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He unloaded the canned goods into his butler’s pantry and put the box on the floor. “Come on, I’ll give you a tour.”
“There’s more?”
He laughed and led the way upstairs. “Spare room,” he said, pointing at one door. “Another spare room. Bathroom through there. And this,” he said, opening a door at the end of the hall, “is my room.”
It was huge, and it had its own balcony. Everything was huge. The room, the bed, the walk-in wardrobe, the ensuite, and for a second I had a hard time marrying this house to the guy I’d just spent days with roughing it in the tropical jungle, staying in a tin shed, and driving an old beaten-up Jeep. I wasn’t sure how they could be the same person...
But then I noticed the framed photographs on the wall. I mean, they too looked like they belonged in a museum, black frames all artfully displayed. But they were black and white photos of storms.
Rain clouds and lightning.
He stood beside me. “I took those photos,” he said quietly, and we both studied each image.
I got closer to one, pointing to it. “That’s the bunker.”
“Sure is.” He slung his arm over my shoulder, effectively tucking me under his arm, and pointed up to another photo. “And that one. And this one. Can’t see the shed at all, but that’s the clearing looking east. It’s a few years old so the trees look a bit different.”
“I love these pictures,” I whispered. “I was beginning to think this wasn’t your house.”
He pulled back so he could look into my eyes. “What do you mean?”
I shrugged. “This is all very extravagant and luxurious, and the you I know just spent a week running around in the jungle without a shirt or shoes in a banged-up Jeep.”
He smiled and took my hand, bringing my palm to his cheek, and he closed his eyes. “That’s who I am,” he murmured. His brown eyes met mine. “Out there, where I have no expectations or obligations. Here?” he said, looking around the room. “You think this is all glamour, but it’s not really. I mean, it is. I know I’m privileged to have this. I know that. So yeah, this is also me, but this me is where real life takes the shine off who I am.” He dropped my hand and frowned. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m not cryin’ poor little rich boy, but who I was with you this last week was the me no one else gets to see.”
Oh wow. Okay, I wasn’t expecting such heartfelt honesty. And I wasn’t expecting him to echo my thoughts so completely.
I put my hand to his chest. “Who I was this last week with you was the real me too. The me that no one else understands. Or likes.”
The corner of his mouth pulled up in a half-smile, and he put his finger to my chin, bringing me in for a soft kiss. “I like you.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
TULLY
I gaveJeremiah some shorts and a shirt from my wardrobe and handed him a clean towel. “Come downstairs when you’re done.”
“Oh, I need my shaving kit.”
I rubbed my thumb along his scruffy jaw and hummed. “Or you could leave it.”
I wanted nothin’ more than to get into the shower with him, and I almost did, but getting cleaned up after a week of camping was a solitary thing. Sure, the shower at the bunker was adequate, but here he had proper hot water, shower gel, and a flushing toilet.
I left him to it and went downstairs. I upended my bag of dirty clothes into the washing machine and put in a quick grocery order for some essentials, and I’d just finished ordering some pizza when Jeremiah came down the stairs.
“Hm,” I said appreciatively. “I like you in my clothes. Did you notice that I didn’t give you any underwear?”
He rolled his eyes but he did smile. “That was the best shower I’ve ever had.”
“Which is why I didn’t join you,” I said. His mouth fell open and I shrugged. “I thought about it. I almost did. Ireallywanted to. But that first shower when you get back...” I held his chin. “And you left the scruff.”
“Yes, well, I didn’t have a razor.”
My eyes fell to his lips, his very kissable lips, and god, he smelled so good. I groaned and took a step back. “I want to do unholy things to you right now, but I need to get myself cleaned up first.” I headed for the stairs. “The AC’s on. I’ve ordered pizza. Help yourself to anything in the fridge.”
I took the stairs two at a time to put some distance between us. I wanted to drag him to bed, but god, considering how good and clean he smelled, I must have stunk like a sweaty horse. Takin’ him to bed like this would be gross and insulting. I intended to have the quickest shower of my life until I felt the hot water on my skin. I scrubbed my hair, lathered up soap over every inch of my body, then did it all again.
I felt decidedly more human when I went downstairs, and excited. We’d talked about having sex when we got here, now that we had condoms and lube, and I was keen to know if that was still on the table. I found the glass doors open and Jeremiah was taking in the view.
