Chapter Four

That was the best sleep Sam had in a long time. Bizarre. But good. Refreshing in a strange kind of way. He’d dreamt of Riley. That she snuck into his room, got into bed with him, and complained about the mess his files made of his home office.

Weird.

He stretched, rolled his head on his shoulders then jumped out of bed. He’d grab a coffee, hit the shower and head off to work. Or maybe he’d go for a run, then grab the coffee and shower before work.

What time was it anyway? He glanced at the clock: 6:45. He must’ve fallen back to sleep after hitting his alarm at six o’clock. No time for that run. Just coffee and a shower. He headed for the kitchen. His feet skidded to a stop outside his office. The door was open and as clear as anything there was Riley asleep on his sofa.

Curled up like that, she was cute and had a vulnerability that brought out the protective side of him. Her exotic scent lingered in the room as if Riley couldn’t help leaving her presence wherever she went. She used one arm as a pillow, the other hand nestled under her cheek, her knees drawn up until she was practically a ball. She looked at home, almost as though she belonged in his villa. His chest did a peculiar tightening thing. For a moment he couldn’t move, only watch her. She’d pulled her hair into a messy pile atop her head and had exchanged her shorts for white, loose-fitting sweatpants. The tee she’d worn the night before clung to her curves in a way that had him swallowing hard. There was nothing provocative about the way she was dressed, yet the sight of her urged him to scoop her up and take her to his bed. He didn’t move, didn’t trust himself to step another foot into the office. But he continued to watch her sleep. She had delicate features, the kind that were pretty and cute but had potential to be regal and sophisticated. Sam let his gaze drift over her oval face—more beautiful in sleep—from her slightly parted lush lips, over the soft curve of her cheek and small turned-up nose to the arch of her eyebrows a shade darker than her sun-kissed bronze hair, to her smooth brow.

Even her ears were cute.

Cute was not good. Cute made a man do stupid things, like forget he wasn’t looking to start anything with his neighbor.

Cute was very bad.

“What the hell?” Anger would keep cute at bay.

Riley shot up like a runner at the start of a race and the gun had just gone off.

“Sam?” She swung her feet to the floor, her gaze dashed to him then snapped away as she frantically began to look for something in the cushions beside her hip.

“Who else had you expected to be in my house? And what are you doing here?”

“You’re awake. What time is it?” Locating what she was looking for—her phone—she stared at it.

“Yes, I’m awake.” She still looked cute as hell, all mussed and sleep-drunk, even as heat poured into her cheeks, and she avoided looking at him. “It’s almost seven. You were sleeping on my sofa. Why? And how did you get in?”

“I couldn’t sleep last night, so I went for a walk and noticed your window was open.” She kept her gaze averted. If the heat staining her cheeks was any indication, she was embarrassed he’d caught her asleep on his sofa.

“So you broke into my villa?” Sam glanced around. Something was missing. In fact, a whole lot of stuff was missing. “Did you move my files?”

“It was a bit of a mess, so I tidied for you. I filed everything in the cabinets in alphabetical order—date and deadline.” She spoke to the floor.

“You broke into my house and tidied?”

“I didn’t break in. I told you, the window was open.” She still wouldn’t look at him.

“And you took it as an invitation to waltz in?”

“I couldn’t sleep.”

“You said that already.”

“I thought someone had broken in and I tried to wake you, but you’re a heavy sleeper.” She refused to meet his gaze and it was starting to bug him.

“It just gets better and better. Did it cross your mind not to sneak in through a stranger’s window and watch him sleep?”

“I didn’t intend to come in but the place was such a mess, I couldn’t just leave it like that. And I didn’t watch you sleep.” She pushed some strands of hair that had worked loose from her hair band out of her face, slid her fingers into her hair and cradled her head as she stared at her feet, still encased in her white deck shoes. “After I shook you a couple of times and you refused to wake, I left and came back down here.”

“To tidy my mess?”

She nodded.

“I don’t suppose you stopped to examine the possibility that I might actually have a system? That what you thought was a mess may very well be organized?” The muscles in his shoulders cramped. “How am I supposed to find the files I was working on before you ‘tidied’?”

“I told you; I sorted a system for you. I made a list of all the files you left out and their contents. I created an Excel file on your computer with all the information. Look.” She jumped to her feet, swiftly averted her eyes and rushed to his desk.

And that’s when he remembered he was butt naked.

“I’m going to put on some pants. Stay here, I want to talk to you.” He stalked off and left Riley staring after him with her mouth hanging open.

****

Holy smoking macaroni!

Riley had gone shaky and weak, and hot all over. She dropped into the comfy executive chair behind Sam’s desk, blew out her breath. She still couldn’t believe Sam had stood stark naked in front of her and interrogated her. Now that was a man at absolute ease with his body. And goodness, what a body. Lean muscle roped every inch of him, his stomach hard and ridged with muscle so taut looking she yeaned to reach out and touch. His whole body was nicely tanned, too.

Yes, she noticed all of that in the split second after he’d woken her with his rough growl.

Did he sunbathe in the buff down on that secluded part of Lover’s Beach in front of their villas? The thought heated her entire body and made her go all melty just thinking about it. Sam in a suit was arresting. Sam in the nude was stupefying. Desire and unease competed inside her. She was sure there must be some sort of etiquette associated with sleeping on your neighbor’s sofa uninvited then seeing him starkers that dictated she executed a rapid exit before he came back. How was she ever going to look him in the face after she’d seen his…everything? All she could say was the man was built to seriously impress.

The low murmur coming from his bedroom sounded as if he was on the phone, then Riley heard the shower whoosh on and debated whether to stay or leave. Making her exit now seemed a prudent idea, yet the smooth authority in Sam’s command to stay kept her glued to the chair. When her knee started to bounce with nervous energy, she leaped up to make coffee, anything to keep her mind from bombarding her with pictures of a naked Sam Rutherford.

She forced herself to deny the images that kept coming, and her desire to trace her fingers through his chest hair, to let her mouth follow the thin trail that cut a path between the ridges on his stomach to its destination.

Riley planned her day instead. Once she got back to her place, she was going to hit the shower and spend the day job hunting. But her thoughts drifted back to Sam. She could go all gooey thinking about him, but the fact remained that in all the time they’d been neighbors, he’d never shown an interest in her.

Not once.

By walking around naked in her presence without batting an eye hadn’t he proved he didn’t think of her that way?

She’d bet Sam liked his women sophisticated and serious. The type of woman she used to pretend to be in order to please Beto. He never liked that she was a little accident-prone. He hadn’t liked her sense of humor either. In fact now she thought about it, she’d never dated a guy willing to accept her as she was. They all tried to change her in some way. If it wasn’t her clothes or her hair, it had been the way she carried herself. And she was sick of feeling like she had to become some sort of chameleon with each relationship. If nothing else, the thought of having to make herself over in order to please a man would be what she needed to break the magnetic pull Sam seemed to have on her hormones.

Hadn’t she danced on her front lawn in the middle of the night to celebrate her new-found freedom to be herself? Why would she risk losing that again for a guy?

All she had to do now was get her body to agree.

She was still battling to tame the heat burning her skin and the jittery sensation in her stomach when Sam breezed into the light airy kitchen.

The rich aroma of fresh coffee filled the room, mingled with the warm woodsy spice of Sam’s cologne. Tall and gorgeous with his cool blue-gray eyes, trimmed stubble and dark hair still damp from his shower, he looked smoldering in his lightweight navy suit. Something sensuous fluttered inside her.

“Sorry about that. If I knew you were here I would’ve pulled on pants before I left my room.”

What should she say to that? I’m sorry you took the trouble to get dressed ’cause the view was spectacular? Probably best not to say that.

“I’m sorry I fell asleep on your sofa. I only meant to rest for a minute,” she said instead as she poured him a mug of coffee like nothing had happened. Like she wasn’t on the verge of hyperventilating just because his fingers brushed hers when he took the mug. “I didn’t know how you liked your coffee.”

She’d already added milk and sugar to her mug.

“Just like this is fine.” He dipped his head and breathed in the aroma of his black, unsweetened coffee.

If he could be blasé about this morning, so could she. She would act like she saw naked men all day long and seeing him like that meant nothing at all.

“Sit with me.”

Did he say sit on me?

“Riley?”

“Hmmm?” She glanced up into his face. He was frowning, so he couldn’t have said what she thought she heard. “Sorry?”

“I said come over to the breakfast bar and sit with me.”

“Oh.” That’s what he said. She grabbed her mug and followed him, trying not to let the image of his naked butt—firm and tanned—besiege her imagination. “Aren’t you late for work?”

“I’m my own boss, but I did call in to let my partner know I was going to be in later today.”

“Oh.” See? This was easy. She predicted she’d be so good at keeping her attraction for Sam under his radar that he’d never suspect a thing. Riley plunked onto the stool next to his.

He smiled and her insides did a slow melt.

Oh, boy!

He took a swig of his brew, focused his attention on her. “You mentioned you worked as a personal assistant.”

“Yes, I did. Why?”

“I want to offer you a job.”