for a brother...but a lover? Maybe.
She had a feeling he had a real dominant streak and that was something she
liked in a man.

For the first time in months, she felt stirrings of attraction.
He wasn’t her type. She liked a dominant man, but Conner was over the top.
Plus, she was sure that a man like him would never be interested in a pierced
and tattooed erotic romance author who ran on no schedule. Still, it didn’t
mean that she couldn’t appreciate the beauty of the man. It was a shame that
he’d chosen to wear jeans and a shirt today. She could just imagine what he
looked like without a shirt. Hell, now that she thought about it, she wanted to
see him like that. No shirt, a pair of board shirts, water dripping down his
chiseled chest...

“Are you going to keep staring at me, or are you going to
get some coffee?” he asked. He hadn’t turned around, but he must have realized
she had been staring at him for a while.

“I was just thinking that Maura was really lucky to have you
growing up.”

He turned and looked at her. “I doubt she’s thinking that at
the moment.”

She shook her head. “You really can’t blame her. You scared
her.”

He shrugged, and she could see why Maura said she wanted to
throw things at him sometimes. He said nothing and turned around to look out
the window, sipping his coffee.

“You might want to get some coffee, Jillian. You’re looking
a bit peaked.”

She chuckled. “You don’t know the half of it.”

Shaking herself out of her stupor, she headed to the
kitchen. She needed to quit drooling over her new tenant because nothing was
going to happen with him. It would be a mistake—a total idiotic act—to sleep
with him. He was a man that could fulfill her needs, and she would lose her friend
in the process. She didn’t have many women friends, but Maura was a constant in
Jillian’s life.

She poured her coffee then took a sip, hoping the caffeine
would jolt her head out of the gutter.

“So, what do you plan to do with me?”

The steamy liquid caught in her throat and she began
coughing. When she finally caught her breath, she looked over at him. He was
smiling at her and sipping his coffee. Now she knew he was messing with her.

Jillian picked up a napkin and wiped her mouth. “Do with
you?”

“Today. You said you would show me around. You haven’t
changed your mind, have you?”

“No. I promised Maura I would keep my eye on you.”

His smile widened. “That’s interesting.”

She rolled her eyes. “I thought we could drive around, maybe
pick up some lunch?”

“That sounds like a plan.” Then he surprised her by winking
at her. “For now.”

He turned and walked out of the kitchen leaving her
completely aroused and thoroughly confused.

Conner watched Jillian as she turned onto Kamehameha
Highway. It was hard not to be a little distracted by her. She had always been
fascinating, but now she was in her element. Hawaii seemed to agree with her in
a way the mainland never would.

He still felt a little bad about waking her up. Worse, he
didn’t like the fact that he hadn’t realized what time it was. Hell, all he had
to do was look outside. He had even been outside to go down and knock on her
door and hadn’t noticed the sun. He’d traveled enough to think of these things,
but lately details had been escaping him.