I laughed. “The AC is broken, and I blew off my appointment to take it in today to come here instead.”
Once we returned inside, he gave me a very brief tour of the parts of the house I hadn’t seen. There was the deck out back that looked eastward over the reddish clay of Peter’s Canyon, where the sky was now purpling with a chipped, silver-white moon above the horizon. Off the lower floor of the house was his home gym with sliding glass doors leading to a beautiful saltwater pool. It was surrounded by a drought-resistant garden that was all the rage in Southern California these days.
When we went back upstairs, I noted at once that inside the house was also well lit-up by timed lighting. I thought back to that strange comment he’d made. For example, if a light is on. It stays on.
I flicked a glance at his back as I followed him down the hallway toward a spare room. It was the farthest room possible from his master bedroom on the other side of the house.
Did he have a thing about lights? Or, rather, the dark? And if so, was there any way I could address it without violating his “no shrink talk” rule? I’d have to consider that. I’d made one breakthrough tonight. Best not to push it any further. For now.
He entered the bedroom first and walked to the bed to make sure his housekeeper had put on fresh sheets. Flipping back the comforter and blanket to check, he glanced around the room. It was Spartan in design—a dark blue bedspread and a few more of his amazing photographs on the walls by the closet. “Bathroom is down the hallway.” He pointed. “You need a toothbrush?”
I shook my head, pointing to my trusty toiletry bag. He nodded and walked toward the doorway, turning around.
“You’re okay for the night?”
I nodded. “I have lots of work to do. I brought stuff with me.”
He didn’t react to that. After all, he had no idea that I was going to type up my notes about him. Yeah, he wasn’t my patient, but I could make observations about him nevertheless.
When he turned to leave, I stopped him, asking for his phone number so we could keep in contact. Without comment, he typed his number into my phone, calling it so he’d have my number too.
When I looked up from putting the contact name into my phone, he was scrutinizing my chest with narrowed eyes. Either he was fascinated by my nonexistent cleavage or, despite my attempts, the V-neck collar of the T-shirt had slipped down and he could see the scar.
But I didn’t want to have this conversation now. That was all I needed in my life—more male overprotectiveness. He’d let me stay under the pretense of keeping an eye on me, and I hadn’t protested because it aligned with my own goals of keeping an eye on him. But I wasn’t going to let the protectiveness get out of hand.
“Good night,” I chirped, grabbing the door.
“Sleep well, Gray,” he said gently. I shut the door and moved to the bed. Plopping down, I stared up at the white ceiling, thinking.
As disastrous as the day had started, at least things had ended on a semipositive note.
I could only hope that things would take an upward turn from here.
But who knew? The trainer would surely be back next week or maybe even tomorrow.
And I’d had to shed my own blood all over the kitchen to get him to agree to let me stay here for a night.
So, in some ways, it did not bode well for the near future. But I preferred to see myself as a glass-is-half-full sort of girl.
Chapter 9
Ryan
Early the next morning, I opted to make up for my missed run in the canyon, taking advantage of the cool morning breeze. It was late May and the weather would be heating up soon, but after a winter of profuse rain, the landscape was still green and fresh on my usual running loop. An excellent way to clear my head. To think.
Upon my return, I realized I’d apparently taken longer than I’d planned. The intended meeting with Victoria and my new—and very temporary—housemate was already underway. For the second time in as many days, I was late to a meeting involving the mysteriously intriguing young daughter of Conrad Barrett.
But I didn’t expect they wanted me to show up sweaty, fresh from a run. So I excused myself to take a quick shower, appearing back downstairs in sweats and a T-shirt minutes later. Gray and Victoria were sitting on the couch quietly talking. It sounded like they were synching their calendars for the next few months.
My eyes flew first to Gray, who was dressed, of course, in the same clothes she’d worn the day before—jeans with holes in the knees and a T-shirt. She’d turned the huge shirt I’d loaned her backward and knotted it to hug her waist. I hadn’t said anything the night before when I’d seen the scar on her chest, but it, along with the other things—the blood thinner medication and the clicking heartbeat—had clued me into her medical issue. Gray had a prosthetic heart valve.
It made me consider all the things I’d said to her about playing it safe. No wonder.
Instead of pulling it back in a ponytail, Gray wore her dark-blond hair brushed out and around her shoulders. It was still in that usual messy style—not quite curly, not quite straight—fluffy and disorganized around her face. Like she’d woke up and run a brush through it once or twice and hadn’t bothered with it much beyond that. Her face had very little if any makeup on it—probably because she hadn’t packed any in her emergency toiletries. Or maybe this casual tomboy look was her usual style.
It wasn’t unattractive. It was rather fresh. Different. A lot different from the women I usually spent time with, and it was strangely enticing.
I stopped my close inspection when I glanced at her chest again, noting the way her knotted T-shirt tightly hugged her slender figure. There was something…strangely arousing about seeing her in my shirt. I couldn’t help but enjoy an image of her in something I’d worn the night before—that she’d picked up and slipped over her naked body after sliding out of my bed in the morning.
And before I could stop myself, I immediately wondered if she was wearing a bra. I forced myself to look away before my mind went too far down that path. Too dangerous—especially considering who she was and the fact that she was my unwelcome houseguest for a very short while longer.
Victoria, in her usual tailored suit, stood up, almost to my height in her expensive heels. “Ty, good to see you,” Victoria said, reaching to shake my hand.
“Hey, Victoria. Sorry to keep you waiting.” I nodded to Gray as I slid onto the couch opposite them.
“That’s not a hobby of yours?” Gray said affably, softening the sarcasm with a light smile.
I narrowed my eyes at her as if to say cute. Because that’s exactly what she was. At least it was better than a sexual innuendo. She could have said something about riveting waiting or pounding desire to meet with me or whatever.
Victoria shot a quizzical look at Gray before turning back to me. “I’ve had a chance to finish up on my notes and work out a tentative plan over the summer for this campaign. We’re doing things with very little notice and on the fly, but I’m confident it will go the way we like with some effort.”
I scratched the stubble on my jaw, my eyes again flicking to Gray, who was now looking down at her phone screen. I turned back to Victoria. “I hate to beat a dead horse, but I have some real concerns about how this whole plan is going to go down.”
Victoria smiled. “Then let me resolve your concerns. I do this all the time.”
“For actors,” I protested.
That smile widened on her perfectly painted ruby lips. Gray was now keying a message into her phone, not appearing to pay any attention to our conversation. And strangely, a spark of irritation ignited in my chest.
I frowned at myself, wondering where that came from. I wasn’t entitled to her devoted attention at all times. Didn’t mean I still didn’t want it.
Something about this meeting was clearly making Gray uncomfortable. Maybe it was Victoria herself.
“Ms. Dawson is a very accomplished actress,” Victoria spoke slowly as if addressing a grade schoole
r. “She was up for a Golden Globe award last year. And she’s a pure professional too. She’ll treat this with all the dedication of any of the roles she’s played. She also stands to benefit from this publicity opportunity.”
I laughed. “Well, Keely Dawson might be the best actress in the world, but that still doesn’t mean that I’m any kind of actor. That wasn’t included in astronaut training.”
Victoria ran a scarlet-tipped finger through her gleaming raven hair as if to tuck it away from her face. The gesture was completely unnecessary as her hair was done up in a neat, high bun. There wasn’t a single hair out of place.
“But public appearances have been and are a part of your job. You’re used to that part of it. And we’ll guide you through the rest, every step of the way.”
“We?” Again, my gaze darted to Gray, whose eyes flicked up to meet mine before skittering away again almost as quickly. So, she was paying attention to this. Perhaps she was annoyed by my continuing protest. She probably thought she’d had me nailed down yesterday.
I shook my head, leaning forward to rest my elbows on my knees. “Seriously, though—”
Victoria grinned. “You lie to all those flat-earthers about there being a space program, right?” She laughed when I scowled. Her joke might have been funnier in other circumstances. But the media had widely reported that my fight with that jackoff had been the reason I’d been fired from NASA.
“Too soon,” was my only reply.
She sobered, detecting my mood change. “Don’t sweat it, Ty. Keely is the pro. Just follow her lead. She can even lead you in some improv work to loosen you up. Give you a few acting lessons. She is very excited about this project.”
“Glad one of us is,” I muttered out of the side of my mouth.
She laughed—a laugh that was as measured and as carefully manicured as the rest of her. My eyes fell on the threadbare hole and the side of knee peeking out from Gray’s jeans. Even there, her skin appeared soft—as soft as that hand and wrist I’d held yesterday when I’d patched up her cut.
I blinked, pulling myself away from the distracting thoughts. “I’m not a romantic type of guy, and I’ve never had a public relationship.”
Victoria straightened. “I’ll have everything choreographed. Like a perfect dance.”
Laughing, I shrugged. “I don’t dance either.”
Gray’s head popped up from her screen. “Then think of it in terms of your job, Commander. Checklists for protocols. That’s what you understand. Victoria can even give you homework to study.”
I grimaced at her. “I can’t create an illusion of something that isn’t there.”
Victoria stood. “You won’t have to. Our prompts to the press and the cameras will take care of all of that. Let me show you.” She motioned for me to stand, and I complied. “Now, go stand over there at the far end of the room, in front of the fireplace.”
I did as she asked, and she grabbed her phone, fiddling with an app. Without looking up from what she was doing, she said. “Gray, go stand next to him.”
Gray jerked her head up again from her own phone. “What?”
“I’m proving a point to him, and you’re going to help me. Just do as I say and go stand next to him.”
Gray blinked and slowly set her own phone down as Victoria started snapping pictures of me. “You’ve done a ton of press conferences, interviews and public appearances. You’ve been to the White House and met the president. And you’ve been on the red carpet with Keely before. Part of the reason we selected her was for the aesthetics. You two looked amazing together back in March. All we need are picture-perfect poses and a projection of intimacy between you. For example, put your arm around Gray’s waist.”
Gray stiffened, clearly shocked, but before she could protest, I moved fast, sliding my arm around her slim waist. Hmm, this felt easier than I’d anticipated. I settled my hand on her hip.
“Loosen up a little,” I muttered so that Victoria wouldn’t hear. She was busy snapping photos anyway and giving her own orders.
“Okay, Gray, turn toward Ty and put your hand on his chest.”
Gray’s eyes widened. “Uh…”
“Do as the lady asked.” I struggled to hide the grin that so wanted to escape. The more uncomfortable Gray felt, the more I wanted to crow that I was right. What made either of them think I could pull this off any better than Gray could?
“See?” I muttered to her. “Even you have a problem with it, and no one is asking you to do it in full view of the public.”
Gray’s teeth clenched, but her dark brows arched haughtily. “I can do it just fine. I was taken by surprise.”
“Okay, so let’s see you convince Victoria, then.”
She turned to me, steel and frost in her green eyes. “Fine. I can do this. And so can you.”
“Gray, tilt your head back and look into his eyes. Ty, move in a little closer to her, would you? Lean in.”
Oh, I was so enjoying Gray’s discomfort. Suppressing the I told you so on the tip of my tongue, I leaned in as close as I could get, invading her space. The more I leaned, the more Gray tilted her head back as if to keep looking into my eyes. Her cheeks were flushed that too-becoming shade of pink again and her smell.
That delicious strawberries and mint smell. I breathed in deeply through my nose, feeling a surge of awareness of her. My heartbeat sped up. Hell yes, this was turning me on a little bit, but I wasn’t quite sure what about it was turning me on.
“Stop blinking and breathing so fast, Gray. You look like you’re about to pass out,” Victoria instructed. “Turn your head a little away from me and the camera, but put your mouth near Ty’s. If you lean in close enough from this angle, it will look like the two of you are in the middle of a passionate kiss—Yes! Like that.”
Her photo app kept clicking, and I decided to ham it up by wrapping my other arm around Gray and pulling her slight body even closer to me. She placed a hand flat on my chest, and it gave enough resistance to let me know it was there. And I enjoyed how her hand felt there, like I wanted more of it.
Then she licked her lips, and that surge of awareness skyrocketed into arousal. I lifted my hand to her hair and whispered in her ear. “Let me take you to the Moon, baby girl.”
Instead of the intended result, which was laughter to ease the tension, her eyes widened with shock. Suddenly I felt her weight in my arms as if she had lost her balance.
At that exact moment, Victoria’s phone rang. She looked at her screen and let out a breath. “Oh, shoot! I have to take this. It’s about that LA Times reporter covering this week’s launch at Vandenberg. Be right back and don’t move.” And in seconds, Victoria had trotted off through the front door and onto my porch to take her call.
I gazed after her—immediately confused as to what was happening, but also all too aware that the girl in my arms was trying to pull away. And I wasn’t going to let her.
“You can let go now,” Gray said quietly.
I shook my head, tightening that arm around her waist to hold her fast to me—up against me now. Shooting her a wicked grin, I said, “Victoria explicitly told us not to move.”
The hand against my chest trembled a little bit, and she turned her face away from mine as if to gaze after Victoria for help.
“Victoria is probably going to tell me to kiss you when she gets back in here,” I teased. “So I can practice like I’m kissing Keely.”
Her posture changed again, tensing like she was stiffening in my arms. “The whole point of this exercise is that you don’t actually have to kiss. You can’t really fake kissing anyway. You probably shouldn’t bother with the kissing part when you’re with Keely.” She flicked a glance up into my eyes as if to gauge my reaction to that. Just as quickly, her gaze fled.
Hmm. What was that brief flicker of something I saw in those moss-green eyes of hers? A green-eyed monster maybe? Or maybe it was a figment of my imagination. Projecting, she would say, in her psychobabble language. Maybe it was my own
attraction to her.
When she very visibly swallowed, I had to think again.
“But I like kissing,” I goaded. “I’ll kiss her if I want to kiss her.”
Her brow twitched in a frown, and she cleared her throat. “Yeah, but if you can’t make it convincing, then—”
And that was all I let her say before I swept in and took advantage. With my hand on the back of her head, I pulled her face to mine, and I stole that kiss from her. My lips swooped down like a bird of prey to capture hers.
I hitched her body up against me, and that pop of energy between us from the day before was nothing compared to the heat and crackle between us now. Like a flare of solar energy.
Such a blast could kill an unprotected man in minutes. Even on station, we were advised to seek cover in the event of a solar storm.
And this scorching heat between Gray and me, generated in seconds, felt much like a burst of that powerful energy from a star. A jolt hitched in my chest, rumbling through my internal organs like the thrust of acceleration achieving escape velocity.
When her mouth opened to mine and she sucked in a breath, my arms tightened around her. Our tongues danced with each other, and she trembled against me.
And distantly, I wondered how hard it would be to pull myself away.
Her mouth moved on mine and her tongue teased. With a surge of arousal, I responded, tracing the edge of those delicate lips with my tongue, wanting to plunge and probe inside of her, to explore what she was hiding under that quiet, sweet surface. I suspected an ocean of depth within, and that realization more than intrigued me.
Her hand curled over my pec, fisting in my shirt, pulling it taut. Reality shivered—just a bit. My hand cradled the back of her neck where her skin was soft and fragrant with that minty, fruity fresh smell of hers.
Her hand relaxed, and with the bar of her forearm, she pushed against me. Not enough to propel her away but enough to communicate her wish to end it.
Me? I’d all but lost awareness of my own surroundings. Maybe I’d originally dived in to prove a point, but the speed with which I’d forgotten myself was not a little shocking. Only now was I realizing it, like coming out of a dream.
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