My jaw hung open and I was pretty sure that it must have caused a hole in the floor, just from the force it dropped .
We were leaving the pack house today morning, everyone told me that his house was big. But no one told me that his house was actually a villa and that it was huge.
The pack house was an old-fashioned Victorian Mansion but this was straight out of Architectural Digest magazine checking every box for modern architecture.
The modern building was dominated by large expanses of glass panes, replacing solid walls, even in bedrooms.
Well, someone didn’t care about a little privacy.
An open air swimming pool accompanied by a hot tub and lounge chairs took half of the villa’s outdoor. With sparkling blue water lapping on the tiled edges and low-lighted floor, it would be sight to look at after sundown.
Ryan clearing his throat behind me broke my trance. I turned around to see him leaning against his black Mercedes, his hands shoved into the pockets of his leather jacket, which by the way, looked insanely good on him.
“No one will walk into this part of the territory without permission and only a few know the pass code. So, you don’t have to worry about the glass walls”, he finished with an amused smirk on his face.
I rolled my eyes but turned around quickly to face the house in an attempt to hide my flushed cheeks. It irked me how well he could read my thoughts sometimes. But even if he did see it, I would just place the blame on this nippy November air.
Pushing himself off the car, he walked forward, coming to stand beside me.
“I like this place”. I really did. This spectacular structure made of wood, glass and even more wood was something that would look for in a peaceful and relaxing retreat. And to live in that 24/7 surrounded by great outdoors with a stunning view, it was amazing.
He walked towards the front door, dangling his car keys in his hands, “You should. This is the Bleiz Villa”, he tossed his head back beckoning me to follow him.
Of course he owned this. What was he a mob boss? We wore suits all the time.
“I know my house and I tend to have that effect on women, but you should really get moving. It’s cold outside”, the smug smile on his face told me how much he was enjoying this.
“Show off”, I murmured under my breath and followed him inside.
“I heard that”, he said over his shoulder, tossing the keys in a bowl by the door.
“I’ll hold an applause for that once I’m done unpacking”, I retorted back, earning a chuckle from him.
If I thought the view from outside would’ve prepared me for the interiors, I was terribly wrong.
I could go on and on about how warm and homely it felt standing in the living room.
“Take a tour around. I’ll be in my office down that hallway. Don’t get lost and if you do, cry ‘Marco’ really loud”, he walked away laughing at his own joke and disappeared behind a wall.
The living room I was standing in was designed with black and white motif and a vintage couch which curved around a wooden low table.
I sauntered down the hallway and into the aesthetic of the kitchen tempted me to want to learn cooking and to practically live and die there. The white marble countertops contrasted the wooden flooring and everything there was literally spotless. And I wasn’t fazed by the face that I was kind of turned on by this ideal kitchen.
The kitchen was joined by a small dining area which was delineated by a wooden shelf full of antiques.
The sitting room which was, so far, my favorite part of the house. The room was furnitured with mid-century modern staples and a fireplace with really tall marble mantle. It was with natural light that was flowing in through the floor to ceiling glass sliding doors that opened into the patio and the swimming pool. Christmas mornings here would look cozy.
I came out and walked the wooden stairs that were paired with glass railings up to the second floor hallway which was decorated with abstract paintings. It had two doors on the left and a huge balcony facing the woods.
The first door from the balcony was the master bedroom. A huge king-sized bed was pressed against the wall on a raised dark wood platform and up to the headboard. The furniture was minimalistic and cozy. The French windows opened into a cozy balcony sitting area with the same killer as that of the balcony.
The other room was a guest bedroom, probably mine, which had almost the same decor as his minus the balcony which was compensated with a large window.
I came downstairs, roaming around the first floor, opening and closing random doors and stopping in tracks to take a second look at the small antiques he had used as décor all over the house.
The west wall of the living room had a huge plasma tv mounted on. I sat down beneath it and in front of a dark wood table, looking through his record collection. He had an impressive collection of records daring back to the 60’s.
I was engrossed in going through the vinyl and because the carpets in the rooms were plush, I didn’t hear the footsteps until someone cleared their throat behind me.
I jumped back surprised and stood up facing a brawny dude with shaggy blonde hair in a buzz cut with his hands clasped behind his back. “Luna”, he gave me a curt nod.
“Who are you?”, I breathed, still shaken up by being sneaked upon like that. I didn’t even hear him open the front door.
“Eric”, we both turned to face Ryan. He walked out of his office wing and into the living room.
“I see that you’ve both met. Bella, this is Eric. One of the finest warriors and a navy seal. He will be your bodyguard”. I snapped my head back at him, looking bewildered.
“Bodyguard? I don’t need one. Do I look like I need a babysitter? ”
“Does he look like a babysitter?”. I shut my mouth, glaring at him. I wasn’t going to have a military looking guy follow me around everywhere I go.
“You can go now Eric. Do a perimeter check and report to me later”
“Yes Alpha”, he nodded in acknowledgement and left without making a sound.
“I don’t need a bodyguard”, I started slowly, testing the waters while unpacking the lunch they’ve sent us from the pack house.
“It’s for your safety. You won’t even know he was there. He can be subtle”, he said not looking up from his plate, picking on the pasta.
“I have your Gamma with me at college. We moved here from the pack house for my safety and from what I see, there are enough alarms here that could call the whole sheriff squad when triggered. I let you justify all this in the name of my safety. But I won’t let you add a bodyguard to that list”.
He was silent, listening to me rant. I knew he knew that I was right.
“You told me it will be on my terms. My term is I don’t want a bodyguard”, I said with a tone of finality. He looked up at me, silently wishing that I would let him get away with it but I wasn’t going to. He saw that on my face and huffed, “Fine”.
We finished our food in silence. He went back to his office and I went to unpack my bags. I didn’t even finish the first bag when my phone rang. Nora.
“Hey, how are ya?”, I plopped down on the bed, lying down facing the ceiling.
“I’m great. Guess what?”, I could guess that she was jumping on her seat from the excitement in her voice. “What?”.
“I got a date”
“What?”, I squealed and sat up, grinning from ear to ear.
“Who is it? Have I met him? Do I know him?”, she was giggling on the other side.
“It’s Mike from Public Relations. I might have told you about him once or twice”
“Jesus Nora. Is he cute?”
” He is. And you what? He said he has been waiting for months to ask me out”. She showed me her dress she had picked out for the date and we sent photos back and forth sharing hairstyle and makeup ideas for her night.
A curt knock came from the door. It cracked open and Ryan walked in. My laugh died down at the strange look on his face and his lips pursed in a tight line.
“Nora. I’ll call you back. Alright? I got to go”.
I stood up watching his eyes carefully following my every move. “What’s wrong?”. He held up a brown bag in front of him. “Is this yours?”.
“Maybe. Where did you find it?”
“In my car trunk where you kept your luggage”, his voice came out low and strained.
“Well then, it must be mine”. His jaw clicked and stalked towards me in long strides causing me to back off until the back of my knee hit the bed.
He stopped a few inches away from me, extremely inside my personal space, his strong cologne invading my nostrils.
I held my breath because he was standing to close any small movement from either of us and we would be kissing.
“Are you trying to seduce me, Ms. Hunt?”. His closeness sent my heart on shrill, dangerously escalating my heartbeat.
“What?”. ‘the hell’ died down in my lips. My brain had turned into a mush seconds ago and I was painfully aware of every breath he took.
He took a step back, his eyes closed and his jaw clenched, “I need to take a cold shower”. Without another word, he turned and left, leaving me gasping for air.
I picked up the bag he dropped in the heat of the moment and I swear I’ve never felt this mortified and furious at the same time.
Inside that familiar brown bag was two, red and black, sets of lingerie. The same ones Nora bought the other day.
He thought I bought lingerie to seduce him and left it in his car trunk for him to find it.
I thought I hit my peak embarrassment when I tripped and fell face first on my prom night, taking my date with me to the ground. But apparently I was wrong.
Nora. I didn’t know when and how she managed to smuggle it into my luggage but she better dig up a hole and stay there and pray to all the gods she has ever known that I wouldn’t find her.
And probably I should dig up a hole for myself and wish the grounds swallow me.
I stood gawking at his mahogany door. It was daunting to stare at it for too long.
I would just explain it to him that it wasn’t mine and that it was a mean prank pulled by Nora and he would understand right. Right?
Finally overcoming my jittering nerves, I knocked on the door. It was silent. I knocked again only to get the same reply. Silence.
I cracked open the door and peeked in at the same time his bathroom door flew open and walked out in just a towel, his wet hair all over his forehead.
He actually took a cold shower.
“Hey”, I awkwardly walked in and closed the door but loomed by the entrance.
“Hey”, he gave me a small nod before disappearing into his walk-in closet. I stood there worrying my lips, thinking about things I would say and leave, without making the situation any more awkward than it was already.
He came back with a grey Henley t-shirt and sweatpants on and stopped at a decent distance from me.
“I just want you to know that those t-things, they weren’t – “, he cut me off. “It’s alright”.
Okay, that was easy. “Okay”, I gave him a big smile and turned on my feet when his voice stopped me.
“You know what? The red one would look good on you”, he said it with the straightest face he could do.
I felt heat rise up from my neck, flushing my cheeks. I opened and closed my mouth, failing to find any words. What could I even say? And here I was, thinking that this situation could not get any more awkward.
He looked at me, his lips twitching and not able to control it anymore, he threw his head back and laughed, pointing fingers at my stunned face.
“You should have seen your face”, he said between breaths. My shocked face slightly broke into a smile and I couldn’t help but join him in his laughter. At least one of us was having fun out of this.
Our laughs slowly tailed off leaving a small smile on both of our faces. He looked so good fresh out of shower and his flushed face from the cold water and our laughs, wasn’t helping my cause either.
I didn’t know who made the first move and I didn’t care, but he closed the distance between us and pressed me against the closed door, his large hands gently cradling my face.
Back there, in my room, even though a big part of me was shell shocked from the encounter, a little part of me was disappointed when he left. I brushed it off as the heat of the moment, but I stood there, again in his arms, his eyes silently asking for permission, I knew it wasn’t the case.
His thumb gently traced my jaw as I leaned into his touch, his curious blue eyes watching me in awe.
I could feel his erratic heartbeat through his t-shirt, the delicious smell of his aftershave, leaving tingles on my nostrils.
I wanted it. Pushing all my insecurities to the back of my head, I closed my eyes and leaned in. Lacing my fingers through his wet locks, I pulled him closer to me. His arms slid around my waist and closed the distance between us, if there was any left.
It felt natural.
And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, was how I stole our first kiss.