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I wanted to laugh at how strained he sounded. Asking instead of demanding was clearly difficult for him. “I don’t really have much of a choice. Do I?”
“You always have a choice, Hazel.” His raspy voice made me shiver. I wish that included the ability to choose a relationship with him.
“You’re right. I could stay with Avery or at a hotel,” I admitted, but refused to say why neither appealed to me. The reality was that I wanted more time with him. Time to see if I could get him to change his mind and that would only happen if I lived under his roof. “I’d like to stay with you.”
He nodded, and I half expected him to tell me I was a good girl for complying with him. Or maybe that was my fantasies getting in the way. Either way, I was jumping into this situation with my eyes wide open.
“I’ll need to run to the store to grab a few necessities until I can get out later.”
“Unnecessary. I have everything you need at my place. I had a few things sent over today for you.” He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
“Why?” I pushed, hoping this time he’d give me a reason to think that he couldn’t get our kiss out of his mind either. A reason to know why he was being so nice.
“I told you?—”
“Forget I asked. It’s convenient,” I finished for him, repeating his earlier words, not able to hide the hint of bitterness in my voice.
We drove the rest of the way to his penthouse in silence. I already knew the way. I’d been there many times before at all hours of the day and night—for work purposes only. It seemed our relationship was destined to stay this steady course. I needed to remind myself of that. He didn’t want me the same way I wanted him.
I pulled up and let the doorman, Walter, open my door. “Good evening, Ms. Finley. I’m so happy to hear you’re staying with us for a while.” His lined cheeks split into a wide grin. He pushed the tip of his crooked cap back onto his thick head of gray hair. I’d asked him once why he was still working at his age. He said he’d only retire when his wife, a school teacher, did.
“Hello, Walter. It’s nice to see you again.” I handed him my keys and got out of the car. He was always so sweet to me whenever I stopped by. I turned to reach for my purse and laptop bag, surprised to see Jareth held both.
He groaned as he unfolded his body from my car. “Walter.”
“Jareth. I hope you’ve had a pleasant day,” Walter said as he came around the side of the car with me following closely behind. “Everything has arrived and was placed in the room you requested. Is there anything else you need from me?”
“Not today.”
I frowned. He and I needed to have another chat about how wonderful his sweet doorman was and how often Jareth should be telling him thank you. The man always had a smile on his face when he dealt with Jareth and that wasn’t often easy.
We rode up in the elevator, silence filling the space around us again. Jareth scrolled through his phone while I discreetly watched him. No matter how casual he seemed to be, his body was always coiled tight like a predator ready to pounce. And I hated how incredibly sexy I thought that was.
He could pounce on me any day. I held back from fanning myself at my ridiculous thought and almost laughed imagining his face if I told him why I was doing that. He’d probably rethink having me stay at his place.
When we reached the top floor, the elevator doors opened up into a hallway, and his door was a short walk from the elevator. He pressed the access code into the keypad before signaling for me to enter first.
As soon as I’d made it through the door, I noticed the boxes of decorations I’d dropped off as a not-so-subtle hint still sat by the front door. Not that I should have been surprised. In the three years we’d known each other, I’d never seen his penthouse look anything but the perfectly frigid space it was created to be. It was exquisitely furnished and resembled a showroom more than a home.
I wish I’d worked for Jareth when he moved in and hired an interior decorator. I’d have insisted he had a more lived-in look or maybe told him to fire her. Yes, definitely fire her. I frowned as I thought of the times I’d contacted her to accompany him to various work functions.
“Your coat.” Jareth had already removed his and reached for mine to hang in the hall closet. His hands swept along my neck and dipped to my collarbone, creating sparks of electricity everywhere he touched.
I held my breath as his deft fingers tugged off the garment, belatedly remembering that I’d accidentally put my coat on inside out when leaving the office in such a hurry. He patiently tugged the sleeves into the right position. “Thanks,” I murmured.
He lifted his chin in acknowledgment. “I had everything placed in the first bedroom on the left. While you get settled, I’ll order takeout.”
“Thanks. I’d appreciate that.” I walked through the living room while he turned into the dining room on the opposite side of the hall. Maybe as thanks I should decorate the space for him? Christmas wasn’t far away, and there was no way I could stay here and not want to have at least a little holiday cheer surrounding me.
I grinned. I had to be sure to decorate when he was busy, or otherwise, I had a feeling he’d tell me not to bother. As far as I knew, he didn’t seem to celebrate any holiday. Or was it just that he didn’t have someone to celebrate with?
I hummed my favorite Christmas tune, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”, under my breath. Jareth was dead set on saying we couldn’t be anything more than boss and assistant, but maybe I only had to show him what life would be like if he wasn’t so alone.
My shoes sunk into the lush hallway carpet, and for a second, a pang of envy shot through me. Jareth had such a beautiful place, and right now, my forever home dreams seemed to be getting further away.
You knew creating your perfect home was going to take time, I reminded myself. I needed to flip the script and turn this incident into a positive. This unexpected leak was pushing me to update parts of the house that required it, and when the work was done, it was going to be an even better place to live.
The door to my designated bedroom was open. I flipped the light switch and marveled at the differences between this room and mine. The entire room was made up of neutrals. The walls, the bedding, and even the classy furniture were shades of cream with accents of gold and tan throughout.
