Bewitching the Earl
Page 13
“You’ll wear these because it’s my couch, and I’m not having you sleep naked on it.” She bent to retrieve her coat from the floor and left to throw it in the laundry room. It gave her a second to fan her face without being seen.
“You’ve stepped in it now, Rebecca,” she muttered. “Missing statue, crazy naked hot guy in your living room…”
Maybe this was a dream, some wild manifestation of her inner desires. Maybe if she went to bed in her dream and then woke up, she’d wake up for real. Yeah, that sounded like a good idea. Put the naked, sexy, gorgeous crazy man to bed and then go to bed yourself…with sexy naked man beside you…
She shook that tempting thought out of her head. He was clearly disturbed, and she had to get him some help first thing tomorrow morning. She could take him down to the police station and see what they thought of Mr. Man from the Past. She’d also have to report the missing statue and face the wrath of her boss.
She prayed Devon wouldn’t run off in the middle of the night. He was her only chance at figuring out what had happened to the missing marble piece. If she couldn’t find it, she’d end up fired—or worse, investigated as an accomplice. Her whole life would be turned upside down when the police figured out she was somehow involved in its disappearance. The thought made her stomach churn.
When she returned to the living room, Devon had donned the boxers but not the T-shirt. He was seated on the couch, running a hand along Evan’s head and back in long, smooth strokes. The dog gazed at him with unrelenting hero worship.
Traitor.
“I hate to trouble you,” Devon began, his voice soft and alluring, “but might I have some water? I’m afraid my throat is…” He rubbed at it. “Parched.”
Rebecca rushed into the kitchen, slightly embarrassed. Ordinarily, offering a guest a drink or something to eat would have been the first thing she would have done. But then, this wasn’t exactly an ordinary social situation. She peeped around the kitchen wall back into the living room. “Are you hungry?”
“I could certainly eat if you are preparing something,” he said, but she could tell by the way he put a hand to his stomach that he wanted food.
“He’ll have to make do with PB&J,” she muttered as she whipped him up a sandwich and got him a glass of water. She didn’t cook that often. There was something really depressing about cooking for one, and she didn’t like keeping a ton of leftovers in the fridge.
When she placed them on the coffee table in front of him, he glanced around.
“No servants to attend you? What about your parents? Surely you don’t live here alone? That’s far too dangerous for a woman.” He gulped down the entire glass of water and released a grateful sigh.
He was back to his time travel game again, but she decided to play along. “My parents live fifty miles away. Women in this century live on their own. We don’t need to be watched over like children. And servants? I definitely don’t have any. Only really, really rich people have those.”
Devon chuckled as he took a bite of his sandwich. “It seems not everything has changed then. But you shouldn’t live alone. I still believe it’s dangerous.” He took another bite and smiled. “This is quite wonderful. What is it?”
“Peanut butter and jelly.” Rebecca sat down in one of her armchairs by the couch, watching him as he ate the simple sandwich as though it were a rare delicacy.
“This is good fare,” he said and took another bite. “Sweet, yet nutty with just enough salt to complement it.” When he was done, he set the plate on the table. He looked at the plate, and then, without a word, he stood and returned to the kitchen with it.
“What are you doing?”
“If you have no servants to attend to your needs, then I shall clean this myself, but I…” He trailed off, looking strangely bashful. Rebecca had to acknowledge that a half-naked man in her kitchen wanting to do his own dishes was…so fucking hot.
She got up and held out her hand. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll just—”
He held the plate away from her. “No, just show me what needs to be done.” It was clear, however, that he was in awe, if not overwhelmed by the kitchen with its humming fridge and the sleek countertops and microwave.
“Just pull this handle and open the dishwasher.” She showed him how to open the washer and put the dish into the rack. “I’ll turn on the washer in a few minutes.”
Devon stared at the washer. “It washes the dishes for you? Such magic in this century—it astounds me. He smiled a little.
Rebecca nodded. “Yeah, you’d really love the washing machine for clothes then.” He didn’t seem to hear her sarcasm.
“No wonder you need no servants. How extraordinary!” He was really deep into his role as a man lost in time. She had to admit it was very convincing. Which only made the matter more disconcerting.
Devon looked down at his body which was still caked with a faint layer of dust, not too much but enough that it seemed to bother him.
“Would it be too much trouble to prevail upon you for a bathing tub?” he asked.
“A bathing tub? Oh! Right,” she laughed nervously. “How about a shower.”
He looked toward the windows, frowning. “You bathe in the rain? But…well, I suppose if it’s what people of the future do, then I will give it a go.”
“No,” she laughed a little, feeling definitely crazy that she was going to have to show him a shower and explain it.
“Come with me.” She lead him upstairs to her bathroom and fetched a couple of towels, setting them on the counter. She also grabbed a spare toothbrush and put it on the counter next to a tube of toothpaste.
“Okay, so this is the shower.” She pulled back the shower curtain and pointed to the tub and the nozzle. “You stand beneath the shower head and you turn on the water. The letter H will give you hotter water and C will give you colder water. And be sure to pull up the lever here on bath spout or it won’t work. Got it?”
He wrinkled his nose, still frowning. “I can manage,” he finally said.
“Good. I’ll be outside, just holler if you need me.”
“Thank you.” He closed the door and she listened to the sound of him undressing through the thin door. She’d seen him naked, but the thought of him standing beneath the shower, water spraying down his body made her flush with heat. The man was built like a god and it was a little hard not to fantasize about him.
The sound of the water coming out was followed by a sudden bellowing shout.
“Devon!” She opened the door and burst inside the bathroom. Devon was crouched against the back wall of the shower, sputtering as his face was being blasted by the shower head.
“Bloody cold as ice!” he gasped, shivering.
“Shit!” Rebecca hastily adjusted the temperature and reached up, angling the shower head down so it hit his chest and feet.
“You alright?” she asked, doing her best not to look down at his naked body.
He was still shivering and rubbing at his arms but he nodded. “Thank you, I was taken unawares by the temperature. It’s colder that even I am used to.”
“Colder?” she asked.
“Yes,” he chuckled, meeting her gaze, unashamed of his nakedness. “We used to have footmen heat up buckets of water and fill copper tubs. It took ages and by the time the tub was full the water was somewhat tepid, but never frigid like this.” He then scowled at the shower head.
“Well you can adjust it if you need to. Make it a little hotter or colder. I’ll leave you some clothes in the hall and you can come down when you’re done.”
Devon nodded and she reached out, pulling the curtain closed on him and the view of his gorgeous body.
She waited a moment longer outside the bathroom, and when she was certain he was alright, she fetched a new set of boxers for him to sleep in. Then she went back downstairs and tried to watch some TV while she waited for him. Fifteen minutes later, he came back down the stairs, his wet hair and skin damp but clean. He looked better, far
better than he had all night.
“Thank you Rebecca, I very much needed that.” He held out the wet towels and she ran them over the washing machine and came back to the living room. He was staring at the TV, arms crossed over his bare chest as he watched a re-run a procedural Navy drama called NCIS.
“The wonders of the age…” he murmured to himself and then turned to her.
Rebecca couldn’t resist smiling. That was much more of a natural male reaction to a TV.
“Right… So, why don’t you try and get some sleep on the couch, and I’ll wake you in the morning, okay?”
She had no intention of telling him that she was going to take him to a doctor first thing tomorrow. That would send him running off into the night half-naked. He might get hurt. As much as she didn’t need this new complication in her life right now, she hated the thought of him running away even more.
It was going to be a long night.
Want to know how it ends? Grab it HERE!
About the Author
* * *
Lauren Smith is an Oklahoma attorney by day, author by night who pens adventurous and edgy romance stories by the light of her smart phone flashlight app. She knew she was destined to be a romance writer when she attempted to re-write the entire Titanic movie just to save Jack from drowning. Connecting with readers by writing emotionally moving, realistic and sexy romances no matter what time period is her passion. She’s won multiple awards in several romance subgenres including: New England Reader’s Choice Awards, Greater Detroit BookSeller’s Best Awards, and a Semi-Finalist award for the Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Award.
To Connect with Lauren, visit her at:
www.laurensmithbooks.com
lauren@laurensmithbooks.com
Other Titles By Lauren Smith
Historical
The League of Rogues Series
Wicked Designs
His Wicked Seduction
Her Wicked Proposal
Wicked Rivals
Her Wicked Longing
His Wicked Secret (coming soon)
His Wicked Embrace (coming soon)
The Seduction Series
The Duelist’s Seduction
The Rakehell’s Seduction
The Rogue’s Seduction
Standalone Stories
Tempted by A Rogue
Sins and Scandals
An Earl By Any Other Name
A Gentleman Never Surrenders
A Scottish Lord for Christmas
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Contemporary
The Surrender Series
The Gilded Cuff
The Gilded Cage
The Gilded Chain
Her British Stepbrother
Forbidden: Her British Stepbrother
Seduction: Her British Stepbrother
Climax: Her British Stepbrother
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Paranormal
Dark Seductions Series
The Shadows of Stormclyffe Hall
The Love Bites Series
The Bite of Winter
Brotherhood of the Blood Moon Series
Blood Moon on the Rise
Brothers of Ash and Fire
Grigori
Mikhail
Rurik
* * *
Sci-Fi Romance
Cyborg Genesis Series
Across the Stars (coming soon)