Someone Like You (7 page)

easily guessed at. The walls had been painted a dark blue, just like the depth of the

sea, the contrasting color of the bright white linen covering the four-poster bed a brilliant scheme. Blown-up pictures of fish or dolphins covered every surface, each having

obviously been taken by an amateur. Nick, she thought. He’d taken these and had them

printed so they decorated his walls.

Oh, he was so cute. She shook her head at the silly notion. This was Apollo

Hamilton and he was nothing but cute. But look at this! Her mind countered and she

was forced to admit it might have a point. It was a side of him she had never seen

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before, and she felt as if the room was full of secrets needing to be discovered. She

stepped towards a console, her fingers stopping on a weird-shaped object.

“I found it on a dive a few years ago. I’m still not sure what it is, but it’s exciting

that I still haven’t managed to find its origin.”

“What about that?” She pointed to the opalescent figurine next to it.

“That’s a seashell. Or rather a carving made out of seashell. It took a lot of

dexterity to turn something so fragile into a mermaid.”

She looked up at his face and saw the far-away expression in his eyes. He really

did love the sea. She’d never really understood why he’d left his high-flying career, with

all its perks. He’d been a high-ranking football player when he’d announced to the whole

world that he was quitting to study marine biology. Everyone had thought he was crazy,

and she had to admit she had too. He’d been at the top of his game, still young enough

to have a few good more years ahead of him. And yet, he’d left it all and moved to

Florida.

But now she understood. He loved it. Somehow, that made her like him even

more. That he’d had the courage to follow his dreams, even if his road had already been

paved for him.

He smiled at her then and took her hand. “What would you like to do? Do you

want to take a shower or…” He let his voice trail but her response was preceded by her

stomach grumbling. He chuckled, “Or maybe we could have breakfast.”

Leah blushed. “I’m sorry. I’m not that hungry.”

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“Sure you are. I know I’m famished.” He pushed her out of the door and led her

downstairs. “I’m sure my housekeeper will have left some stuff in the fridge. Let’s go,

baby.”

She followed him, her steps slowing as she realized she was going to have to

eat. Shoot, she was supposed to be on a diet!

* * * *

She pushed eggs around her plate, her fork drawing elaborate patterns in yellow

and white.

“Eat up, Leah. I can still hear your stomach from here.” Nick stared at her across

the kitchen table, his eyes daring her to take a bite. “It’s not that bad.”

“It’s fine.”

“So why aren’t you eating?”

Because she wanted to lose weight? Because an omelette made with six eggs

and cream and butter wasn’t the best thing to have when you were supposed to be on a

diet? Instead of saying those things however, she forced a small smile on her face and

replied, “I’m just not very hungry.”

“Is it because of last night?” His voice was low, his face tensing as he

remembered what’d happened. How he’d forced her. “I’m sorry.”

“You’ve already apologized a million times, Nick; it’s okay.”

“It’s obviously not, if you’re still not over it.”

She sighed. They were going round in circles, weren’t they? “Fine, I’ll eat.”

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“Good.” Nick watched her take a bite then another one before asking, “What do

you want to do today?”

Leah shrugged. “Whatever you want.”

“That’s not very helpful.” He grinned at her.

“I don’t know what one can do around here, do I?” She snapped her mouth shut

when she realized she was starting to sound like a nagging girlfriend. “I’m sorry, Nick; I

haven’t slept well.”

“Oh.” He pushed his empty plate further down the table and said, “That’s right.

Would you like to take a nap first?”

She shook her head and pushed her plate alongside his, although hers was still

half-full. “I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

“You sure?” She nodded. “Okay then, would you like a tour of the rest of the

house and grounds?” She was on her feet before he could look at her plate and tell her

off once again. Nick followed her out of the kitchen, his arm wrapping around her waist

making her jump in surprise. “You okay?”

She looked up at him and spotted the amusement in his eyes. “I’m fine. So where

to first?”

He stared at her for a few silent seconds before a wide grin crossed his face. “I

know!” His hand on her lower back, he propelled her towards a small door. It opened to

reveal a wide space, the room once more encircled by wide panels of glass. Except this

time, it was slightly different. “A pool?”

“Indoor pool and Jacuzzi. Isn’t it cool?” He paused a few feet away and knelt

down. “Take your shoes off, babe.”

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Leah watched him kick his trainers off then roll up his jeans. “What are you

doing?”

“Let’s put our feet in the water. It’ll relax you, trust me.”

She sat down on a deck chair and took her shoes off as ordered, wriggling her

toes as they hit the cold tiles. She wasn’t too sure how this would relax her, but what did

she know? It wasn’t as if she’d ever owned a pool before after all. “Okay then.” She

followed him to the edge of the pool and sat down, somewhat laboriously, beside him.

Her skirt was short enough —okay so it stopped right at her knees— that she could

dangle her legs in the water, which turned out to be extremely hot. “Wow, are you sure

that’s not the Jacuzzi?”

“Nah.” Nick laughed. “I just like it hot.” His eyebrows wriggled.

“Is that right?” She leaned back on her hands, kicking her feet a little. This was

nice.

“Yup.” His voice was lower this time and yet he’d moved closer. “Hey.”

She blinked at his face suddenly so near. “Hey yourself. What’s up?”

He couldn’t help but smile at her reaction. “I just feel like kissing you. Is that all

right?”

She licked her lips. “Now?”

“Yeah.” His eyes had followed the movement of her tongue, his pants starting to

feel too tight. “Okay?”

Leah opened her mouth to answer but he was faster. His lips melded over hers,

his tongue instantly dipping inside for a quick taste. She moaned, her hands

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automatically moving up to cup his head. Except she’d forgotten she was holding

herself up. She fell onto her back, Nick’s body toppling over hers.

Wincing at his weight, she struggled a little but he was still kissing her. By the

time his mouth left hers, her arms were hooked around his neck and she was softly

panting.

He braced himself on his elbows and looked down at her flushed face. “Hey

there.”

“Hey.”

That was all it took for him to lean down and kiss her breath away. Again.

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They were lying side by side, staring at the ceiling with their feet in the warm

water. It was peaceful in here, Leah thought as she felt her eyes start to close. Nick’d

been right; she did feel much better. All right, so maybe his earlier kisses had something

to do with it.

She’d never known kisses like these. It was as if he could make her lose her

sense of reality with just his lips and tongue. It was quite, quite amazing.

“A penny for your thoughts.”

She opened her eyes and turned to her side, frowning when her legs came out of

the water. “They’re way more expensive than that.”

Nick chuckled at her answer. “Are they now? Does that mean I’d be very

interested in them?”

“Oh yeah.” Her voice had turned husky all of a sudden, surprising her. She licked

her lips and missed the way Nick’s eyes darkened to a deep blue.

“What were you thinking of, little witch?”

Her eyebrows rose. “Little witch?”

“You know what I mean.” He pushed himself up onto his left elbow. “Wanna try

the Jacuzzi?” Unsure at his change of topic, she nevertheless nodded and yelped when

he tugged her up. In two seconds flat, he had her standing beside the tub, her hands

clasped in his. “Strip.”

She started. “What?”

“Strip, baby, you can’t wear clothes in a hot tub.”

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“I don’t think I-”

He cut her off, “Come on, Leah. I’ve seen you naked. What about this?” He took

a step back and pulled his t-shirt off. “I’ll get naked first, okay?”

She didn’t answer, simply stared at him as he took his clothes off. He was

magnificent, all smooth and golden skin. Muscles bunched in his stomach as he opened

his jeans and drew them down his thighs. She hiccupped at the sight of him. He’d pulled

everything off, and he was naked, and…oh my god. “Nick!”

He stopped short, his clothes lying in disarray at his feet. “Yes?”

“You’re…you’re…” She couldn’t find anything to say, her mind blank. He was far

too handsome for her. He looked like a god for pity’s sake! “I don’t think this is a good

idea.”

“Why not?” He crossed his arms over his chest.

She felt frozen into place. He was hard! She wasn’t imagining it. It really was

there, waving at her in all its glory. “Oh.”

He followed her gaze and smirked. “Yeah, that’s what kissing you did to me.”

“Really?” She licked her lips again, her hands clenching at her sides.

“Yep. So, Leah, why shouldn’t we be doing this?”

“Uhhh.” She tried remembering why she’d thought it was a bad idea, but she

couldn’t stop staring at him. He was just so handsome, and his erection looked very

nice too. Shit, what the hell was she thinking? She took a step back. “I should go.”

“Why?” He leaned forward and grabbed her right hand, straightening her fingers

so he could hold onto them. “We don’t have to do anything. I mean, we can just sit in

the water and relax. Nothing has to happen, baby; you know that, right?”

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She didn’t know that actually. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. Come on.” He tugged her forward until she stood beside the tub. “You’re in

control, Leah.”

“What does that mean?” She frowned up at him.

“From now on, you’ll be the one to decide what we do or don’t do. We can stay

here together or we can leave. We can go out, we can do whatever you want. This

weekend is for you, okay?”

“For me?” she repeated, her voice sounding strangled.

“Just for you.” Nick smiled as he lowered his head and brushed her mouth in a

soft kiss. He leaned back and asked, “So, what will it be?”

Leah stared up at him, her mind in shambles. She wasn’t ready for him to see

her naked. He might say that he had already seen her the night before, but it’d been

different. He’d been out of it and he’d thought she was someone else, and… No, it

wasn’t the same.

And yet, she really wanted to try out the Jacuzzi. She’d never been in one and it

looked so inviting. Argh! “I don’t know.”

“Clothes off or on?”

“On!” Her response shot out.

He rocked back at her abrupt answer. “Okay, okay. Uh.” He looked down and

gestured to his clothes. “That means me too, right?”

“Oh.” She didn’t want him to get dressed again. He looked too good like this. “I

don’t know?”

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He sighed. “I know I’m not making it easy, Leah, but what do you want to do? Do

you wanna stay here? If yes, should I get the blinds down so it’s dark in here? Should I-”

“Hold on!” she interrupted him. “What did you say? About the blinds?”

“Let me show you.” He walked to the nearest wall and opened a box, revealing

several dials and buttons that went green at a single push.

His butt was facing her and she fought the need to run up and touch it. Such

smooth skin should be illegal on a man. Really, it so wasn’t fair. Her musings were

interrupted by a whirring sound, and she looked up to find black blinds slowly making

their way down the glass panels. “Blinds.”

“Yup,” Nick said as he walked back to her. “They’re everywhere in the house.

You never know when you might need more privacy.”

“I see.” And she did. It was ingenious. It was even better than that, she realized

as the blinds finally stopped. The whole room was dark, the only lights remaining the

ones inside the pool and at the bottom of the hot tub.

“Here,” Nick’s voice rang close, just before his hands clasped her hips. “Is that

better?”

“Yes,” Leah breathed out as she felt him pull her closer. His mouth found hers in

the dark and she shivered. Her arms looped around his neck, she hung on tight and

smiled inwardly when she heard him moan. His cock pulsed against her stomach, and

she moved onto her toes in a vain effort to feel it press against where it felt good. Nick’s hands slid down her back until he was cupping her butt in both hands, pulling her even

higher. She lost her balance, and would have sent them both flying into the tub if he

didn’t have quick reflexes. They broke the kiss, laughing as they righted themselves.

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“Can I undress you?” he said, his right hand finding the hem of her top.

“Why?”

“I just want to. Please, Leah?” His lips found the side of her neck, nipping at her

skin as if they had all the time in the world. But then, maybe they had…

She found herself agreeing to his request, the darkness helping to assuage her

fears. She couldn’t see anything but his silhouette so he couldn’t see her either. It was