It had only been a week since the breakfast and bathroom incident with Rofus. But in those seven days he was all I thought about, all I could think about. I tried to focus on my work, to be immersed in the meticulous task that was my job, but he was always present in my thoughts. The intensity in just a simple look from him shocked me. It had such a strong impact on my body.

I looked up and stared at Regina, one of the housekeepers. I wanted to ask her about him, but I didn’t want to seem like I was probing for information. But my curiosity was too strong. I cleared my throat, and she glanced up at me. “I was wondering if you’d ever met Mr. Foxwerth.” I didn’t use his first name despite the fact he’d wanted me to call him that. Regina was a coworker, and I tried to be professional.

She seemed to think my question over for a second. “In the six years I’ve worked here, I’ve only seen him a handful of times. He keeps to himself.” She looked around as if she didn’t want anybody to hear what she was saying. When she looked back at me, I wondered what she was thinking. “But I suggest staying away from him and doing your job. He’s a man who likes his privacy. And when he’s in one of his moods, he’ll take it out on whoever is in front of him.”

I felt my brows knit in confusion. “One of his moods?”

“He runs his business from home. So if something isn’t going right in that aspect, he can be very…beastly.” She snorted after she said that. “Hence how he got the nickname ‘The Beast.’”

I nodded but didn’t respond. I had a feeling he was on edge like that because of the inner pain he felt, pain he’d probably never tell anyone, never show a living soul.

We got back to work, neither of us saying anything else the remainder of the time, but my thoughts were on Rofus. Part of me had assumed that the nickname stemmed from the accident, and not just how he was with his business. But it did make sense seeing that the aura that surrounded him was intense, to say the least. He seemed like a take-no-shit kind of man, like he’d inflict fear in people with just a look.

No one had ever had this effect on me. Maybe I should have been a little concerned with his attention toward me, his seeming obsession with me. It had only been a few weeks since I’d started working here, and even less time since he’d invited me to breakfast, but in that short time I’d seen him every day, felt his gaze locked on me.

And whenever I looked at him, he was watching me.

But I didn’t know how to process the silent attention he threw my way. I didn’t know what was going on, or how to stop it…if I even wanted to.

Part of me didn’t want to pretend that I couldn’t have this, couldn’t have him. Part of me wanted to allow myself to experience what I felt.

The truth was I wanted to get to know him better. I wanted to find out who he really was behind the facade he showed everyone else.

And I told myself the next time I saw him, I would do just that, damn the consequences.

* * *

Over the last several days I’d worked harder than I ever had since starting this position. Truth was I was trying to keep my mind off Rofus, off my feelings, despite the fact I told myself I’d speak with him, be honest with him the next time I saw him. But it was no use. He consumed my thoughts, invaded my days in the best of ways.

And I meant that literally. Every day I saw him… I wanted him more. But I was too afraid to actually do what I’d said I would…tell him how I felt.

If it hadn’t been clear before, it was crystal now. Rofus wanted me, yet he stayed away. I’d heard the other employees talk about how they’d seen him more in the last couple of weeks than they had in the years that they had been working for him.

I wanted to believe that this change everyone saw in him was because of me, and then on the heels of that thought I felt very selfish. But the silent attraction that we had—or at least that I had for him—was weighing heavily on me. I wanted to just tell him how I felt, that I was confused by these emotions, conflicted.

But until I was stronger emotionally, I’d keep my feelings to myself. It was safer that way.

I made my way to my room, the sun having already set, the hallway dimly lit by the wall sconces. I’d busied myself for the majority of the evening with scrubbing the greenhouse from top to bottom. I loved being in there, remembering my time with Rofus, albeit short-lived. The sights and scents of the flora around me had relaxed every part of me. Or maybe it was the memory of the feeling of him touching me, gently caring for me.

I turned down another corner and heard the sound of crackling, the distinct noise of flames licking over logs.

I followed the sound to a partially opened door and pushed it open a little more. The lights were off in what appeared to be a study, but the light from the fire filled the room in a nice amber glow. I pushed the door open just a bit more, and my heart stopped when I saw Rofus’ big body leaning forward as he sat on the leather couch before the fire. His head was downcast, and I could see the glass of liquor in his hand, the position he was in showing me the side view of his massive body.

Leaving was probably the best option, just going to my room and forgetting what I wanted to tell him, and keeping this strictly professional. But I didn’t want to. I curled my hand around the doorframe, my heart thundering, my throat tight and dry.

“How long are we going to do this?” Rofus said, his head still down as he stared at his glass, but his question clearly directed at me.

I was frozen in place, my heart having stopped for a second before it beat harder and faster than last time.

He turned around so he was looking at me. “Will you come in and shut the door, sit down and talk with me?”

For a second I couldn’t move, but finally my feet worked and I found myself doing just that. When I was sitting on the couch, only a foot separating us, I had to remind myself to breathe. He didn’t speak, didn’t even move. He just watched me.

“Something to drink?” Rofus lifted his glass, but I shook my head. I was already tired, and I knew alcohol would only make that worse. But despite the sound of my bed seeming pretty incredible right about now, I didn’t want to go there alone.

God, get control of yourself.

He nodded once and downed the rest of his drink before standing and walking over to the fireplace and setting the glass on the mantle. He stood there for long seconds, and when he finally turned to face me, his body was partially shrouded by shadows.

“I’m not going to dick around about this, Britta.”

Hearing him say my name was like gas on a fire.

“I should have said something at breakfast, but I’ve been known to be coarse, and scaring you off is the last thing I want to do.”

“Scaring me off?”

He moved closer to me, and I straightened, my body so warm, so primed. I was wet between my thighs, and my nipples felt like they’d tear through my shirt.

“Don’t lie and say you don’t feel this connection, this chemistry between us.” He sat on the edge of the coffee table now, his knees almost touching mine, his body blocking out the light from the fireplace. I could barely make out his facial features now.

I didn’t speak, couldn’t. But I wanted to. God, I wanted to talk to him, to tell him that yes, I too felt something incredible when he was near…when I thought about him. And then I closed my mouth, realizing I’d just said those very words out loud. Heat covered my face, and I ducked my head, feeling embarrassed. I’d never been so bold before.

He reached out and tipped my head back with a finger under my chin. I stared into his eyes, and even though the darkness covered his face, I could see how blue his irises were.

“I want you, Britta. I’ve wanted you since I saw you that first day you came in for an interview.” He stroked my chin with his finger. “You’re special, and you make me want to breathe. You make me want to come out from behind the wall I’ve been hiding behind for a decade.” He kept stroking me. “You make me want to be human again.” He leaned forward an inch but stopped. “That is why I was afraid of scaring you.”

I couldn’t breathe, so I stood and moved a few steps back, but I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to just be honest.

Then do it.

“I do feel it,” I whispered.

And I want to experience it right here, right now, no matter what.

He made this deep sound in his chest. “Say that again, louder.”

I swallowed and licked my lips, looking at his face. “I feel it too, Rofus. And I want more.”