Good. Hyde could only take so many uncomfortable exchanges with Tassia. He could only imagine what would happen once they got to the house. How would Tassia feel when she learned about the trip? Maybe he wouldn’t have to tell her. Maybe the location could keep her distracted enough to not want to work on the album, and then the sting of him backing out won’t hurt as much. From what he recognized in Tassia from interacting with her again, he suspected that she wouldn’t respond positively to the truth about this trip.
Good or bad, he wouldn’t care how Tassia felt. He hadn’t talked to her in fifteen years. He could go the rest of his life not talking to her again.
Hours of driving and making the trip overnight stretched Hyde to his limit. Thanks to tour buses and limousine rides, Hyde couldn’t remember the last time he had driven himself anywhere, not for this long of a trek. Even with the breaking dawn’s bright sun blinding him, it couldn’t give him that needed second wind to finish this trip. When he saw familiar street signs signaling his close proximity to his home, he sighed in relief. In mere minutes, he would be home in his own bed, but with a stranger, albeit a beautiful one, in his house. He would have to steel himself for the potential argument from Tassia when he revealed the truth.
Hyde heard a light chirping sound from his pocket. He smiled, realizing that he couldn’t send or receive calls. He could get a break. When he thought about that, he glanced over at Tassia, still asleep beside him. She might have an issue with not being able to connect to the outside world from her phone. He hoped she would settle into the idea.
At the gate surrounding his estate, Hyde entered his security code and swiped a key with a microchip over it, which activated the wrought-iron gates with spikes across the top. Hyde hadn’t thought he would have to go to this extreme until he came to the house one time and found a female fan camped out in his yard.
He drove through the gates but waited for them to close behind him before he continued up the mile-long driveway.
Hyde went around the circular driveway and stopped in front of his house.
“Home sweet home.” He smiled as he turned off the vehicle.
Hyde figured at that point, Tassia would have woken up. She hadn’t when he had stopped midway during their trip to get gas. He had paid the old man working behind the counter cash and had worn his ballcap with the bill as low as he could get it over his eyes. He reached over to touch her shoulder but stopped himself. He would first see if his family did what he had asked.
He slipped out of the truck and went to the back to retrieve some of the luggage. He would take them in the house at least for his guest.
Hyde pulled the bags to the door and unlocked it. When he stepped inside, he took a deep breath. It smelled like oak and the outdoors. He couldn’t help but smile as he set the bags at the base of a set of stairs. He immediately went to the kitchen and looked in the refrigerator.
Hyde had to blink when he saw a piece of paper greeting him as soon as he opened the stainless-steel door.
I told you I would stock it, pig face!
Hyde laughed as he snatched the paper and crumpled it into a ball. No time to waste. He had to get Tassia, and he needed to get some sleep. He turned around to retrieve his guest and stopped in his tracks when he saw her standing in the open doorway.
“Where is everyone?”
Chapter 9
Tassia had no plans on falling asleep during the trip. Even when she had been on tour buses, she liked staying up for as long as she could to map out her destination. She never liked being left unaware. Hyde already had her off her game between the sweet ride, the somewhat calming conversation, and the music.
At some point, the hard rock that had been playing when Hyde finally filled the vehicle with music had turned to something soothing. Thanks to her cynical side, she suspected Hyde played the music on purpose to relax her. She couldn’t believe he didn’t get sleepy as well and have to pull over to take a nap. Seeing this incredible house, she liked the fact that he pushed through to get them here.
“Good morning.” Hyde smiled. “I was going to get your stuff in first before I woke you up.”
Tassia shook her head. “I had one job.” Then she snickered. When she saw Hyde’s eyebrows furrow, she clarified her statement. “I was supposed to stay awake to keep you company while you drove. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”
He waved his hand. “It’s not a problem. Leaving in the middle of the night was my idea.” He glanced at his large-face watch. “We made good time.”
“You did. I just enjoyed the ride.” Just saying the word ride had her recalling her line in the song. She glanced at Hyde to see if he had made the connection.
“I’m going to get our bags and the rest of the stuff from the truck.” He strolled by her. “You make yourself at home.”
When he walked by her, Tassia noticed a ruddy shade coloring his cheeks. What went through his mind that would cause that reaction? Had he thought about her and what he could do to her, to her body?
Tassia pushed the salacious thoughts from her mind and concentrated on work. Wondering what went on in a man’s mind would make a good song.
She wandered through the living room with a ceiling so high, she imagined being able to do a full back flip from a high bounce on a trampoline in the middle of the room. Open, sturdy exposed rafters lined the ceiling. The rich, cocoa-colored wood matched the tone of the wood around the large, picturesque windows that surrounded the room. A plush Oriental rug supported her sandaled feet. Matching tan and burgundy furniture pieces completed the room with pillows covering almost every chair and couch. Hyde definitely had help with his decorating.
When Tassia peered off to the side of the room, she spotted a platform area with a piano and a guitar on a stand. She wondered if the instruments had been there as decoration pieces or if Hyde actually used them.
She heard a rustling at the door, and watched Hyde coming in with two more pieces of luggage and a cooler. He placed all the items by the door and closed the door behind him. A chirping sound echoed through the house.
“The front door alarm is set, but you can go out the back door and balconies, well, I guess that’s if—” Hyde stopped himself and took a breath. “Welcome to my home.” He held up his arms like a game-show model. “Let me show you around first.” He started in the living room. “Living room of course and music room.” He pointed toward the area where she had spotted the piano and guitar.
“I noticed. Do you write there?” Tassia strolled toward the space.
“Sometimes. The whole property is inspiring, so I don’t restrict myself.” He moved past her to the open kitchen area. “Kitchen, of course. And I checked. My family didn’t let me down. Not completely.” He rubbed his hand over his face like he wanted to cover a smile. “The fridge and pantry are stocked. Please help yourself to anything in here.”
“Anything?” Tassia didn’t mean to make the inquiry sound salacious. Seeing Hyde with stubble on his chin and looking delectable, she couldn’t help it. She had expected Hyde to overlook the statement.
“Anything you need, I can provide.” He cocked a smile at the corner of his mouth.
Damn. Tassia would be with this hot man for a while. She needed to pace herself. “That line would work well in a song.” She strolled to the other side of a large breakfast bar away from him.
“It would, wouldn’t it?” He nodded. “I like the way you think.” He moved down the end of the bar to an area with a wall of windows. “Outside is a pool.” Hyde pushed open a sliding door that made the outside a part of the house now. “I’ll be using this a lot while we’re here.”
“After we finish working, of course.” Tassia stepped outside with him. Hyde definitely picked a great day to bring Tassia to his home. In the early morning sun, the sky appeared so bright blue, and the lush lawn looked so deep green. The huge pool reminded Tassia of the missed trip to
Fiji with India.
Hyde didn’t answer her. “Over there is a hot tub.” Hyde pointed to a corner area with a raised, square spa. “The wooden door on the other side of it is a sauna.” He turned to her.
Tassia had to wrap her arms around herself to keep from hopping around like a giddy goofball about her luck of getting to work in this space. She could definitely see herself lounging by the pool while she wrote some hits. “Not exactly the vacation spot I was hoping for, but this is close.” She shrugged. “I guess I could work here.”
Hyde must have seen through her nonplussed attitude. He nodded his head. “It’s like being in another world out here. You can escape your problems. I can truly pamper myself out here.”
“What do you mean? Like having a personal chef or something?” Tassia pointed back to the kitchen area.
“Yes.” Hyde nodded.
“What about someone to clean up?” Having extra strangers in the house might help with some of the tension she felt with being alone with Hyde until the other crew members arrived.
“Housecleaning? Sure.” He nodded and strolled down a set of steps on the other side of the pool toward the back of the large yard.
“What about a pool boy and a masseuse?” She laughed.
“I know how to clean my own pool.” Hyde let the other request linger in the air like he wanted Tassia to press him on that service.
She swallowed hard. “Where are we going?”
Hyde stopped at the bank of a large, calm lake behind the house. “The lake. If you get tired of the pool and want something more organic, come here.” He squatted down and sat on the grass. “I love this spot.” He took in a deep breath and looked off in the distance. “I recharge here. I look out at all the trees and I feel…” He stopped as though he realized how much of himself he’d started to reveal.
Tassia scanned the land around them. A dock sat off to the side, jutting out over the calm water. She imagined Hyde casting a boat from it and the sun beating on his skin. It didn’t help that while she slept on the way down, she had dreamed about Hyde and his hands and his eyes.
In her dream, Hyde coasted his large hands down her naked body, over her shoulder, down her bare arm to her stomach and finally to her vagina. Even in her dream she felt her clitoris throbbing. She couldn’t be sure, but she thought she might have moaned.
Even if she had, the expression didn’t rouse her out of her slumber. The dream proved too good to stop. By the time she dreamed that Hyde entered her and brought her to an exquisite orgasm, she had awakened in front of Hyde’s home. If she had planned on working with him, she had to push out these thoughts.
One way to snap her mind out of that thinking. “So where is every—”
Hyde jumped up to his feet. “Before we get into anything else, let me show you to your room.” He walked ahead of her. “There are eight bedrooms in this house.”
Tassia started to follow him when something caught her attention. “Wait. You live in the middle of nowhere, but I can see a house back there.” She pointed to a small yellow house at a far corner of the property.
“Yeah. That’s a guesthouse.” Hyde smiled. “I own the lake and the other side of it.”
Tassia laughed. “How can you own a lake?”
He opened the back door for her. “When you have it made.” He pointed to the water. “All of this was land. This is one of the biggest man-made lakes in Tennessee. I have it populated with fish and other wildlife. Kind of proud of that. Plus, it offers me a bit more privacy.”
The man thought about everything.
Tassia strolled through and stood off to the side to follow him.
“Like I said, there are eight bedrooms in here.” Hyde walked in front of her, but stopped suddenly.
She almost ran into the back of him. Just as she started to admonish him, she watched him remove his boots and place them next to the door. She could tell he did that out of habit.
“Feel free to get comfortable.” He glanced down at her feet.
“I’m in sandals. I’m pretty comfortable.” She smiled.
He padded over deep mahogany hardwood floors down a hallway. “There’s a master suite down here.”
He stepped into the room through a set of double doors.
“Are you letting me have your room?” Tassia’s heart pounded as she envisioned sharing a bed with him.
“No.” Hyde pointed up. “My master suite is upstairs. I thought you might be more comfortable on a separate floor. If you would rather be upstairs, I have other bedrooms there with en suite bathrooms.”
“Wow. Nice.” Tassia peered around the room.
An Oriental rug with blue, gold, and tan colors covered most of the hardwood floor. Bright light streamed through the two large windows. The king-size bed looked comfortable enough to hibernate in for years.
“Are you cool with this room?” Hyde’s eyes went wide, which only accentuated the dark circles underneath them.
“Yes, this is great. Thank you. Are there other bedrooms down here?”
Hyde backed out of the room. “One more bedroom near the front of the house. The rest are upstairs.” He pointed up.
“Will your team be up—”
He cut her off again. “Let me get your bags.” He trotted out of the room.
A creepy tickle itched up the back of her neck. She really didn’t know Hyde, but she could swear that each time she started to ask him about his team, he interrupted her.
Hyde returned to the room and set her luggage by the door. “These are it, right?”
Tassia assessed her belongings. “Except for my purse. I think I left it in the living room.”
“Got it.” Hyde ran from the room again and came back moments later with her purse.
“Thank you.” She kept her stare on Hyde’s eyes as she accepted her purse. “I know you must be exhausted.”
He blinked so slowly that she thought he would fall asleep in his spot.
“If you want to get some sleep, I can keep myself busy.” She threw her purse onto the bed.
“Yes. I do need to get some sleep. Just a few hours.” He started to back out of the room again.
“I understand. Just let me know when your team is getting here.” She approached Hyde. “You said the alarm is on the front door. Does your team have the code?”
“If anyone arrives, come knock on my door and I can let them in.” He offered a small smile as he walked out of the room. “Enjoy your stay. I know I will.”
* * * *
Tassia couldn’t put her finger on it, but she felt Hyde kept some information close to his vest. She couldn’t say that her instincts with men had always been spot on. Instead of thinking about her relationship status, she decided she would work really hard on writing songs.
She opened the refrigerator door. True to Hyde’s word, the space overflowed with fresh food. Tassia removed a container of yogurt and an apple. She would only take the bare minimum.
Tassia placed the container on the counter next to a balled up piece of paper. She picked the paper up and opened it. When she read the note, her eyebrows raised as she wondered who called Hyde “pig face.” She gazed up like she could see through the ceiling to see Hyde.
Tassia searched through the kitchen drawers for utensils. Once she found a spoon, she snagged a bottle of water and took her bounty outside by the pool. Why did she need to remain holed up in a bedroom when she had this wonderful backdrop to use?
She went to a chaise lounge under a large blue and white striped umbrella and reclined back. Noon time hadn’t officially started yet, and it already felt like a hundred degrees, even in the shade. Tassia needed the air and space.
After eating her light breakfast, she attempted to write. The first song had a catchy hook, something she had become known for in the music industry, unless people believed the gossip.
She didn’t know where Hyde would be infused in the song, but then again, maybe Hyde could figure that one out when he eventually helped with the process. He could be the hook man for a change. Why not? Beyoncé had done it for other artists.
Tassia struggled on writing the second song. She attempted to keep the songs light, just what would work in a club and on the radio. Adding a second person, when she really didn’t know her singing partner, proved to be harder than she imagined. Writing duets for Chantel and Truman had been easy. She observed their loving relationship. She knew them. She tried to hear Hyde’s twang in the song. She couldn’t. She didn’t know how to fit him in her music.
The third song she started to write, about a jerk of a man, kept getting blurry as she attempted to write more. At the third hour of trying to finish this song, she eventually had to give in to the fact that her creativity train had stopped. Hard to write when she had too many things racing through her mind: the breakup, the lies, the man sleeping upstairs in this massive house.
Tassia thought about Hyde, his eyes, and his large hands, and his deep voice. He had definitely grown up to become a fine young man. Her heart began pounding hard.
“Come on, girl. You don’t know this man, not after all these years.” Tassia shook her head. “Don’t forget. He wouldn’t hire you.”
Tired of writing and curiosity getting the better of her, Tassia decided to do her own self-guided tour of Hyde’s home. With him sleeping, she wouldn’t have any restrictions on where she could go. She had already seen the main living area, kitchen, and one music room.
Tassia walked into the house from the pool area and closed the door behind herself to keep the cool air in the dwelling. She sauntered down a hallway and stumbled upon another bedroom. This spare room did not have an attached bathroom like hers, and had been decorated modestly. Yep, Hyde had to have had a decorator help him. No way the boy who used to wear plaid shirts would know how to mix and match patterns like this.
Crazy on You Page 12