“Don’t be sorry,” he says in his rich deep voice as he walks over. I can almost feel the masculine alpha energy radiating off him as he gets close. It’s making my skin tingle. “What’s your name?”
“Isabella,” I say with a gulp. “But everyone calls me Izzy.”
“Not me,” he says as his intense eyes lock onto mine. “I’m calling you Isabella. You have bella in your name for a reason.”
His hungry eyes roam down my body and I’m glad that I grabbed my skimpiest bikini. I like the way it’s making his breath hitch.
“Do you live here?” he asks.
“No, I live next door. I was just studying.”
“Do you always come here to study?”
I can feel my cheeks starting to blush as he towers over me. “Sometimes, but I won’t anymore if you buy the house.”
“Don’t say that or I won’t buy it.”
I feel a flush creeping up my neck as I try to play it cool. “So, you’re going to buy it? It’s a spectacular house.”
He looks back at it and I take the opportunity to steal a glance at his big round shoulders. He has the type of shoulders that are perfect to get thrown over as he carries you to the bedroom.
“I haven’t decided yet,” he says as his heated eyes land back on me. “There are a few things I have to know first.”
“Like what?”
“I need to know about the neighbors.”
“Well, I’m staying with my aunt and uncle there, and on that side is an elderly couple who don’t make any noise and keep to themselves.” I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I desperately want him to stay and I’m not above making up some little white lies to keep him here.
He crosses his big arms as his eyes narrow on me. “And what about you?”
“What about me?”
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
I laugh. “That’s a ten million dollar house! Does the decision to buy it really have anything to do with me having a boyfriend?”
“Yes.”
My smile fades when I see how serious he is. The rush of heat swirling around my core starts to sink to the area between my legs. “What’s your name?”
“Vance Keller,” he says, never taking his eyes off me. “Now. Do you have a boyfriend?”
I shake my head. I’m twenty years old and I’ve never had a boyfriend. I’m still a virgin and haven’t even kissed another man before. For some reason, whenever a boy tried, it never felt right, so I always pulled my head back, made excuses, and in one case, ran away.
“What brings you to this neighborhood, Vance?”
“I don’t know, but I know what’s going to keep me here.” He glances at my bikini bottoms and I feel a deep throb down there.
“Is your wife inside the house?”
He shakes his head. Oh, thank God…
“Girlfriend?”
“Nope.”
This gorgeous single man might be my neighbor? Oh lordy, I won’t get any studying done.
“So, did you move here for work?”
He shakes his head. “I don’t have a job.”
I laugh. “So, how are you going to afford this place? Wait, are you only looking at the house so you can steal their cutlery or something? Because the house is empty.”
He laughs and it makes my heart start pounding on overdrive.
“I’m a tech entrepreneur. I just sold my company. Have you ever heard of Crinkle?”
“You made Crinkle?” I say with a gasp. I grab my phone and show him the app that’s already installed. “All of my volleyball friends use it. We chat with each other on it.”
“You play volleyball?”
I nod. “I got a partial scholarship.”
“Stand up,” he commands. “I want to see how tall you are.”
My body obeys, standing up as he looks me up and down. I can feel my nipples hardening to the point of tingling as his eyes roam over my breasts.
“You’re tall,” he says as I stand in front of him. I’m almost as tall as him, but he seems to like it. “You’re so beautiful.”
“Wait until you see me jogging around the neighborhood in my tight little volleyball shorts.”
He groans like I just grabbed his dick.
I’m not normally flirty like this, but I can’t help it with Vance. If he’s on the fence about buying this house, maybe the image of me in my little shorts will be enough to push him over the edge.
He takes a step toward me, close enough that I can smell his intoxicating cologne. He smells like sex and money.
“You don’t look like a tech guy,” I blurt out. I always think of tech guys as skinny nerdy types, not tall muscular men who can melt a woman with one look.
He shrugs those massive shoulders. “I’m good at organizing people and getting them to do what I want.”
I bite my bottom lip with a grin. “Do you think you’ll be good at getting me to do what you want?”