Unmasked (Revealed #1) (6 page)

‘No idea, but I’d describe him as way out of my league.’ He was after all, basically a
GQ
model, and I was a lowly school teacher. ‘I don’t even know his name,’ I admitted. ‘To be honest, I feel a bit in the way being here in his house, so I’m doing my best to avoid him.’

‘Hmmm.’ Cait sounded thoughtful, but then suddenly there was a loud clattering down the line and she gave a small yelp, making me sit up in concern. ‘Cait?
Cait?
Are you OK?’

‘Bugger!’ There was a further more muffled crash and then I heard a laugh down the line, which relaxed my panicked state slightly. ‘My bloody drain pipe just fell off the roof. God, that made me jump!’ she giggled. ‘I better go. Sorry to cut you short, Allie, but if I don’t get that thing back on quickly, my roof will be leaking like a colander in minutes.’

Disappointed at the briefness of our call I nodded in understanding. ‘No problem. Be careful, OK?’

‘I will, don’t worry, I’ve done it before, I just need to wrestle with the clips a bit.’

‘OK, and remember, it’s not long until April when we actually get to see each other!’ I reminded her, my words making my earlier smile spring back onto my face. April – the date when I was officially ending my career as a teacher to live off my savings (mostly some recent inheritance I’d received from a great-aunt) and make a go at writing full time. I wrote vampire fiction in my spare time, and had recently had a little interest from a publisher which prompted me into giving it a proper go. April was also when Cait and I had agreed to meet in LA to do a little travelling together. I literally couldn’t wait.

‘Actually, I might be home in the next few weeks if you’re around?’ she said, making my eyebrows nearly pop from the top of my head in excited surprise.

‘God, yes! Why?’

‘I’m going to be flying on to my next stop of America, so it seems logical to break up the journey in the UK for a week or so and see my family for a late Christmas. I’m not sure of a date yet, though; need to book my flights.’

‘OK, fantastic. Well, I’ll be here whenever,’ I murmured with a smile. ‘Let me know dates as soon as you can. Bye.’ And with that I heard Cait give a slightly distracted farewell as her attention turned to the job of fixing her roof.

Hanging up, I popped my phone on the bedside table, feeling much better after my chat. I was so lucky to have a best friend like her, and I couldn’t believe I might actually get to see her soon. That overseas call from my mobile had probably cost a small fortune, but it had certainly raised my spirits, so in my mind, it was worth every penny.

There was only so long that my stomach could survive on one banana and two oat bars, so later that evening I cautiously made my way downstairs in search of some dinner. Flinching at the squeak from the kitchen door as I pushed it open, I poked my head inside and warily checked for any sign of human life like some kind of pathetically unskilled spy. What I would have done if the house owner had been inside, I have no idea, because I would have looked like a complete and utter idiot sneaking around, but thankfully, I didn’t have to deal with that because the kitchen was blissfully empty.

Stepping in, I relaxed my tense shoulders and looked around, once again appreciating just how gorgeous these fittings were. With the beautifully traditional features in the other rooms, and this stylish kitchen, it was almost my dream house, really. Not that I was dreaming about living here, almost the opposite, in fact – I’d spent the best part of the day imagining escaping so I could spend Christmas with my family. Although if I managed to sleep tonight and not dream about the owner, it would be a miracle, because he was a whole other story that I couldn’t seem to get out of my head for more than five minutes at a time.

Sighing, I began my search for food when a note on the counter caught my eye. Walking over, I looked closer at the piece of A4 paper, which had a hastily drawn arrow on the top pointing towards the stove top and what appeared to be the chicken casserole I had made yesterday. Judging by the steam coming from the top, it had recently been re-heated. Grinning broadly and almost laughing out loud to myself, I read the note, written in large, edgy capital letters: ‘You made it, you may as well get to enjoy it too.’ I was compelled to trace his handwriting, and I reached out a hand using the tip of my finger to follow his words letter by letter.

Snapping out of my trance I dropped my hand and looked at the casserole again with a happy shrug. It certainly saved me cooking, which could only be a good thing. I grabbed a bowl and ladled some out before smiling appreciatively. It smelt pretty great, if I did say so myself. Carrying the bowl back to my room I decided on dinner in bed with a book, and an early night. Maybe when I woke up tomorrow the snow would be gone. That was what I was pinning my hopes on, anyway.

FIVE

Sean

When my security team had insisted on cameras in my house I’d been highly unimpressed by the idea, thinking it a complete invasion of privacy, but now, finally, they were actually coming to some use. Only I could access the footage, and they only covered the downstairs areas (one of my stipulations so I could retain just a sliver of my much valued privacy), but it meant I had caught the brief interaction between Allie and myself in the kitchen yesterday morning on film. Adjusting myself in my office chair I stretched out my long legs and scrolled back through the footage to find the start of the section again before pressing play.

I must have replayed this snippet of film fifty times now. In fact, I practically had it memorised: the sleepy mussed state of her hair when she entered the room, the way she seemed to tense and flush when she first saw me, the slight widening of her eyes as I stepped close to her body, and finally, the thrust of her breasts as she gasped when I accidentally touched her stomach.

Clenching my teeth as I watched the screen, I could remember exactly how soft her skin had been and my fingers tingled at the memory, desperate to acquaint themselves with her body properly. She wasn’t the only one who had been affected by that moment – I’d felt it too, the chemistry between us that was so strong it was almost palpable. Predictably it had also given me an instant erection, which was why I’d left the room so hastily. That, and my reluctance to start anything with her. With my workload about to get crazily busy in the next few months, it was hardly perfect timing – and besides, I seemed to feel things for her that would surely only lead to trouble in the long run.

Groaning, I pushed back in my chair and adjusted my groin. I was rock hard.
Again
. I had been on and off since she’d arrived in my life two days ago. It was the most intense connection I’d ever felt with a woman, and we’d barely even interacted. In fact, I’d deliberately been quick at breakfast today to avoid another run-in like yesterday. From the electricity I’d felt between us then, I’d place money on the fact that we would be dynamite in bed. Best not to dwell on that thought for too long though; I’d had enough issues with my cock running wild since she’d arrived.

Pursing my lips, I spat out a harsh, indecisive sigh. If the connection I’d felt was an indicator of how good it could be between us, then perhaps I should pursue it? Pursue her.
Allie
.

It was a slightly strange name, and probably short for something, but what? Alison? Alexandra? Alana? Thinking about her name seemed to make it all the more real and I gave up pursing my lips to chew on the bottom one instead as I wondered if I could really do this. Do her. Or perhaps even something more.

It had been years since the accident that had put me off relationships … thinking about it, it would be the thirteenth anniversary this coming summer. Thirteen years. Fuck. Closing my eyes I shook my head to try and clear the painful images flooding my brain.

Maybe it was time to try and get back in the game. I exhaled a long breath and rubbed my chin thoughtfully as I continued to watch the screen. The part I couldn’t understand was her reaction after I’d left. I was almost sure Allie felt the same magnetic attraction as I did, but once I’d left the kitchen she’d practically folded over the counter in apparent relief. Had I completely misread the chemistry between us? Did she actually loathe every minute of being here? Perhaps she was scared of me?

Leaning forwards, I moved the cursor so I could open up a different set of footage. This time it was of the kitchen last night, when Allie had found the casserole and note that I’d left for her. Now two of my three screens were filled with images of her and I felt a smile tug at the corners of my lips. She was so pretty. And her hair – I was obsessed with her hair. It was so long it almost reached her arse, and the colour was a perfect sun-lightened gold. As perverted as it sounded, my dreams last night had mostly centred on me wrapping the soft strands around my fist as I bent her over any available surface and took her from behind.

On the screen, I watched in amusement as Allie cautiously entered the kitchen, her posture tense and eyes darting around as she looked for something – presumably me – before she relaxed and strolled in. From this camera angle I could see her face perfectly as she saw and approached the dish of food. I then watched in fascination as she traced my handwriting, her finger following every letter almost reverently.

Swallowing hard, I blinked, trying not to read too much into her action. The smile that lit her face was my favourite part, and right on cue, there it was, her lips curling at the edges and eyes sparkling. Wanting to save that image for posterity I leant forward and tapped the screen shot button before continuing to watch. Her pretty face transformed into something utterly beautiful.
She
was beautiful. We had hardly spent any time together, but I hadn’t seen her smile often, and I felt almost upset that I had been denied that. She probably hadn’t smiled because I’d been such a miserable bastard around her.

Looking at my desk and the monitors filled with her face I suddenly flushed. God, I was basically a stalker. A touch of guilt entered my brain before I quickly pushed it aside. She was in
my
house, and the security footage was mine, so technically I was allowed to look at it. That’s what I’d keep telling myself, anyway.

Suddenly picking up movement on the screen to my left, my eyes widened as I turned to the real-time feed and saw the woman currently residing in my thoughts make her way towards the stairs. Shit. I needed more time to think about this. I wasn’t ready to see her again, but seeing as she had two mugs in her hands –
two
– she was either very thirsty, or she was on her way to my office with a drink for me. Fuck.

Briefly forgetting about my tangled emotions I quickly flew into action, closing down programs and hastily switching to less incriminating images on my screens, because if she saw this stuff, Allie would no doubt freak out and do something ridiculously dangerous again, like try to walk home – blizzard be damned.

SIX

Allie

Cowardice was never something I would attribute to myself, so after getting sick of hiding away in my room I gave up that afternoon and headed back downstairs to stretch my legs and get a cup of tea. As much as I liked – loved – coffee, I usually tried to limit myself to drinking it only in the mornings, as it had a tendency to give me the jitters if I drank it past lunch. The house had been silent as a tomb all day, so I could only assume that Mr Conversational had also been hiding somewhere. Perhaps he worked from home, or had a home cinema hidden away that he was using to kill some time. I had no idea, but he was certainly never around in the main rooms when I was.

As reluctant as I was about interacting with him again, I had used my hours of solitude to come to the conclusion that it might be wise to try and build some bridges with him if I was going to be here a few days, so as well as my tea I made him a coffee – he didn’t strike me as a tea man – and then set off in search of him.

It took a while because this house really was massive, but eventually on the third floor I saw a light around the crack of a door and made my way towards it. Once I got closer I saw that the door wasn’t entirely shut, so with a small knock of my elbow to alert him of my presence, I bravely pushed the door open and found myself entering a home office. Wow, there were more computer monitors, printers, and projector screens in here than in my local electrical store. This space appeared to be just as tricked out with gadgets as his kitchen, if not more so. Seems like my assumptions about him being a home worker were correct.

The room appeared to be far fuller than the rest of the house, with some pictures, certificates, and other personal items on some shelves to my right, but I ignored them, my eyes instead being instantly drawn to the house owner again. As his handsomeness filtered through my senses it hit me full in the face again, and briefly struck me speechless. God, his looks really hadn’t dulled in the time since I’d last seen him.

While squirreled away in my room earlier, I’d actually persuaded myself that I’d exaggerated his appeal, but boy, how very wrong I’d been. I’d never responded to a man like this before and as my traitorous body buzzed with energy I grumpily decided that it should be illegal for any guy to be this good looking. He was wrapped up in a large, beige jumper today, but no item of clothing could hide his impressive build, no matter how bulky the wool.

Getting a grip on myself, I drew in a shaky breath and smiled politely, stepping forward as I held the mug up. ‘I thought you might like a coffee.’

Briefly narrowing his eyes and assessing me cautiously, the man finally nodded his thanks and reached out to take it. As he clasped the beverage, our fingers briefly touched, causing the hairs on my arm to stand up as that same strange electricity shot between us, just like it had when he’d touched my stomach yesterday. A gasp disturbed the silence, but I was fairly sure it came from him, which was a very interesting development. I was still half-holding the bloody coffee mug, but I seemed frozen to the spot and unable to move away as he suddenly began to run his fingers over my hand.