Their Virgin Neighbor (6 page)

Lee took her up the wide, sweeping
staircase and along the corridor that seemed to run the width of
the house. It was a huge house, more so than Anna expected. There
was no doubt that it used to be a farmhouse, but it was an
extremely spacious one. Anna guessed maybe a dozen bedrooms,
numerous bathrooms, and plenty of living space.

“
This is a lot of space
for two people,” she said as Lee halted next to one of the doors
branching off from the corridor.

“
We bought it for its
remoteness rather than anything else,” Lee said. “The space was
just a plus. Here.” He swung the door open. “This is my studio.
It’s not much, but I work well in here.”

Anna stepped into the room and
shivered. “It’s freezing!”

Lee laughed. “Yeah, that too. I can’t
have it too hot or it makes me drowsy and I can’t
concentrate.”

“
Can I look
around?”

He nodded.

Anna wrapped her arms around herself
and circled the room. Lee had numerous stations set up at different
points. Some were little more than a large desk covered in pencils
and paper. Others held easels with half finished paintings. The
last that she walked to, right next to the window, held a block of
some sort of rock, and the shape reminded her of something, though
she couldn’t quite figure out what. “You paint and
sculpt?”

Lee shrugged. “I do whatever I feel
inspired to do.”

The far wall had easel after easel
propped up against it. Anna walked over and bent down so she could
get a good look at the first. A woman was sat on a field. Her black
hair was blowing in the wind. The sky was dark. The grass looked
like it was about to burst into flames. The woman’s face was half
in shadow, but Anna understood immediately what Lee was trying to
convey.

The next painting was similar. As was
the one after that.

“
Lee…” she whispered.
“These are beautiful. I never imagined…I thought landscapes what
with living here and all.”

“
No,” he said. “It’s
always been people.”

“
These are
from…”

He gave a short, sharp nod. “When we
were deployed.”

Anna moved to another painting. A
young girl was holding on to an even younger child. Her brother
maybe? Behind them were the remains of a building. “She looks so
sad.”

“
She was,” Lee said
softly. “We all were on that day.” He shook himself. “I would love
to paint you.”

Anna straightened. “Me? I don’t think
I’d be a very good subject.”

“
You would,” he said, and
the next thing Anna knew he was walking towards her. He
looked…purposeful…Anna would have liked to take a step back, only
there was nowhere behind her to step to. Instead she held her
ground, waiting until he halted mere inches from her. This close up
Anna could smell his scent and it made her want to take a deep
breath. His jaw was coated in a fine stubble, and she could see
hair along his collarbones. Little details that she couldn’t help
but absorb. Little details that made her entire body
fizzle.

If Anna had ever doubted
that there
was
a
spark, this moment put paid to that. Lee was so close to her. It
would be nothing at all for him to reach out and take her into his
arms. Despite the confusion. Despite the grief, despite it all,
Anna wanted him to. Her brain raced along avenues that ended with
Lee placing his lips on hers. She’d shiver, goose bumps would break
out along her skin, her heart would race…

Lee lifted his hand and placed one
finger under her chin. Anna was so tense that she exhaled sharply.
But he didn’t kiss her. Instead, he tilted her head until their
eyes locked.

“
There’s something here,”
he whispered. “Hidden in your eyes.”

“
What is it?”

He smiled slightly and lifted his
finger to trace the line of her jaw. Shivers raced along Anna’s
skin. Her body felt both tense and relaxed all at once. “A sadness,
Anna,” he said. “One I am far too familiar with.”

“
Lee…”

He pulled his hand away. “You have
very pretty lips.”

“
I—”

“
Come on. Jack’s probably
ready for us.”

Chapter
Seven

Lee regretted having Anna over to
dinner the moment he saw her in that fucking dress, and that didn’t
even make sense! The dress was perfectly decent. It was some sort
of knit for God sake. But it clung to Anna’s curves in the most
delicious of ways. When she’d bent over to look at his paintings it
was all he could do not to groan. The knit stretched across her
curvy little ass, and Lee had wanted nothing more than to walk
across the room and run his hands across the entire
area.

Anna would be blonde there too. Lee
was certain of it.

He wanted to know for sure though, and
that thought, combined with the others, was in no way helping him
to keep any kind of control. He’d been hard from the moment she’d
passed him the cookies. And Jack, the bastard, he knew it!
Suggesting Lee show Anna his work was Jack’s way of helping Lee to
calm down. He was never overwhelmed with emotions in his studio. In
there he worked with a calm precision.

Of course he’d never had anyone like
Anna in there with him before.

She did not encourage calm.

“
You’re just in
time.”

Jack smiled as they entered the
kitchen and gestured to the table next to the window. They had a
formal dining room, but they very rarely used it, preferring
instead to eat at the counter or to use this. The table was many
years old, an antique probably. It was circular and was big enough
for only four chairs. The dining room table on the other hand sat
sixteen. It was then that Lee realized what Jack was doing. He
wasn’t giving Anna the opportunity to take a seat too far away from
them. He wanted her close.

Shaking his head at his friend’s
machinations, Lee held out a chair for Anna. She took it with a
thank you then reached out for the wine glass that Jack had placed
next to her plate. It was the same one she’d been given when she
arrived. In no time at all she finished the contents.

Lee caught Jack’s gaze and couldn’t
help but grin. Anna was nervous. Painfully so. And Lee was damn
near certain that it had nothing to do with her recent loss. It was
all about them. But was it because of the unfamiliar situation or
something else? Lee pulled out his own chair and sat next to her,
that thought prodding him.

In no time at all Jack served up the
food. He’d made steak with a garlic and herb sauce and fresh green
beans. In the middle of the table was a tureen of potatoes with
melted knobs of butter. His friend had outdone himself and Lee said
as much as they settled in to eat.

Dinner was delicious, and Jack kept
the conversation flowing in between bites. He spoke of a new line
of products in the general store, a show he’d watched recently,
whether it was likely to snow soon. Anna smiled at him as she
answered his questions and chipped in with some comments of her
own. Lee could do little more than throw in a comment or two and
watch her talk. Her eyes were so expressive. It was easy to read
the play of emotions across her face.

He was captivated by her. There was no
other way to describe it.

“
That was delicious,” Anna
finally said, placing her knife and fork on her plate.

Jack grinned and poured everyone
another glass of wine. “I promised you a mean steak.”

“
I’ve been living mostly
on cupboard food,” she said. “It seems like too much effort to make
a whole meal for just myself.”

“
You made the
cookies.”

She smiled. “Baking is
different.”

“
How do you
figure?”

“
It relaxes me, I guess.
Of course, I can’t bake every day. There’s only me to eat the
results. I’d be the size of a house in no time.”

“
I doubt that.”

“
Well, you’re welcome to
bring your efforts over to us. Our menu is pretty slim.”

“
Slim is being generous,”
Lee said. “We have a couple of signature dishes each and that’s
about it.”

“
Do you take it in turns
to cook?”

“
In the main,” Jack said.
“When Lee disappears on his bike though I tend to head out and find
somewhere to eat.”

She turned to him and Lee’s stomach
tightened all over again. “Your bike?”

“
It’s nothing fancy,” he
said. “It gives me a certain level of freedom though. When I’m
feeling restless I can head out. Find inspiration
somewhere.”

“
I find that in my
walks.”

“
For me it’s in the
garage, working on my cars.”

As Jack spoke Lee realized how similar
the three of them were. Each had seen real loss, Anna her Grand and
all of her friends, for him and Jack it had been there friends too.
The roadside bomb had killed almost everyone in their group, only
Lee and Jack had survived, and that was only because they’d been
walking behind the convoy. They’d volunteered for the duty, though
it was one of the most dangerous tasks. Of course, they could never
have imagined that it would save their lives.

Lee closed his eyes, the memories, the
horrible memories of his friends screaming as they drew their last
breaths racing through his mind. That day had changed them both. It
made them both realize how fleeting life was, and how easily it
could be taken away.

He gave himself a shake and opened his
eyes just as Jack spoke.

“
Annie, tell us about what
you plan for the winter.”

Anna launched into a description of
exactly what she planned to do with her time. Lee sipped from his
glass and thought about what it meant that she had arrived in their
lives. He was a strong believer that things happened for a reason.
Had Anna been sent to them because she needed their help to heal?
Or was it the other way around?

A little while later Anna gave them
both a smile then nodded to the clock over the top of the kitchen
door. “I should get going.”

“
I’ll drive you back,”
Jack said.

She shook her head. “I’d prefer to
walk.”

“
Not this
late.”

“
I don’t want to drag you
out.”

Jack stood up. “I insist. Let me go
and grab my jacket and my keys. I’ll bring the truck around
front.”

He nodded to Lee and headed out of the
room. Lee stood too and held his hand out to Anna. When she took it
his heart clenched. Her hand was tiny, dwarfed in his.

“
I enjoyed tonight,” he
said.

She smiled again. “Thank you for a
lovely evening, Lee.”

“
I hope it won’t be the
last.”

“
The cottage is small, but
next time you could come to me. I’d welcome the opportunity to cook
a real meal.”

“
We’d love to,” Lee said,
jumping on her invitation. “When were you thinking?”

“
Erm…maybe
Saturday?”

“
Then it’s a date. Come
on, I’ll see you to the door.”

Once there, Lee passed Anna her rain
coat. She shrugged it on and zipped it up. Her hair was caught in
the back of it and she made to try and move it. Lee couldn’t help
himself. He reached out and gathered her locks in his hands and
pulled them free.

“
There.”

When she looked up at him, and even in
the low light of the hallway, Lee could see the color on her
cheeks. He wanted to kiss her. Wanted to crush her against him and
plunder those lips of hers…and yet…Lee knew he could not. Not yet.
Not until he had spoken with Jack.

“
I feel like I’m repeating
myself,” Anna said as she pulled the front door open. “But thank
you.”

“
It was fun for us to have
you round.”

“
For me too,” she said.
“First time in a long while.”

“
It gets easier,
Anna.”

“
Lee…”

He sighed. “I don’t want to overstep
my bounds or make you feel uncomfortable. But it does. Not straight
away, but a little bit each day and before you know it you’re
finding pleasure in things again. Before too long the pleasurable
moments outweigh the dark ones.”

“
I know,” she whispered.
“I can already feel that happening, the little moments I mean. And
it wasn’t like this was a surprise for me. I knew I was going to
lose her.” She paused. “Being here for the winter isn’t about
hiding myself away. That’s what everyone in the city thought. But
it’s not. It’s about taking some time. Time to remember her. Time
to figure out what I’m going to do with myself. Does that make
sense?”

“
It does,” Lee said. “I
think maybe Jack and I had the same idea at first. This place
though…it gets a grip on you. You get used to waking up to the
view. You get used to wandering the grounds. Before you know it the
idea of returning to the chaos of the city seems like a crazy
idea.”