Stay With Me (7 page)

T
HE MOMENT I
walked through her office door I felt it. The same pull in my chest that I had every time I saw her. Those hauntingly beautiful green eyes caught mine. Her mouth parted slightly, but she didn’t say a word.

With a smile, I walked up to her and let out a chuckle. “A cook and an interior designer. I’m impressed.”

Kilyn took a few steps back until she bumped into her chair. It took her all of five seconds to square her shoulders off and give me that beautiful smile of hers.

“I’m beginning to think you’re stalking me, Mr. Drivas.”

My eyes couldn’t help but to roam quickly over her body before settling back to her eyes. I lifted my hands in defense. “I swear, I was shocked when I saw your name.”

She folded her arms over her chest and lifted her brow as if questioning me. “Uh-huh. So you’re telling me it’s strictly a coincidence you ran into me running and now you’re standing in my office. What in the world could you possibly need an interior designer for?”

I couldn’t blame her. I’d be a little hesitant if I were her. Flashing her a smile, I watched as something moved across her face. She pressed her lips together before she caught her lower lip between her teeth. Damn if that wasn’t the cutest thing I’d ever seen.

“The cabin.”

Her eyes lit up while her mouth parted slightly.

“The one you’re building?” she said with a bit of excitement in her voice.

I wasn’t sure if I liked how Kilyn made me feel. She brought a piece of me back to life I wasn’t sure I was ready to face. No one had made me feel a damn thing since Savannah. But this girl lit up something inside of me I was having a hard time ignoring.

“It’s finished. Now I need to make it look like someone actually lives there.”

Her eyes searched my face quickly. “How big is it?”

“Twelve hundred square feet. Two bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, a kitchen, dining area, and a living room. There is also a loft above the garage which is about six hundred more square feet with another bathroom.”

When she licked her lips, my dick jumped in my pants. I’d never felt so damn confused in my life. Was I having feelings for her because we kept running into each other, or was there something about her that drew me to her?

“I normally do large homes and commercial properties. I haven’t done a smaller project in a long time. It could be fun.”

“Would it be terribly rude if I asked to see some of your work?”

She smiled slowly and tilted her head. “I’d be worried if you hadn’t.” Motioning for me to take a seat, I moved swiftly and sat.

Scanning her desk, I tried to hide my grimace. It was a mess. Files were everywhere. Pieces of paper scattered all over the place with one or two things written on them. I was beginning to regret walking into her office. If her work was as sloppy as her desk, how in the hell would I get myself out of this?

I pushed my hand through my hair and cursed under my breath.

Shit.

Kilyn reached into her bag and pulled out a file that said, ‘Conner, Chipita Park Project’.

She opened the file and handed me a few pieces of paper. “If you’d like to see the 3-D designs, I can get my laptop back out. I just presented this to Mr. Conner this afternoon. As you can see, this project is much bigger than yours. The total square footage we will be designing is six thousand square feet and that includes the outdoor pool area as well as a small guesthouse by the pool. Mr. Conner’s taste is somewhat . . . different. He hunts a lot in Africa and is going more for that look. Now, I don’t know what your style is, but I’m confident I’d be able to deliver exactly what you were looking for.”

Glancing up at her, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride. I had no clue why. I hardly knew this girl, but to see how she handled herself as if standing in front of a room full of board members hell-bent on selling them her product. Confident and so in control. It was a turn on.

I took in a deep breath through my nose and filled my senses with her smell.

Damn. Now I couldn’t concentrate because I had to know what kind of perfume she was wearing. What I wouldn’t give to have her leave that smell on my bed sheets each morning.

Shit. What in the fuck am I doing?

“Thano? Did you hear me?”

Her sweet voice pulled me out of my wayward thoughts. “Sorry, I um . . . I got distracted by your perfume.”

A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she pulled her head back in surprise. “My perfume?”

For the love of God. Why would I say that? Now I do sound like a stalker.

“Yeah, it brought back memories of my great-grandmother.”

My body shuddered. Holy shit. I was just thinking of having sex with her and I brought my great-grandmother into the picture.

With a wink, she replied, “Oh. Well, I’m not sure if that is a compliment or if you were comparing me to an old lady smell.”

With an awkward laugh, I shook my head. “No, you smell amazing.”

She grinned and replied, “It’s Chanel Number 5.”

I needed to make a note of that.

Clearing my throat, I motioned with my head toward the plans. “What were you saying?”

Her eyes dropped to my lips and I’d have given anything to ask her what she was thinking.

“Um . . . I was . . .”

She stood up and barely shook her head as if trying to remember her own thoughts. “I asked what style were you thinking?”

You on top first, making yourself come, then it would be my turn, taking you from behind fast and hard.

Son-of-a-bitch.

Stop this, Thano.

“How would you decorate it if it were yours?”

Her mouth fell open in surprise. I could see her chest begin to rise and fall faster, and I wanted to punch myself in the face.

Why in the hell did I ask her that? I really wanted to know. If that cabin were hers, how would she decorate it?

“I’ve never had anyone ask me how I would decorate a room before.” She lifted her eyes in thought before looking back at me. “Is it surrounded by trees?”

With a laugh, I nodded. “There is a wraparound porch with views of the mountains and a stream that is a few hundred feet from the back of the house.”

She slowly sank into her chair. “That sounds like heaven. Pure heaven.”

I grinned. “It is.”

“Okay, well, if it were mine I think I would go for more of a rustic cabin feel. Of course, I’d have more feminine touches throughout, but nothing dramatic. I would think you’d want to do that as well, for you know, when you bring your girlfriend or someone up there, they wouldn’t feel like they were in a guy’s bachelor pad getaway cabin. Does your girlfriend not want to have any input in the decorating?”

“I don’t have a girlfriend.”

There was no doubt in my mind her eyes sparkled when I said I didn’t have a girlfriend.

“Do you never plan to have one?”

My heart dropped as Savannah popped into my head.

“Why would you ask me that?” I snapped.

Kilyn pinched her eyebrows together and readjusted herself in her seat. “I wasn’t meaning anything bad by it. I was simply stating that at some point I’m sure you’ll bring a girl up there for some sort of romantic weekend. Maybe for a few days or maybe longer. Maybe someday you’ll ask someone to marry you there. I don’t know. I’m simply stating—”

“I get what you’re saying,” I said as I cut her off. “I have no plans for any of that right now. A girlfriend is the last thing on my mind.”

Clearing her throat, she stood and began gathering the plans and putting them back into a folder. “Right. Well, anyway, it’s your house so you really need to decide how you want it to be decorated—not me.”

She pulled out another file and opened it, dropping it in front of me, this time not bothering to take out the designs.

“This is a dentist office I designed. The work has been completed on it if you’d like to call and ask them for a tour.”

Damn it. Clearly, I pissed her off with how I acted. She was no longer energized by talking about her work. Her voice was cold and distant, almost as if she didn’t care if I hired her now or not.

“Kilyn, I’m sorry I snapped like that.”

Her eyes looked briefly into mine. She looked as if she wanted to ask me something, but she looked away. “I really do need to be going, and since you didn’t have an appointment, I can gather up a few other designs and send them your way if you’d like. I’ll need your email address.”

Fuck! I needed to figure out how to turn this around.

Standing, I nodded as I pulled out my wallet and took out my business card. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you had somewhere to go.”

She didn’t even bother to look at me as she took the card. “No worries. I was supposed to go dancing with a friend, but he canceled on me.”

The zip of jealousy that raced through my body shocked the hell out of me. I quickly decided this was my opportunity to get to know Kilyn a little better.

“What kind of dancing?”

She stopped what she was doing and looked at me. “Country western.”

Scrunching up my nose, I groaned.

Her hands immediately went to her hips and I saw a playfulness in her when she tried to hide her smile. “You don’t like country music?”

“No. Not at all.”

Tilting her head, she went back to accessing me. “Have you ever listened to it, Thano?”

“Only pussies listen to country music.”

Her mouth gaped open. “So you’re saying I’m a pussy?”

My heart slammed in my chest.
Fucking hell, how do I keep doing this?

“No! Wait, I didn’t mean women. I meant men who listen to country music are pussies.”

Slowly shaking her head, she placed her hand over her heart as if I had mortally wounded her. “I’ll have you know, some of the only men I’d ever bend over this table for and let them ravage my body are country music artists. Oh my God! Dierks Bentley. Hell. Yes. Keith Urban? Yes please! Oh, and let’s not forget about Sam Hunt. I’d let him do things that would make even you blush.”

I cleared my throat. Is it getting hot in here?

She closed her eyes and smiled. “Oh! Then you have Dan and Shay.” Looking straight at me, she kept going. “Hell, I’d even get into a threesome for those two. Sandwiched between the two of them . . . hell to the yes.”

Swallowing hard, I cracked my neck and rubbed the back of it. “Um . . . Kilyn, can we change the subject? It’s been a long . . . dry spell if you would.”

Her eyes darkened before she turned away and looked out the window. “Sorry. I’m passionate about my country music.”

“I see that,” I barely mumbled.

Grabbing her bag, she reached for her purse.

Fuck. What was it going to take to get back on her good side?

Before my mouth had time to catch up to my brain, I blurted out, “Why don’t you come up to the cabin this weekend? You can take a look around and decide if it’s something you want to take on.”

She had been rounding her desk when she stopped directly in front of me.

The smell of her perfume wrapped around my body as she continued to stare at me. I took that as a chance to quickly glance around the rest of her office. There was a small sitting area off to the side with fresh flowers and a few magazines neatly spread out over the coffee table. There was a bookcase behind that with books color-coded by their covers. At least the rest of her office was neat and organized, unlike her desk.

“You want me to come up to your cabin with you?”

“Just to check it out. I’m not asking you up there for the weekend or anything. I mean, the only thing up there is a chair and a bed,” I said with a laugh.

Kilyn narrowed one eye as she continued to give me the evil eye.

“Oh, cause the fact you only have a bed up there makes me feel so much better.”

I closed my eyes and sighed before looking at the floor. The last thing I wanted her to think was I only wanted in her pants. “I went up there a lot when they were building it. It’s my escape. All I needed was a place to sit and sleep.”

Her facial expression softened and a slow crooked smile moved across her face. “I’ll go and look at your cabin, if you go dancing with me tonight. Country western dancing.”

I let out a roar of laughter before I noticed she was giving me a dead serious look. “Wait. You’re serious? In order for you to come look at the cabin, I have to go dancing with you?”