SIXTEEN
______
DANTE
Sean chased after me like he had demons on his tail. “Dante, wait!”
Cackling in delight, I dashed through the wrought iron gate, throwing it closed behind me. I couldn’t count the number of times I’d wanted to sneak through it and into Sean’s private domain. I’d stared at the gate from my spot on the far side of the pool, wondering what his place looked like. Was he messy like me, or the neat freak I suspected him to be?
I managed to reach his much smaller patio before he caught up to me, but only just. I’d barely reached out for the handle of the sliding door when he threw himself in front of it, bouncing off the glass with a loud thwack.
His eyes were wide as he stood there with his arms stretched out to bar the way, and I doubled over with laughter. “Holy crap,” I got out between bursts. “Do you have a dead body hidden in there or something?”
“I’m not hiding anything,” he insisted. He was a bad liar. “This part of the property belongs to me. No guests allowed.”
Gasping in mock horror, I put a hand over my chest. “Is that what I am to you? Just another guest?”
He lifted one eyebrow. “What else would you be?”
The comment dampened my spirits, but I clung to my amusement, so Sean wouldn’t see. “I was thinking we’d become friends, of a sort. Aren’t we?” I held my breath, half-expecting the wordsFull-Service Packageto make their way into his response.
Instead, he shrugged a shoulder. “I suppose we are, if you don’t count the part where you leave at the end of next month and we never see each other again.”
I didn’t want to think about leaving. Not now, when we’d had such a good night together.
“Come on, I want to see.” My usual sexy drawl had vanished in favour of a petulant whine and I paused to do a mental recalibration on my vocal settings. “You know, Sean.” A deep, husky murmur sounded this time. Much better. “You’ve had total access to all my living areas for over two weeks. In fact, you’ve spent almost as much time in my bedroom as I have.”
“That’s because I’m the guy who washes your dirty socks,” he argued.
“The point is, I think it’s only fair I get to check out your living room.” I held up one hand, before adding, “I solemnly promise to stay out of your bedroom.”
His expression wavered, and I knew I almost had him. Stepping forward, I went in for the kill. “Or we could stay out here for a while.” I glanced around the dimly lit area. “It’s kind of dark,” my gaze returned to his and, for once, I let my hunger for him show freely, “but I’m sure we can find some way to pass the time.” My eyes lowered to focus on his lips, as my tongue sneaked out to wet my own.
“All right,” he cried, pressing himself back against the glass. “But let me go in first, so I can make sure it’s tidy.”
“I’m a slob, remember? I don’t care about tidy.”
“Well, I do,” he insisted before sliding the door open behind him. He pointed a finger at me. “Stay.”
My body hummed in pleasure at the reappearance of his bossy side but, even so, I frowned at him. “What am I, a dog?” At his exasperated look, I sighed and crossed my arms. “You have two minutes.”
He practically fell through the door, rushing to close it behind him, and I chuckled at his total lack of grace. Then, I waited. And waited. He’d pulled the curtain closed before turning on the lights, so I couldn’t see inside, but I heard the odd bump and clatter of stuff being moved around. Enough to make me curious about what the hell he was doing in there. It would have been the longest two minutes of my life—if I’d lasted that long.
Sliding the door open, I pushed the curtain aside and stuck my head through the gap. “Ready or not, here I come.”
Sean appeared in a doorway on the far side of the room, which I assumed led to the bedroom. He pulled the door closed with a bang and then gave me what was probably supposed to pass as a carefree smile. “Hey.”
I snorted with laughter as I stepped inside. My gaze wandered around the space, which included a small lounge room and an even smaller kitchen. The place contained little in the way of furniture, but still managed to look cosy and comfortable—and neat as a pin, as predicted. “You weren’t kidding about the small part.”
“There’s only one of me and I spend most of my time at the main house or out on the grounds.” He finally eased away from the bedroom door, sliding his hands in the pockets of his trousers. “The small size doesn’t bother me.”
“I’ll bet this is the first time you’ve ever said that,” I teased, giving him a sidelong glance. He snickered, rolling his eyes in response.
“You want something to drink?” he asked, heading past me to the kitchen.
“Water would be good.” I moved closer to the bookshelves, and what looked like Sean’s CD collection. A large gap in the middle suggested a bunch of cases had been removed. Was that what Sean had been doing in here? Did my albums normally fill the space? Pleasurable though the thought was, it couldn’t be true. He’d have to own, not only the albums, but the singles as well to fill a space that large. Considering Sean’s initial dislike of me, it seemed doubtful he was such a big fan, even if he did claim to know all my songs.
“Have a seat.” Sean’s voice came from behind me and I turned to see him gesturing to the couch. He’d placed a couple of water glasses on the small coffee table in front. His gaze darted between me and the shelves, and I got the feeling my snooping had him on edge.
