Slave To Love (12 page)

“Yes, except for the room I’m staying in,” she said.

His room, he thought.

“You probably wouldn’t want to be in those rooms anyway. They’ve taken down the doors and put up curtains.”

Jace didn’t remember agreeing to that. “Did they leave your door up?”

Taren fisted her hold on her robe even tighter. “Yes.” She moved closer to the pan again.

Too exhausted to defend his character, Jace retreated. He took a couple of steps back toward the living room where he’d left his suitcase. “I’m tired. I’ll check the guesthouse and see if that’s been touched.” He turned to leave when her voice stopped him.

“Wait. You didn’t tell me your name.”

He turned back to her. “Jace.” He would leave out his last name.

She didn’t need to know. Actually he didn’t want her asking about his association with Eagan. If she wanted to do this show, then she probably knew about the first show. She would know about Eagan Morton.

“Nice.” She smiled harder. The expression lit up her entire face.

A silence existed between them as they stared at each other. Jace wanted to know more about this woman. Why would someone so cute want to do something this depraved?

The idea of going to bed had a less salacious connotation to him, which meant that he truly must be tired. He imagined lying in his bed next to her, but only sleeping. He hadn’t done that in a long, long time, not since Michelle. He missed having a woman in his arms. He would even take one wearing paper towels.

Taren pushed the pots on the counter closer to the sink. “I’ll leave all this alone and head to bed myself.”

His
bedroom. Her naked body in
his
bedroom. Now blood started pumping in his lower region. This woman had the gift to raise the dead.

“Good night, Taren. I’ll see you in the morning.” Jace picked up his suitcase and headed out back.

“Good night, Jace.” Her light voice ushered him toward the back door. “Hey, if you get up early enough, I can make you breakfast.”

Jace looked at her in the dimly lit living room.

“I tend to cook a lot when I’m nervous.” She chuckled and slid her hand over her hair.

She must have had a problem with what she felt. Jace noticed that when she touched her hair, she looked like she cursed under her breath, then tried tucking stray strands behind her ears. Even as a mess, she still looked sexy.

“Don’t concern yourself about me and breakfast. I’ll be fine.” Considering he had set this woman up to meet some rough Doms and Dommes pretty soon, he didn’t need any of her kindness clouding his past judgment.

He opened the door to the backyard and made sure to lock it behind himself. As he walked over to the guesthouse, he listened to the soothing nightly noises around him. If he concentrated on the crickets creaking and frogs croaking, he wouldn’t be tempted to think about Taren’s full lips or her juicy ass.

No. Jace had to think of her as the enemy. She would be a casualty of this war. If his plan worked, she would be walking away from this experience, and, perhaps, taking Ananda and Eagan with her.

Jace unlocked the door to the guesthouse and turned on the light. As promised, his full bedroom set had been moved to the guesthouse along with all of his clothes and toiletries. He closed the door and locked it. He would need a long, cold shower to get Taren off his mind.

He had gone crazy over seeing her picture. The real thing proved to be more than he could handle.

****

Taren dove through her suitcases, knowing full well that she hadn’t packed her trusty vibrator, but she definitely needed it. If she had known that the guy who had both excited her and pissed her off would have walked in on her half-naked dance party, she would have worn better panties.

Each time she moved, she heard the crinkling of the paper towel wrap dress under her robe, the same robe Jace didn’t want to give up to her. He probably didn’t think she’d noticed that each time she’d pulled on it, he gripped it harder.

When she’d stood close to Jace, his manly scent nearly dropped her to her knees. His earthy aroma and solid stature had her toes curling.

She made sure to lock the door even though a surprise visit in her room would have been welcomed. She noticed Jace’s incredible height first. At her petite frame, everyone looked immense to her. His tallness along with his broad shoulders and big hands reminded her of a real man.

The cleft in his chin gave his face even more charm and sex appeal. His strong jaw line, covered in a slight sandpaper grit, complemented his face well. Those mesmerizing blue eyes and his full, kissable lips had her imagining scenarios where he had her on the counter in the kitchen, sliding in and out of her like he owned her.

She had no idea if he participated in the lifestyle. He probably didn’t as a builder. Or maybe he did. Maybe this handsome man with sandy blond hair had a wild side. Even with heavy bags under his eyes, he still looked powerful.

Taren turned off the light in the bedroom and went to the window. She pushed one of the blinds slats up to peek into the backyard at the guesthouse. She saw the light on and some movement through the blinds. She didn’t know what she expected to see. She wanted to know more of this Jace fellow.

Pretty soon he extinguished the lights in the guesthouse. The sounds of crickets penetrated through the windows as she retired to the gigantic bed in the dark and moody room. She had to change that while she stayed in the home.

The next morning came faster than she had expected, especially since she didn’t get much sleep during the night. Taren kept thinking about man in the guesthouse, the man who surprised her, the one who filled her head with fantasies. Her dreams featured Jace being firm yet kind, honest yet mysterious. When she’d awakened, Taren found her hand nestled between her thighs.

“Stop it,” she told herself. “Remember the contract.”

When Ananda had sat Taren down to go over the clauses of the contract, she’d made sure to point out the one about fraternizing with the crew and contestants. She couldn’t do it. If she did, the show would end and she would have to pay a lot of money in penalties, money she didn’t have as a temp.

Taren hadn’t questioned Ananda on the clause. She’d wanted to ask why a woman who had gone through a reality TV show and made it obvious that she’d slept with Eagan would want her to avoid that same scenario. Instead, Taren had signed the contract and professed her love for the show.

After a quick shower and throwing on denim cutoff shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, Taren went to the kitchen. No matter how many times she’d walked through this house, she always looked around in awe.

The beautiful and exotic sand-colored tile that met her bare feet as she walked out the bedroom stunned her each time she moved over it. It looked too expensive for her to even touch with shoes. She let the cool material lower her body temperature as she headed to the kitchen.

The openness of the rooms caught her attention next. Ananda had told her that most of the filming would be happening in the living room. The place looked big enough to hold a football team.

Taren stepped over the lighting cords strewn across the floor. The black cables looked like snakes in slumber. She dare not disturb anything in the room.

Although not pure white, the color scheme of the room looked like an eggshell color. The walls and trim all had an off-white appearance that made the room seem more open than before. Taren had seen the home fully furnished. She couldn’t wait to see the new furniture to make it looked lived-in again.

When she stepped into the kitchen, she spotted the pan she’d used to ward off any potential attacks from the mysterious stranger. If she had to knock him upside his head, she would have…eventually. Those large hands of his did have her wondering how they would feel on her body.

Taren fanned her face as she moved around the large space. No man had ever made her temperature rise that fast. She heard a noise through the now empty family room. She looked through it and noticed through the wall-to-wall glass window that Jace swam laps in the pool.

At first she only saw his long, muscular arms curving out of the water as he made his way from one side of the pool to the other. She marveled at the sight. With his hair all wet, it became darker than his normal blond hue. She imagined how good he must look with his hair transformed to a darker shade and his light-colored eyes.

Taren padded to the open doorway that connected the kitchen to the family room. She leaned against the frame as she watched him. It didn’t take long for her nipples to harden as she viewed the display.

Jace did a butterfly move where both arms projected from the water at the same time. When he turned around at the end of the pool, he changed his method and did a backstroke. Ripples of water cascaded off his body. Taren nibbled on her bottom lip as she stood on her tiptoes to see through the glass and view what kind of swim trunks he wore. She didn’t picture him as a Speedo kind of guy. Not that he didn’t have the body for it.

When Jace reached the end of the pool again, he turned and ducked under the water. Taren crept through the empty room, over the hardwood floor, to get to the glass. She peered into the water, trying to see Jace again. Like a scene from a horror movie, he sprang up on the side of the pool directly in front of her.

Taren gasped and took a couple of steps back as though the man could get to her through the glass. It didn’t matter. As soon as he appeared out of the water, he made immediate eye contact with her. Busted.

He held his upper body up by straightening out his strong arms as he spat out the water that had gotten in his mouth. Had Taren been more focused on the entire scene and not just Jace’s location, she would have seen that his towel lay on that side of the pool.

He hoisted himself out of the water and gave her another shock. Water sluiced down his completely nude body. Jesus H. Christ in the morning, he had a wonderful physique. His clothing yesterday hid a lot. Now she admired his wide chest with a few sprigs of hair. To see a true six-pack abdomen had her wanting to lick his core. When she got down to the package that lay between his rock-hard thighs, she wanted to go to church and praise God, and she hadn’t had that desire in a long time.

Jace’s cock swung masterfully back and forth as he moved. It looked long and lean with a slight curve. Taren’s clit started to throb the longer she stared at him.

Jace picked up his towel. Without apology or shame, he scrubbed it over his hair first before moving down his body. Once he dried off his legs and feet, he wrapped the towel around his waist while staring directly at Taren.

The aggressive stance had her retreating back to the kitchen. He obviously didn’t want her ogling him like some animal in a zoo. She busied herself at the sink, cleaning up the last pan she’d left on the counter. Curiosity got the better of her. She peered over her shoulder and watched Jace walking back to the guesthouse.

Taren exhaled. She had to make the best of this alone time with Jace. She glanced at the digital clock on the eight-burner gas stove. In a couple of hours, the crews would be arriving to set up more camera equipment and, hopefully, more furniture. She knew filming would be starting soon.

To keep her mind off Jace and filming, she started cooking. At first she had planned on only making eggs and bacon. Ananda made sure to stock the refrigerator and pantry with items Taren wanted. Each time she recalled Jace coming out of the water and his fine body, she had the urge to make more food. An hour later, she had enough to feed an army. Bacon, eggs, pancakes, hash brown potatoes, even biscuits lined the breakfast bar.

She heard keys knocking against the back door before she heard it open and saw Jace walking in wearing solid dark blue board shorts and a white T-shirt. He slipped his large feet into some well-worn flip flops. His hair had dried a little and had started to lighten.

“Good morning.” Taren gave him a brief smile before turning her back on him and busying herself at the sink.

“Expecting company?” Jace’s deep voice didn’t sound as gravelly as it did last night, but still had enough power to weaken her knees.

“No. Not really.” She rinsed off a pan and picked up a towel to dry it. “I got caught up in cooking. Made more than what I would normally make. Please have some with me.” She put the pan away and turned to Jace.

He glanced at the offering then brought his attention to her. “No, thank you.”

Taren’s heartbeat slowed with his polite rejection. “So you have keys to the house?” She grabbed a plate for herself and started piling food on it.

“Of course.”

She nodded. “You never really said last night. What are you doing here? Are you a contestant? Are you with the crew?”

He didn’t say anything. He headed to the pantry and scanned it before he released a curse.

“What’s wrong?” Taren let her fork hover over her plate.

“I don’t see oatmeal.” He tapped his finger against the pantry door.

Taren dropped her fork and stood. “Really? I could have sworn I saw a container.”

She ducked under Jace’s arm and stood in the middle of the small room that rivaled the size of her bathroom in her apartment. She scanned the shelves and leaned back to look at the top shelf. The back of her head bumped against Jace’s chest.

“Sorry.” She spun around to face him.

Even with the light on, his face held a dark shadow. It didn’t give him an ominous appearance like she thought it would. It made him look even sexier, especially with both hands now bracing against the doorframe. She realized then that he had her trapped in the pantry. He could have her among the spices and snacks.

Taren swallowed and glanced behind herself again. “Um, up there.” She pointed up to the top shelf where it looked like she saw a cylindrical container. “I think it’s behind the grits.”

Jace stared at Taren for a moment before strolling into the room. When he moved in the area, Taren took that moment to step back out. She stood in the spot he previously occupied and watched him moving items around the shelf.