“You want to see upstairs?”
“Yeah.” And I gave him a smile before kicking off my shoes and turning and running for the stairs. Because who the fuck wouldn’t want to see a turret?
“Shit. Babe. Be careful.”
I was puffing by the time I made it to the top of the staircase and clutching my skirt in my hand. However, I had successfully infiltrated Garrett’s private zone. Which was kind of like the danger zone, but not quite. To the left was another set of stairs going up to the attic. Straight ahead were three guest bedrooms. To the right was the main bedroom, and oh yeah. This I had to see, because I was nosy as fuck when it came to him.
The walls were painted a dark charcoal, and the bed was this massive and mighty thing with four posts all painted black. In all honesty, it made my panties damp. Just the thought of him sleeping there. Alone. Though looking at him by candlelight for the last hour or two had left me a hormonal and heartsore mess. This had to be how fairy-tale princesses felt. High on life and loving it all. Trying to figure out their Prince Charming and what came next. And what came next for us was going to be damn good.
Garrett leaned against the door frame, watching me with interest. “What do you think?”
I turned a slow circle, taking it all in. The huge windows looking out to the woods and river beyond. High ceilings and crisp white linen on the bed. Smooth, polished wooden floor beneath my feet and the way it all smelled faintly of him.
Sex between us could definitely be used to slow things down. I was a certified genius. There was no way a healthy, virile man like Garrett would rather keep having deep and meaningful conversations with me when we could be banging.
Protect the heart by sacrificing the loins. It was a yes from me. He could make me date him apparently, but he couldn’t keep making me show him my soul and tell him all of my secrets.
“I like it,” I said with a sexy smile.
“Knocked out the wall to the next bedroom to put in the en suite and walk-in wardrobe. It’s not like I need more than three guest bedrooms.”
“You have a chandelier in your bedroom.”
“It’s vintage. Grace was into things like that.”
I smiled gently. “She had great taste.”
He nodded.
“In a lot of things.”
He snorted. “Thanks.”
“New bed?”
“Ah, yeah. Yes. It is.”
“Okay. Good to know.” I wandered toward the en suite. “It’s all very luxury and mood lighting, Garrett.”
“You want me to turn up the light?”
“Hell no.”
A big old claw-foot tub dominated the space in the bathroom. Accompanied by a massive walk-in shower and gray quartz countertops. All of it complemented by those views of the local area that seemed to go on forever. It suited him, the play of shadows and light. The old Cooper house had never looked so fine; I think the old lady would have approved. A whole new life for the place. And a whole new life for him—if that’s what he wanted.
“You’re in a strange mood,” he said, from closer than before.
“Am I?”
“Yeah. I can’t track you at all.”
“Track me?” I asked with a smile.
“You know what I mean.”
“I know what you mean.”
The man was standing in the en suite doorway, watching me. I couldn’t read him any better than he could me. That was the truth. But he was getting seduced tonight whether he liked it or not.
I moved closer and rested my hand lightly on his chest. “What are you thinking?”
“I, ah . . .” His gaze roved over me, taking in my face and my body. And the longing in his eyes wasn’t just my imagination. We were both in up to our necks with these emotions. “I don’t know. My mind’s a mess.”
“What do you want, Garrett?”
“When it comes to you?” he asked. “A hell of a lot. But first, tell me . . . Why’d you run straight for my bedroom?”
“Because I’m nosy.”
“And?”
“And I want to get into your pants. I thought that was obvious.”
He raised his brows. “We’re just going straight there, huh?”
“Why not?” I upped my sexy smile to a coquettish grin. It had been a while. But I’m pretty sure it still worked. I presented him with the back of my dress. “Can you help me with the zipper?”
His intake of breath was audible. “Shit.”
“I’ve been thinking about it, and I think we should just go for it. Just do it.”
“Is that so?”
“Or I can go home. Or we can go back downstairs.” I watched him process it all over my shoulder. Some eyelash fluttering may have been involved. “It’s your choice. But you know what I want. What I really want.”
He cocked his head. “To avoid actual intimacy by fucking?”