The guesthouse on the Bishops’ property was functional, surprisingly spacious inside, and decorated in a cream-and-pale-blue theme. Located a good hundred yards away from the main house and on the other side of the pool in the backyard, it was far enough away to give him and Peyton privacy, yet close enough to walk over in the morning for breakfast.
There was a cozy, comfortable-looking couch and TV in the living room, and an adjoining dinette area with a refrigerator, stove, and other basic kitchen appliances for them to use. Leo followed Peyton into the one and only bedroom that was furnished with a queen-sized bed, two nightstands, and a dresser with a mirror attached, and another open door led to a bathroom with dual sinks and a walk-in shower that was big enough for two . . . and it wasn’t hard to envision him and Peyton scrubbing each other’s backs or doing other more erotic things inside that stall.
“You can go ahead and put your stuff here in the bedroom with mine,” Peyton said as she reorganized the few items she had in the closet to give him hanging space in case he needed it.
“Thanks,” he said, and it didn’t take him long to unpack his things. He put his clothes in the right-hand dresser drawers, since she’d taken the left side, and his toiletry bag went into one of the empty drawers in the bathroom.
When he walked back into the bedroom, she was retrieving a few items from her side of the dresser. “I’m going to wash my face and change into my pajamas,” she said, turning toward him. “If you’re hungry or thirsty, help yourself to anything you want in the refrigerator or cupboards. My mom went grocery shopping and stocked them with my favorite drinks and snacks, but I’m more than happy to share,” she said with a grin.
She disappeared into the bathroom and he went out to the kitchen to learn what Peyton’s preferred snacks were. There were various cups of yogurt, cheese sticks, a half gallon of milk, and strawberry jelly in the refrigerator, and a few pints of Ben & Jerry’s Peanut Butter World ice cream in the freezer. He opened the cupboard above the counter and grinned to himself as he inventoried the contents: a loaf of white bread, peanut butter, a package of Nutter Butter cookies, and a box of Cap’n Crunch peanut butter cereal. There was also a bag of Cheetos to offset all the sweeter treats.
“See anything that looks good to snack on?” Peyton asked from behind him.
He turned around and his first thought was, fuck yeah, I see something that looks good to snack on. Every inch of her. She’d changed into what she’d deemed her pajamas, which was a soft cotton tank top, sans bra—because he could see the dusty rose hue of her areolas through the thin material, and her nipples had peaked at his slow, deliberate perusal—and a pair of loose-fitting drawstring shorts.
She was petite in height, but she had great-looking legs . . . thighs that appeared smooth and soft and toned calves that had him envisioning the fantasy of picking her up so she could lock her ankles at the small of his back while he bounced her on his cock and snacked on her pert breasts. Even better if they were smeared with the strawberry jelly that was in the refrigerator . . .
He caught the amused quirk to her lips when he lifted his gaze back up to her face, which was now pink and makeup free, which made her look even younger than she was—and even cuter and more adorable than normal.
“I meant what’s in the cupboard,” she said, calling him out on the hungry way he’d just been devouring her.
“Possibly,” he replied, watching as she walked the rest of the way into the kitchen until she was standing a few feet away. The temptation to touch her was strong, but he knew if he so much as caressed his fingers along her arm, it wouldn’t stop there, so he kept his hands to himself.
“I’m sensing a peanut butter theme here,” he said, nodding toward the cupboard. “Except for the Cheetos. Those should be in the ‘which one of these things doesn’t belong’ category.”
She laughed, the soft, husky sound testing Leo’s restraint not to touch her even more. “True. I don’t want to be too predictable.”
He was coming to learn that nothing about Peyton Bishop was predictable at all, and that was just another thing he really liked about her. She said and did the unexpected, no filter or pretense. What you saw with Peyton was exactly what you got, and it was a refreshing change from other women he’d come across since Amanda.
She finally moved away from him and opened the refrigerator, bending to retrieve a chilled bottle of water while giving him a glimpse of the perfect, heart-shaped curves of her ass. He barely managed to swallow a groan and wondered how he was going to survive a week in such close quarters with her.
Turning to face him, she twisted off the cap and took a long drink, clearly unaware of the turmoil she was putting him through. “By the way, I hate to ditch you tomorrow, but I have a bridal shower to go to with my mom for my cousin, the one who’s getting married next weekend. No boys allowed,” she added with a cheeky grin.
“That’s fine.” The last thing he wanted to do was go to a frilly bridal shower. “I’ll just pretend that I’m going out sight-seeing for the day and be back by dinnertime.”
“That works.” She tried to stifle a sleepy yawn but failed. “My body is still on New York time and three hours ahead, so I think I’m going to turn in for the night if you don’t mind.”
“You go ahead. I’ll probably pull out my laptop and get some work done,” he told her. “Is there an extra pillow and blanket I can use to sleep on the couch?”
She tipped her head slightly. “You’ll barely fit on the couch. When you get tired, you can crash in the bed next to me. There’re plenty of room and I really don’t steal the covers, if that’s your concern,” she teased.
He raised a brow. “You stealing the blankets is the last thing I’m worried about,” he said meaningfully.
She grinned, her eyes sparkling naughtily. “Well, in that case, I promise not to take advantage of you while you’re sleeping.”
He shook his head and laughed. “Go to sleep, Pixie.”
“Good night, Honey Bear.” She blew him a playful kiss before sashaying that tempting ass all the way to the bedroom and closing the door behind her.
Resisting the urge to say the hell with it and follow her, he instead grabbed his laptop, made himself comfortable on the couch, and booted up the computer. He spent the next few hours going through his emails, approving employee payroll, and addressing work-related items, until he knew for sure that Peyton was out for the night and he was finally tired enough to fall asleep in the same bed with her.
He rubbed at his bleary eyes and set his laptop on the small side table, then made sure the front door to the guesthouse was locked before turning off the living room lamp on his way to the bedroom. Once inside, he quietly used the bathroom, brushed his teeth, and stripped off his clothes and put on a pair of gym shorts to sleep in. He switched off the light so as not to wake Peyton and opened the door again.
Even in the dark, he could see her figure huddled beneath the covers on the right, so he carefully eased his body onto the mattress on the left side and breathed a sigh of relieve when she didn’t so much as stir.
I can do this, he told himself as he let his body completely relax. He could sleep in the same bed as Peyton and be a gentleman about it. And he managed to maintain that oath until he woke up in the morning to find that Peyton had drifted over to his side of the bed and made that promise nearly impossible to keep. Her backside was spooned against his chest, stomach, and thighs, and Jesus fuck, she was making the so
ftest, sexiest sounds in her sleep while rocking her ass against the stiff length of his erection tenting the material of his cotton shorts.