Sacred Surrender (2 page)

“Get it together, Rowan,” he reprimanded himself out loud, pulling his mind away from the time in his life he should have buried long ago. 

Sealing the remainder of the fruit and placing it back into the refrigerator for another time, he walked to the sink as he quickly downed the rest of his coffee.  He rinsed out the oversized black cup, placing it in the sink upside down.  He stood staring at it for a moment, and then shook his head.  He would make himself crazy if he didn’t just get over what could have been and move on with his life.  This should be a happy time for him; his sister was marrying his best friend, he had a great job, a beautiful house and wonderful friends.  He should be happy he didn’t have some ball and chain to keep him from living his life.  Maybe, just maybe, if he kept telling himself that, it would finally sink into his thick skull.  Right now, he needed to get himself in the shower; otherwise, he’d be late meeting Cade. 

He quickly made his way back down the hall, stopping briefly at the linen closet to grab a fresh towel.  Stepping past the threshold of the tiny bathroom, his blue pajama pants and black briefs found their place in a corner, along with the rest of the clothes he’d not taken the time to wash.  He shook his head at the evidence lying in a heap on the tile floor, a reminder of his bachelor status.  The silver knobs just beyond the shower door felt cold against his skin as he turned them until a steady stream flowed.  Going through the normal routine of brushing his teeth while waiting for the water to heat up, Rowan stood at the small vanity.  He glanced at his reflection, as the toothbrush slide across his perfectly whitened teeth, wondering to himself how his life had become so mundane.  The water took entirely too long to heat up, although he’d recently replaced the water heater, making it the one thing he disliked about the house.  Finally, when he knew the water was as hot as he could stand it, he eased underneath the pounding stream of pure bliss.  Once he let the water consume him, all the tension in his body and mind melted away.  Rowan stayed under the spray as long as he possibly could.  Reluctantly, he reached to shut off the shower, but not before he let the water splash onto his face, washing away the stress life handed him.  He reached for the towel hanging over the top of the shower door, paying no attention to the fact that the edges had gotten wet during his shower.  Wrapping the towel around his waist and making his way back to the vanity, he wiped the moisture from the mirror with the palm of his hand.  He ran his hands through his wet hair, making it stand on end.  Although he normally wore his hair a little longer and was clean shaven, a change was necessary in his life and he thought his appearance would be a good start.  While standing in the bathroom staring at nothing in particular, the door bell rang, pulling him out of the dazed state he found himself in these days. 

“Cade must have decided to meet here instead,” he said out loud to himself. 

Rowan made his way to the front door still sporting a towel wrapped around his waist, water glistening off his chest, and not a second thought that it could be anyone but Cade. 

Madison stood outside on the front porch of her neighbor’s home, uncertain if anyone was home.  She internally debated with herself if she should ring the bell again or wait a few more moments.  She just moved into the house next door and thanks to the bad luck that followed her, was at the mercy of a complete stranger.  The real estate agent that told her the quaint little house sat in perfect condition would be getting a phone call come Monday morning and she’d be getting a piece of her mind. 

Yeah right, Madison, just like you give everyone a piece of your mind. 

She moved out to Long Beach from Kansas because she was tired of the boring Midwest living she’d been forced to endure her entire life.  Tired of flat lands, humidity and bone chilling winters, Long Beach was the perfect escape for her.  She wanted sunshine, beaches and lots of hot men to look at.  The little town she grew up in had nothing other than farm boys with the IQ of a goat.  Although most were quite nice to look at, their idea of a perfect date was cow tipping and barn swinging.  She shook her head at the thought of swinging from hay stack to hay stack on a thick rope attached to the roof of a barn on too many occasions.  She not once wore a dress on a date for that very reason. 

She’d gone to college so she could escape the small town life, wanting to move on to bigger and better things.  Her parents had provided a great life for her, but she wanted more for herself.  The thought of raising kids in the town she grew up depressed the hell out of her, so early on in high school she decided to make a break for it as soon as she could.  As soon as she earned her degree in business management, she was hired for one of the HR positions for a pharmaceutical company here in Long Beach.  She jumped at the opportunity with reckless abandon.  Her mother had told her to think it through, but it’d taken her all of twenty-four hours to decide. She’d been so excited about moving that she wasted no time in getting out here. She had less than two weeks before she started work, which turned out to be a blessing, because the perfect little house was going to need a lot of work. 

Madison rang the bell one more time.  She hoped someone was home that knew how to work a wrench or at least had a wrench she could borrow.  Upon her visit out here to look at the house a few months ago, her agent told her a doctor lived next door.  Certainly a doctor would be smart enough to help her with a leaky faucet. 

Rowan quickly swung the door open as water dripped from his torso to the wood floor beneath his bare feet and gasped.  He’d actually gasped.  He couldn’t remember if he’d ever done such a thing in his life, but the view before him caused the reaction from him.  Standing on the other side of his door was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen and here he stood in nothing but a towel.  Suddenly, he felt himself harden under the thick material and wanted nothing more than to disappear.  Flustered, embarrassed, and at a loss for words, were feelings he was not used to experiencing in the presence of a woman.  Hell, he would venture to say they were feelings he’d never felt at all. 

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your shower,” Madison stuttered.  She felt her mouth go dry, as a lump formed in her throat.  When her agent said a doctor lived next door she pictured an older man with graying hair, not what stood before her now.  What she looked at now was a California god!  Aside from a body that rippled with endless muscles, abs that she wanted to run her tongue over, and wide shoulders perfect for holding onto while she wrapped her legs around his waist, was an amazing face with the deepest blue eyes staring back at her.  A chiseled jaw covered perfectly in stubble and short blonde hair that stuck on end, most likely from just getting out of the shower.  Oh hell, here she stood staring at him like she’d just won the lottery and he wore nothing but a smile and a towel.  She fought to keep her gaze from his lower parts, but, damn, she could tell the man was well-endowed.  And if she was correct, he was sporting an erection under the towel she now wished would find its place on the floor.  She absently licked her lips as her gaze traveled back up his body to find him with a smirk on his face. 

Madison realized as she watched his eyes widen she’d taken a step toward him.  What the hell was wrong with her?  She’d seen good looking men before, but holy hell never one as perfect as him.  Suddenly she wanted to fall to her knees and thank the leaky faucet gods for her fate. 

 “Is there something I could help you with?” Rowan finally spoke, trying not to laugh at the reaction she clearly had toward him. 

Normally, he would have the decency to excuse himself, but he was enjoying the color of her cheeks shifting from a beautiful pale to a rosy red and the glazed over look in her eyes.  His cock twitched at the thought of her luscious lips wrapped around his shaft when her eyes had traveled to his nether region.  He quickly pulled himself from those thoughts before he really embarrassed himself.  He’d been in the company of beautiful women before, but this one standing in front of him called out to his body in a way no other had.  Even his first meeting with Erin had not affected his body this way. 

“Hi, my name is Madison James and I just moved in next door,” her voice brought him back to the present. 

“Nice to meet you, Madison James,” he loved the way her name felt on his tongue.  Saying it seemed to make his world right for a split second. 

“Thank you and you are?”

“Your neighbor,” he said with a smirk.  “My name is Rowan.  Was there something you needed, ma’am?”

“Ma’am?”  She’d never had someone address her as ma’am and certainly didn’t expect it from this man in front of her, “You can just call me Madison.  I was hoping that you knew something about leaky faucets, or at least had a wrench I could borrow.” 

Rowan stepped back away from the door, holding his towel just a little tighter as he felt himself grow even harder gesturing for her to come in.  “Give me a second to throw something on,” he said with a wink, “and I’ll take a look at it.” 

“Thank you, I appreciate it.  I hope it’s not a bother.” 

“Not a bother at all.” 

Rowan quickly made his way to the bedroom, trying to catch his breath, while what had to be the most stunning woman was standing in his living room.  He didn’t know jack about faucets or wrenches, but he’d be damned if he let her know that.  He dressed in a pair of faded blue jeans and a white t-shirt that stretched tight across his chest, threw on his socks and shoes, returning to find her standing right where he left her.  Most women he knew would have fancied themselves a look around, hell, his sister, Tessa, certainly would have, but not Madison.  Her feet were planted in the spot she’d been standing in when he left to dress.  He liked that she didn’t seem the least bit nosy. 

“I’m ready if you are,” he said as he held the door open. 

They walked in silence to the small shed that sat in the corner of his backyard.  The house didn’t have a garage, so when he’d moved in he had to purchase the wooden shed for anything that wouldn’t fit in the house.  His toolbox being one of those items.  He hurriedly grabbed a wrench that looked as if it barely came out of the package and they made their way to her house. 

“So, do you know much about plumbing?  You’re a doctor, right?” 

She had no intentions of sounding rude, but when she’d seen how shiny his tools were it made her a little nervous that he might make her faucet worse.  Her father’s tools were worn, soiled, and used, the way a man’s tools should be.  To top it off, he looked like he hadn’t worked a day in his life; more like spent his time at the beach.  He had to be a womanizer. She’d met men who looked like they just stepped off the cover of a GQ magazine and they were almost always cocky as hell.  In college, she’d seen too many women throwing themselves at the feet of these men and it disgusted her.  The bastard was a doctor for God’s sake, and in her book, that only spelled conceit.  Damn it, men like him made her angry.  She barely knew his name and already he pissed her off.  She still couldn’t get over how gorgeous he was, though.  He almost looked better fully clothed, almost.  The whole wet with just a towel covering his man parts worked well for him and she thought he should definitely keep that look going. 

“Madison?” Even his voice sounded erotic as he pulled her from her thoughts.  

“Yes?” She absently responded, not able to pull her gaze from his amazingly deep blue eyes.  As she watched his facial expression, her eyes locked onto his and she could’ve sworn they sparkled.  His eyes mesmerized her and she knew if she wasn’t careful around him, she’d being doing his bidding in no time at all. 

“Ahem, which house is yours?”  

Rowan knew which house was hers, there’d only been one house near his that had been up for sale.  She recently bought the cute little two bedroom cottage that had been empty for more than six months.  It surprised him this nice little house had taken so long to sell, especially being so close to the beach.  Looking at the woman who now occupied it, he thanked his lucky stars it had.  He couldn’t have wished for a more beautiful neighbor.  He hadn’t seen her when she moved in, but he remembered the moving company well, Three Men and a Truck.  The name was catchy, so it was embedded in his mind. 

Rowan only asked which place was hers because he loved that she stood staring at him.  He knew she’d get that coloring in her cheeks again.  And yes, there it was, her pale creamy skin, colored with a splash of red.  The faint freckles that were sporadic on the bridge of her nose and cheeks became more dominate as the evidence of her embarrassment crept out from under the collar of her black t-shirt and made its way up her neck.  Her raven tresses whipped around her oval face from the morning breeze, her beautiful hazel eyes sparkled from the California sun, and her delectable scent made its way to his senses.  To top it off, she wore a pair of khaki shorts that accentuated her perfectly rounded ass and beautiful long legs.  Physically he couldn’t find one single thing wrong with her; she was the epitome of perfection.  A woman he would gladly take to his bed.  The problem, however, lay in that women like her tended to break his heart.  After Erin, he’d promised never to let another woman into his heart, he’d never give up that much control to another person again and looking at this woman before him, he could tell she wouldn’t be happy accepting anything less.