Close to Perfect (8 page)

Tapping her foot against the floor, Tess looked back up those stairs and told herself she wasn't going to search the bedrooms, at least not yet. After all, there seemed to be no end of rooms down here with the possibility that some of them were also bedrooms.

As if she needed that kind of stimulation.

Chewing her lower lip, Tess again looked to the right, to the left, then finally gave up and shouted, “Josh!”

“Tess?”

Her heart paused to his shout, then beat wildly. He had been here all along? He was downstairs? “Yeah!” she shouted, then hoped to God he hadn't been watching her panting to that stupid fantasy. “Where are you?”

“Kitchen. It's to your left past the parlor, the dining room, the—”

She interrupted. “I'm on it!”

“Are you sure?”

Tess made a face to that odd question. “Yeah! I'll be there in a second.”

A minute later she was about to give up and beg for a map. Each room she went into led to another until Tess felt as if she was trapped in a beautifully appointed maze. The hardwood floors were exquisite, reflecting the delicately flowered wallpaper, Victorian antiques, the occasional rattan furniture, and her mounting irritation.

She turned a full circle wondering if she should take those French doors to the left or the ones to the right.

Since she liked the lace curtains on the ones to the left, she opened those suckers and stopped dead.

The room just ahead was obviously the kitchen as it had a score of appliances from way back when, an ancient sink, a counter with antique bar stools, and Josh.

He was on a ladder, working on a Bahama ceiling fan.

Tess completely ignored it as her gaze crawled all over him. He had changed from his office wear to a navy blue T-shirt and battered jeans that hugged his lean, muscular body. His arms were above his head as he did something to that fan, which hiked up his T-shirt exposing a bit of his flat belly.

Tess moistened her lips as she regarded those silky dark hairs circling his navel before they trickled lower to beneath the waistband of his jeans.

Following that path, her gaze slipped down to that lovely bulge behind his fly.

Josh shifted his weight.

If anything, that made his bulge seem even bigger. So damned big, Tess felt briefly dizzy.

He shifted his weight again.

Looking down, Tess saw that he was barefoot. Her heart beat really hard, which was odd. She had never been into feet, especially a guy's, but his were kind of nice. Large, with long toes.

She wanted to touch them and taste them. She wanted to work her fingers from those toes to his calves to the insides of his thighs to that luscious bulge.

Her gaze lifted to it; her mind paused. Was that an erection?

Tess looked up and wasn't a bit surprised to meet Josh's gaze.

His brows lifted. “Hi.”

She moistened her lips, again. Never in her life had her mouth been this dry. “Hi.”

He smiled, then frowned. “You're late... something delay you?”

Tess thought about the truth, and decided to lie. “Yeah—you.”

His expression said that wasn't the answer he expected. “How'd I do that?”

“You're impossible to find.”

Josh glanced down at his full length, then looked back up. “What are you talking about? I'm big as life.”

Oh, hell, he was way bigger than that, not that Tess was about to give him anything else to be smug about. Resisting the urge to see if his erection had gotten any bigger, or harder, or nicer, she asked, “What are you doing?”

“Screwing.”

Her face and throat flushed.

Josh smiled again, as if he were really enjoying this, then lifted his screwdriver to show her what he had meant. “I'll be done in a few secs.”

“Just like most guys.”

He murmured, “Bad girl. Now, you be nice or I won't give you a tour of this place.”

Like she hadn't had one already? “Yes, sir.” Her gaze drifted back down him, again.

After a moment, he asked, “See anything you like?”

Of course she did, and he damn well knew it.

“Okay, be that way,” he said to her silence, “but at least tell me you brought your cuffs.”

Her gaze lifted. “What?”

Josh gave her an innocent look. “I didn't say anything.”

The hell he didn't. “While you finish up with that, I'll get my bags.”

And leave him? Not a chance. She had taken too damned long to get here, and Josh wasn't about to let her out of his sight now. Her cheeks were nicely pinked up, her tightened nipples strained against that stretchy T-shirt, and her lovely legs were completely bared beneath those cutoffs.
Mmmm.
“I'll take care of them later. You're not wearing your heels.”

Tess looked down at her sandals. “That's because I'm in shorts.”

Josh's thickening cock was already well aware of that. Still... “I like those heels.”

She met his gaze. “They're in the trunk of your car, if you want to wear them later.”

Bad, bad girl. Cocky, but also soft. It was in the way he could so easily make her blush. “No, thanks.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, using the same tone he had used earlier. “I could get them right now and everything else that I—”

“I'll get it later, really.”

Tess shoved her hands into her back pockets and rocked on her heels. “I really need to go back outside.”

“Why?”

She looked vaguely embarrassed, then pissed. “I'm not certain I turned off the car.”

Uh-huh. “Do you usually forget to do that?”

Tess gave him a look that said he was more of an idiot than she. “When I got here I was kind of distracted.”

Josh already knew that; still, he said, “Oh, yeah? By what?”

“Your place. I was overwhelmed by it, okay?”

He smiled. “You like it, huh?”

Her face flushed again. Her voice softened even more, “Very much.”

Uh-huh. She wasn't talking about this place any more than he was. Still, Josh figured he better continue this verbal foreplay until Tess gave him a signal that she would be willing to accept something more. “Stay in here and watch me so I can watch you.”

A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “What about the car?”

“Did you put it in park?”

“Of course I did. I had to get out of it, didn't I?”

Josh held up his hands in surrender. “Hey, I was just asking.” He lowered his hands. “Let the damn thing run until it's out of gas.”

“Aren't you worried about someone stealing it?”

“Couldn't care less.”

Tess arched one brow. “My clothes are in there. Just about every stitch I have.”

Okay, now he was hoping the damned thing would be stolen so that she had no choice but to walk around here in skin. “I see the problem.”

“I don't think you do.” She reached into her back pocket.

Josh's gaze dipped to her pebbled nipples. “Please don't tell me you're going to pull out your gun now and shoot me.”

“That comes later.”

Why later? “Aren't you carrying a gun now?”

“Sure.”

Josh looked at that flimsy T-shirt, those brief shorts, and her sandals that couldn't have concealed anything, then what she had just pulled out of her pocket. “That's your gun? It looks like a cell phone.”

She laughed as she punched in a number. “It is.”

“Who are you calling?”

“My father.”

Josh came down a step. “Why? I haven't done anything.”

Tess smiled. “He'll definitely want to hear that little bit of informa—Pop?” she interrupted herself, then turned her back to Josh as she spoke into the cell. “I got here all right, just like I said I—what?” She listened, then said in a lowered voice, “Of course, he's here, he
lives
here, Pop. Huh?” She listened again, then blurted, “You have nothing to worry about. I have nothing to worry about. He's a good man.”

Josh's gaze lifted from the backs of her silky thighs. She thought that? She meant it?

She must have, because all at once Tess seemed to realize what she had blurted, and was now turning around to see if he had noticed.

Damn right he had. Josh's gaze touched hers and he wasn't about to look away. There may have been a lot of females after him because of that stupid tabloid, but this woman thinking he was a good man meant more than all of that. It meant the world.

“Thanks,” he said.

Her blush deepened, and then she was back on the cell.

“What?” she asked her father, then listened and frowned. “That was Josh. No,” she said after listening again, “he was just thanking me for handing him the brochure to your business. That's right,” she said after she listened again, “we're talking business so I really gotta go. Night.” Tess shut off the phone and shoved it into her back pocket.

“Your dad okay with this?” Josh asked.

Tess looked at him. “I'm here, aren't I?”

That she was, and raring to go, right down to wearing a gun.

Josh continued to look for unsightly bulges in her T-shirt and shorts, at least until she shifted her weight.

He looked back up.

“What?” she asked.

“I didn't say anything.”

“Yeah, I know. You keep looking at my clothes—why?”

No way was he ready to answer that. “Same reason you keep looking at mine?”

Tess pressed her fingers to her forehead.

“Please don't get upset—we're still on our honeymoon.”

Her shoulders shook with suppressed laughter.

Josh came down the ladder. Tess dropped her hand. He finally stopped his approach. “You're not thinking of shooting me now, are you?”

She laughed, until he crossed the room and captured her hand.

“What are you doing?”

“Escorting you to the pool.”

She held back. “The scene of the crime?”

“The scene of our supper—you haven't eaten yet, have you?”

No, she had not. She had been too busy manicuring and waxing and primping and evading her father's pointed questions to even think of food. “Your cook's out there?”

Josh looked at her as if she was nuts, and then he frowned. “Why?” His head swiveled on his shoulders as he glanced past her to the hallway, then to the outside. “Was there a guy here when you came here who said he was my—”

“No.” Tess wondered if she should tell him about redheaded Libby at the gate, but decided against it. “I just assumed you'd have one.”

Josh looked at her. “Why?”

Because he was a guy. Because he was so rich. “No reason.”

“Exactly.” He leaned down to her until Tess could see each laugh line at the corners of his beautiful eyes. “I'm capable.”

“Well, that remains to be seen.”

Josh worked his mouth so he wouldn't smile. “You're supposed to be nice to me, remember?”

“You may have to keep reminding me.”

He straightened, then lifted his free hand to her chin, holding it between his thumb and forefinger.

Tess's heart went into immediate overdrive. She felt the heat of his skin clear to her toes, and surrendered completely to his quiet gaze.

A moment passed, and then another. Tess was vaguely aware of the breeze rustling the outside foliage, birds calling to each other, and her own heightened breathing.

If Josh noticed, he didn't say. His gaze remained on her, quiet and confident, before he murmured, “Don't you worry, I will keep reminding you. Come on.”

Tess swallowed, then took a much-needed breath as he led her outside to the pool.

Her eyes widened in renewed awe.

This area was as lovely as the rest of the estate, drenched in tropical foliage, and very secluded behind numerous bushes and trees. Stone statues of cranes, flamingos, and other wildlife stood silent guard, while the Olympic-size pool couldn't have been more inviting.

No wonder Josh liked to swim in the nude. No wonder he had felt safe and protected.

Tess looked at the crisp, blue water that made gentle lapping sounds as it hit the sides of the pool. On the bottom was a picture of two dolphins, their supple bodies arched as if they were jumping out of the water.

It caught the waning sunlight, which sparkled back, and made the flickering flames of the outside torches seem downright seductive.

Inhaling deeply, Tess looked over her shoulder to a glass table, two wicker chairs, and a refrigerator.

Josh finally released her hand and went to the fridge. When Tess joined him, he handed her a bottle of chilled beer.

She pressed it to the side of her neck.

“You hot?” he asked.

Of course she was hot, and it had nothing to do with the sultry, close night, and he damned well knew it. “Just a little warm,” she lied in her most casual voice. After taking a sip of that beer, Tess kicked off her sandals, went to the edge of the pool, then sat, dangling her legs in the water.

It felt so good that it was a moment before she looked over her shoulder at Josh.

He was sipping his beer as he continued to watch her.

“You coming?” she asked.

He arched one dark brow, swallowed his beer, then pulled a platter of something from the fridge before joining her.

Tess regarded the fresh fruit, vegetables, and four types of dip as Josh rolled up the legs of his jeans, then sat next to her, dangling his legs in the water.