Cody drove in silence, but she blushed each time she felt his gaze over her nervous body. The confidence she wore to The Pub rubbed off with the crash behind the garage. She bounced her knee in the passenger seat staring out into the midnight sky. The moon danced across the rolling hills in the distance, which reminded her of why she returned to Diablo. The city lights dulled the beauty of the land she adored deep in her heart.
Tonight’s incident mirrored other observations she’d made since moving into the place five days ago. The first night, she painted the bedroom, and the screen door had opened and slammed several times before she crept down the stairs to peek through the curtains at the porch. The swing swayed gentle in her memory, yet she knew the screen door didn’t unlatch in the wind. She paid no attention to the fallen boxes spread across the family room, until they were restacked against another wall when she arrived home from grocery shopping the second day. A shiver traveled down her spine when the reality of someone stalking her crossed her mind.
Soon, he pulled into the driveway of the McAllister ranch. She knew the estate from riding horses with her father when he’d helped Cody ride his way through the rodeo circuit. The small cottage house beyond the barn grew larger as they drove deeper onto the property. Relief washed over her, grateful for the privacy.
“We’re here. Home sweet home.” Cody shook his finger at her when she started to open her door. “I’ll come get you.”
She sat with her seatbelt latched and moved not a muscle. Something in the way he spoke filled her with safety and trust. The two things she longed for the last few years, but never found. Looking down at her folded hands, she felt a pang of guilt not telling Cody the truth behind her reappearance in Diablo—and now this thing with the Clark house and whoever was watching her pulled her further from her goals.
He opened her door, then paused, his eyes level with hers. “You’re safe here, I promise,” he offered, meaningfully. He backed out leaving her space to swing her legs from the passenger seat. He swept up her bags in one hand and placed his other on her lower back as they strode to the door.
As they walked toward the house, he silently thanked his momma for her lashing out about his housekeeping, or lack thereof; he’d tidied up the place that morning. He flipped on the lights and her eyes grew wide. His rodeo winning saddle sat on display on a custom stand. The musk and leather mixed in the air, all reminders of the past. His blue eyes stared down upon her, waking the quieted butterflies from their momentary nap.
“Oh—this is your place?”
“Yes. Did you think it was someone else’s?”
“No—I just—” Her words fumbled around on her tongue.
“Come in. Let me show you around.”
She cleared her throat to find her voice. “I thought this was a guest house.”
“No. After tonight, leaving you alone is a bad idea.” He guided her to the kitchen and offered her a seat. The clock on the stove blinked midnight.
“I guess you lost power too.” She pointed at the annoying flash.
“Wind must’ve knocked it out.” He shrugged. “We’ll be fine. Can I get you a drink?”
“Water. Please.”
He filled the two glasses waiting for her to open her thoughts.
“I’m really tired. Can you point me in the direction of the spare bedroom?” she inquired, hoping that he’d actually comply.
A smirk danced across his face and his dimples breathed sin into her thoughts. “This is a one-bedroom place. And, I’m happy to show you the rest of the layout. For safety, you’ll be sleeping in my bed.” He waved at her to follow behind him.
Eying his backside, she grumbled, “Safety and your bed. Got it.”
Just as she took a step after him, he turned on his heel. She jerked to stop, but her hands landed nearly on his ass as she gripped around his waist for balance. Embarrassment flushed her cheeks, and she quickly removed her hands. She stepped right into the wall, to which Cody took advantage of, easily closing the short distance between them. The butterflies flapped their wings faster as her heart raced to her throat. She had to tilt her head back to see his face, which wasn’t exactly gentlemanly.
“Wh-what now?” she stammered, and her voice was not her own.
He smiled, slowly. “I never said I was sleeping there too. But if you’d like…” He paused, and the heat of his body pressed against her took her back in time to when this moment was all that crossed her mind.
She had to count to five before shaking her head—before her mouth shouted ‘yes.’
He chuckled. “If you change your mind, I’ll be on the couch.”
She whimpered a little as he backed away and picked up her bags on the way to the bedroom. She knew that every second she was with him was going to be a battle of wills—hers.
He showed her the en suite bathroom and placed new towels on the racks. The interior of the cottage was upgraded and reeked of the McAllister wealth. The bathroom, with its stone-covered shower and multiple spraying heads, looked straight out of an architect’s design magazine. It also held a soaking tub she ached to dip her toes in but knew better than to strip naked with Cody in the other room.
“Thank you. But I can sleep on the couch.” She twirled her hair in her fingers, keeping her eyes cast down at the wooden floor of the bedroom.
His hands met her shoulders and the nervous energy moved from his hands to the blood in her veins. “A man does not allow a woman to sleep on the couch. He knows more of how to treat a lady, but it’s up to you, Jade, either way.”
“It’s not that simple,” she quavered softly, tensing up again.
He brought her chin up with his finger. A question laced on his brow, which he kept silent.
“What? Just ask,” she commanded, resigned. “I can’t take the nice and dripping sweet of this!”
He chuckled at her flustered outburst. She knew the question on his mind, and her answer remained ‘no’. No, she wouldn’t sleep with him. She repeated this in her head as he stared into her soul.
“I want to know if—”
“No—”
He cut off her refusal before she embarrassed herself. “I want to know who hurt you. Who are you running from?”
His question threw her. It never crossed her mind he might have read her like a book. This Cody McAllister, the one who stood before her caring more than just for her body or a one-night stand confused the logic laid out in her mind. Rumors made it easy to stay away, and she’d been clinging to that as the only boundary line between them. However, this Cody made her believe change whispered its way into her future. He pulled her in tight for a hug, and she turned her cheek against his chest. Just when she relaxed into his embrace, she noticed a baggie of green candies sitting in the center of his chest of drawers.