CHAPTER THREE
Willa’s laptop computer buzzed at the arrival of a new email and she jumped. Mentally scolding herself, she tried to focus back on the screen and on the tasks to be completed. She was supposed to be working, not thinking about Brody and the time they’d spent together. A few days had passed in which they’d seen each other fleetingly between prior obligations and it was Tuesday, a workday, and time to concentrate on her business.
But it wasn’t happening. With a silly grin on her face, her mind wandered.
They’d discussed everything, the extent of their lives, their hopes for the future and their dreams. As the hours passed, Willa felt their bond grow. Although it scared her, it also offered her something she’d never felt before: a desire to commit to someone.
She’d even gone into great detail about Hayden and she’d never done that with a potential lover before, but with Brody, it had felt right. What was it about the sexy movie star which had her sharing her secrets with him? Was it because he’d opened up as well?
Frankly, the night hadn’t even been as intimate and sexy as she’d been hoping for. Instead, it had been mind-blowing, life changing and future altering. It should have had her running back to the bay and yet she wasn’t.
With a click of the mouse, Willa opened her email, read it and typed back an answer. As she did so, her thoughts returned to the memories of her long night with Brody. It had been quite obvious when she’d arrived at his house that he’d been keen to continue from where they’d left off. The suggestion in his eyes, his body language, it had all alluded to the intimacy he wished to explore further, but he hadn’t. He’d been content with just talking, and had braved nothing more than holding her hand for most of the night.
Except for the kiss goodnight when they’d finally said goodbye – and what a goodnight kiss that had been! It was as though all the raw, sexual energy which had built while they’d been together had been released when his lips had met hers. It was more than a kiss, more than an embrace. It was a sign of a promise he would most definitely make good on. It had been painful when he’d freed her from his intoxicating hold. But, they were both serious about this relationship, so they had to take things a little slower.
And they had managed to do just that over the last couple of days. Still, Willa’s desires were consuming her mind.
The thump-thump of someone moving from the pontoon to her houseboat made Willa jolt. She hadn’t been expecting anyone, but quickly hoped for a surprise visit from Brody. Maybe he’d already finished the work he’d had to do this morning and had come around with a lunch offer? Checking the time on her computer screen, she saw it was just past one. Taking a deep breath to help conceal her excitement, Willa stood up, straightened her sunflower yellow singlet and then ran her palms over the tough material of her denim shorts. As she moved toward the door that led to the charming, little front porch, her fingers reached to adjust the messy bun of blonde curls atop her head. With another steadying breath, she turned the handle and opened the door. As her lips parted to form a greeting, her visitor stepped into view.
“Why—” Willa glanced around flabbergasted, before continuing. “How are you here?”
Hayden grinned. “I wanted to see you, Wil.”
He was in black swim-trunks and soaking wet. His honey blond hair was slicked back, revealing every angle of his high cheekbones and strong jaw, while his sun-kissed skin and generous muscles glistened with moisture.
Willa glared up into his midnight blue eyes as she moved to close the door in front of him. “That’s not a good enough reason, Hayden.”
Lightning quick, his hand shot forward and stopped her from being able to shut him out. He’d had the movement mastered. Not wanting to break the door off the hinges, Willa released it, leaving him to do what he pleased as she turned around and headed back into her sanctuary.
“Don’t expect to be welcomed inside dripping wet,” she told him caustically.
As she neared her computer desk, she heard the door close.
“Don’t be like that, babe.” His deep voice was playful. “It was a surprise. The least you can do is offer me a towel.”
Willa noticed a shabby brown throw rug on the sofa nearby and threw it at him. Hayden caught it easily before it collided with his face.
“There you go,” Willa told him. “It’s the best I can be bothered to do unless you’d rather get your wet butt out of my house.”
With a flirtatious grin, Hayden used the material to dry his skin. “I thought you might have missed me?”
Rolling her eyes, Willa slumped into her wide, leather desk chair. “It’s only been a week, Hayden.”
“But, I missed you,” he purred, slinking toward her like a big, sulky puma.
He lay the throw rug around his neck like a bath towel and gripped onto both ends as she glared up at him.
“You can’t be serious.” She dismissed his comment with a wave of her hand and then tried to focus back on her work. “How did you even get here? Aren’t you supposed to be in the city – working?”
Hayden shrugged and then carefully perched himself on the desktop beside her and her precious laptop. “I took the day off and thought I’d come around to see you. It was a beautiful day, so I took the yacht.”
“I’m guessing that’s because you knew you wouldn’t make it through the front door of the house without a key.” Willa moved to spit out a sardonic laugh when she suddenly realized something. “I didn’t hear the yacht.” She raised an eyebrow at him suspiciously.
With a smug smile, Hayden nodded. “Yeah, I anchored in the bay and swam over.”
“Of course, you did.” Willa’s comment was more for herself than for him.
She should’ve realized Hayden would’ve found a way to see her no matter what. Willa had thought by refusing to give him unlimited access to her grandfather’s house, he’d have gotten the message. Hayden had actually had the nerve to ask her to give him a key.
Willa glanced at her laptop, at the work she’d been procrastinating over, yet now would give almost anything to have the peace and solitude to continue. She could feel her annoyance building, prickling against her skin.
“I’m busy,” she growled. “Either tell me what you want from me or get lost.”
Hayden just laughed, an almost saccharine sound, sickly sweet with an edge of condescension. Taking the brown throw rug from around his neck, he lay it on her desk and then reached for a large glass paperweight, a clear round ball with a pink peony captured inside, and toyed with it in his hands.
“Why are you always so hot-headed, Wil? You used to beg to spend time with me when we were teenagers, remember?”
She did, but she wasn’t that girl anymore. Since she’d turned down his proposal and experienced the freedom she’d always wanted, Willa had regularly questioned how she had ever gotten involved with Hayden. Even now, she struggled to understand why. She guessed it had been a mixture of parental pressure and convenience. Her father and Hayden’s had wanted them both to marry and bond the families together, like a business pairing. She was sure she had loved Hayden with a childish innocence once but she’d outgrown him and she couldn’t understand why he couldn’t see that.
Hayden pouted at her. “Now, all you want to do is get rid of me and work.”
Willa nodded. “Exactly.”
He frowned. It was a look which could rival the best sad puppy face. “You don’t mean that.”
Placing the paperweight back on the desk, he leaned forward and brushed a golden curl of hair from her face. Willa fought the urge to flinch away.
“You used to want to stay in bed with me all day, remember? You used to hate to go anywhere without me. You hated to leave me.”
Willa’s face contorted with distaste. She’d still been in her teens when they’d gotten together and Hayden had been her first. She’d felt intoxicated by the love she’d felt for him, but it had faded when she’d grown up. He wanted someone he could control and who would act accordingly, someone who matched his social scene. Even though she’d been born into a family of the same ilk, Willa had always felt like an outsider. She needed to be her own person, needed to make her own way in the world and a lot of them just didn’t understand her.
She forced her expression to soften, but felt her eyebrow lift sardonically. “What do you want, Hayden?”
He chuckled again, more suggestively than before. Lowering a hand to the arm of Willa’s desk chair, he spun her to face him directly and then grabbed the other chair arm with his free hand, cutting off any easy means of escape. As Hayden leaned in closer, Willa caught the scent of his skin, the salt of the seawater and the sweet smell of sunscreen. Poised above her, his lips just a breath from hers, she knew he was trying to entice her. The problem was, she just didn’t find him tempting anymore. She was over him. Her mind – and her body – didn’t give a damn what he did as long as it didn’t include her.
“You know what I want, Wil,” he all but whispered. “What I’ve always wanted – you.”
“Really? What a shocker.” She’d tried to sound more impressed, especially after all the effort he’d put into acting all seductive, but it had come out matter-of-factly with an edge of sarcasm.
Hayden’s gaze narrowed. “I think you enjoy hurting me,” he told her, his deep voice straining.
Her head tilted. “I think you like hurting yourself.”
With a groan of frustration, he released the chair and stood up, turning away from her, just as the sound of footsteps thudded on the deck outside. Hayden spun around. His nostrils flared.
“Are you expecting someone?” It was an accusation and one Willa was tired of.
“It’s none of your business, Hayden,” Willa reminded him as a flicker of trepidation had her heart beating faster.
While she hoped Brody had decided to stop by, she wasn’t too enthused about having the two guys face off inside her home.
A knock at the houseboat’s front door had Willa moving to stand up, but as she did so, Hayden pushed her back into the seat.
“I’ll get it.” His tone was aggressive and commanding.
“You don’t live here,” Willa snarled as she moved to push past him.
When he reached out to grab her arm, she slapped at his hand and hurried away. Certain he was hot on her heels, instinct took over and Willa called out before Hayden could stop her from opening the door.
“Come in!” Even she could hear the lilt of panic in her voice.
“Willa?” Brody forced open the door. Concern covered his handsome expression as his gaze met hers and then found Hayden’s. “I hope I’m not interrupting?”
With his tall, muscular physique encased in dark denim jeans and a black shirt, he presented an aura of toughness and handsomeness Hayden just couldn’t match.
“Hi, I’m Brody. Willa’s—” Brody glanced at her, eyebrows furrowing for a split-second, and then returned his attention to Hayden. “—neighbor and you are?”
“None of your business,” Hayden snapped as he tried to push his way in between her and Brody.
Willa quickly pushed him back. “This—is Hayden,” she explained and saw Brody nod in understanding.
“Yeah, her boyfriend, buddy,” Hayden quipped. “So you can just back off.”
“That’s not what I’ve heard.” Brody’s voice was calm but his eyes flickered in challenge.
“What did you say?” Hayden stepped forward, fury distorting his attractive features. Willa struggled to get between the two of them.
Brody smiled slyly. “It was lovely to meet you, Hayden, but I’m afraid Willa and I already have plans for this afternoon. So, if you wouldn’t mind…” With a nod of his head he gestured toward the door. “I think we’d like to have some time alone.”
Relief filled Willa as she hoped Hayden might be reasonable enough to oblige, but then she saw the ferocity in his eyes.
Hayden made a noise somewhere between a scoffing and a growl. “I think you better leave.”
Willa felt the menace vibrate out of him with each word.
Brody’s smile remained but his lips thinned. “It was so nice of you to come by, Hayden. I’m sure Willa loved catching up, but it really is time for you to go.” He seemed cautious in his application of sarcasm, still friendly and somewhat ignorant of the escalating animosity in the room.
Hayden snarled. “What’s wrong with you, pretty boy, don’t you understand English?”
It was the final straw, Willa had had enough. This was her house, Brody was her…friend. She spun and faced Hayden, the palms of her hands flat against his chest forcing him away from Brody.
“What’s wrong with you, Hayden?” It was almost a yell. Anger flared through her, heating her cheeks and buzzing through her veins. “I’m fed up with you, with this.” She motioned a hand between them. “You’ve been pulling this crap for nearly two years now, claiming ownership, trying to control my life. Well, guess what? If you want to remain in my life, in any kind of capacity, then you have to cut this shit out.”
As he stared down at her, the fury on Hayden’s face shifted and a flash of fear had his gaze narrowing.
“You don’t mean that, babe.” His deep voice had softened with worry.
Willa felt her expression morph with challenge. “Try me.”
Hayden’s midnight blue eyes searched hers as though desperate to find weakness. When he didn’t find any, he swallowed. Willa watched his eyebrows furrow and his lips tighten as he glanced back over at Brody.
“Just because I’m leaving doesn’t mean you’ve won anything, buddy.”
Brody’s smile in return was closed lipped and sincere. He nodded at Hayden. “Understood.”
Hayden’s gaze softened as it drifted back to Willa’s. “You can’t get rid of me that easily,” he told her, his voice pained and barely above a whisper.
She sighed, partly in acknowledgement and partly in relief before he bent his head to brush his lips gently across her cheek. Willa’s hands dropped from his chest as he moved past her and then paused beside Brody. The fierceness in the expression Hayden offered him seemed to subside for a moment.
“I just loved you in Rogue Army.” He told him matter-of-factly and then shrugged. “It’s my favorite film.”
Brody’s lips curved in an uncertain smile. “Thanks.”
Hayden nodded in acceptance and then glanced back at Willa before finally exiting the houseboat.
As Willa moved toward him, Brody sighed deeply and let out a nervous chuckle.
“I don’t know what I was expecting at the end there, but it definitely wasn’t a compliment.”
Willa laughed. “Like I told you, he might be a controlling, intrusive ex-boyfriend, but he’s not a bad guy.”
Brody grinned and then took her hand, pulling her closer to him. “Hi,” he said sweetly as her body melted against his and his arms wrapped around her waist.
“Hello.” She giggled, her arms going around his neck as she touched her lips briefly to his. “And what brings you out here?”
“I wanted to know if you had dinner plans,” he said, stealing a kiss.
She raised an eyebrow curiously. “You offering to cook for me?”
He laughed. “No. I thought we could go to The Rocks and have dinner beside the Harbor Bridge.”
“So fancy,” she crooned and lay another kiss on his lips, her mouth molding around his more passionately this time.
Brody held her against the firmness of his body and groaned as she deepened the kiss. His tongue caressed hers as his hands slipped down to cup the roundness of her behind. Willa enjoyed the embrace, savoring the feeling of him pressed against her, his hands fondling her curves, while his lips and tongue did things to her own mouth that made her swoon before she forced herself to pull away.
“Okay,” she told him breathlessly. “Even though I’d love to keep procrastinating with you—”
Brody stole another kiss and Willa had a momentary lapse of concentration before she managed to break free again.
“If we are going on a date tonight, then I should really get back to work.”
Brody frowned and his cocoa-brown eyes glittered playfully. “I could always help you.”
He touched his lips to the corner of her mouth, to her jaw and then dipped his head to kiss her neck. Willa sucked in a breath as her head fell back, giving him further access to the sensitive skin of her throat.
“I don’t think you’d be very helpful,” she moaned.
“Are you sure you don’t want to find out?” His warm breath tickled over her before he nibbled at the taut skin of her neck.
Willa chuckled. “I can think of nothing I’d rather do right now,” she said, finally forcing herself to straighten. “But—” she released a long sigh as she gazed up into his eyes, “I think I should take the sensible option and work now so we get to play later.”
Brody laughed. “You pose a pretty good argument.”
“Just think of it as delayed gratification,” she teased him.
He quirked a dark eyebrow and then, after quickly touching his lips to hers one final time, he released her from their tight embrace.
“Okay,” he agreed as he slipped his hand into hers. “You’ve convinced me.”
Willa cuddled against his arm as he led her toward the front door of the houseboat. Brody opened the door, stepped outside and then turned back to face Willa, his hand still intertwined with hers.
“I’ll pick you up at seven.” Excitement brightened his features.
“Can’t wait,” she said as she moved to give him a kiss goodbye. But as she did so, she noticed that Hayden was standing at the far end of the jetty, nearest the houses, talking to a slender, professionally dressed woman with a short dark bob.
Brody followed her gaze. “What’s Hayden doing talking to Carmody?”
It was something Willa wondered about herself.