Page 7 of Unveiled

Chapter Four

“Fine, so I’ve never worked as a housekeeper before. That doesn’t mean I didn’t decide to try my hand at it to make a paycheck.” Her nerves gave her away, even if nothing else did. Her eyes darted around his face, never settling on his eyes, while she spoke deceptively. As soon as the words were out, she leveled him with a challenging stare. Yep, total bullshit.

The refreshing part in all that was she wasn’t deceptive by nature. Julia, if that was even her name, didn’t like lying. It was obvious in everything about her as she told an untruth. That was the reason she was still there. That, and she was definitely in trouble. He’d have to call Mark and see what he knew.

The only thing holding him back was Charlie. If Mark knew he was there, so would Charlie, and she would whisk Julia away to their place. No, Rush was on his own until Julia could trust him to handle whatever threat she was facing.

His protective instinct toward this woman rankled him. The last thing he needed was to play white knight to a beautiful woman staying just down the hall. But maybe it was just that. She was a guest in his home, so she was his to protect.

“Okay, let’s go with this as a spontaneous career change for now. Do you want to talk about the elephant in the room? Or rather, the wedding dress on the floor in my bedroom?”

Rush watched as her eyes shifted from her plate to the direction of the room the dress still resided in, and back to her plate. He saw them start to glisten with unshed tears. He’d pushed too hard too soon.

Standing stiffly, she grabbed both plates and took them to the sink. Before she spoke, he could tell from the set of her spine he would get nothing. “I think it’s best if I just call Mark and get out of your house. I appreci—”

Rush stood. “No, stay. I do need the help to get my house in order and you’re already here. I get that you don’t trust me, hell, I don’t trust me half the damn time.” Joking is not the way to go about this. For some reason, she made him nervous.

“What I mean to say is, you stay, under whatever agreement you have with Mark.” He knew he was about to mess up in three, two, one. “Unless you want to stay under a new agreement with me?” He meant it innocently enough. It was an offer to help, but the hurt and insecurity that lived inside him phrased it as a proposition to keep her at arms-length, while also allowing him his own armor of anger when she misunderstood. And she would.

She turned fiercely, her dark hair whipping around like a sexy avenging angel. Asking her to stay suddenly seemed like a bad idea for him on a personal level. Rush couldn’t explain it. The last thing he needed was to get to know a woman. Because when he got to know them, they got to know him, and he’d already decided he wouldn’t allow that again.

But damn it. Looking into those scared, hazel eyes, which up this close had amber striations and a ring of gold, he wanted to slay her dragons.

I just need to keep it strictly business. Housekeeper and dragon slayer. A smile took over his face at the thought until she shoved him out of the way.

“What?” Stupid question, he knew exactly what. It was what he expected, wanted, but it still bothered him.

“You are such an ass. Do you even know how to be a decent human, a gentleman? Or hell, I’d be happy with even slightly less than a total sketch ball!”

Now he did feel like an ass. Instead of looking her in the eye, apologizing, and offering help the correct way, he found himself staring at her chest. She’d worked herself up and her breasts rose with every angry breath she took.

“Oh my God. You can’t even stop for a second.” She crossed her arms, blocking his view. Damn it. I’m batting a thousand. He’d wanted her to think him an asshole so he could protect himself, but he needed her to think him slightly less of one to be able to protect her. It stung a bit that she was so readily convinced.

“Look, Julia. Can we please just start over? I swear, I’m not the guy you think I am. I. . .If you want to call Mark and leave, I understand. I mean. . .Shit. You clearly need help, Mark offered it, and I’m being an ass about it. I’ll be a gentleman if you decide to stay, I promise. I’m sure he’s already working on getting you out of whatever jam you’re in. Believe it or not, I want to help, too, but you need to trust us for that to happen. And well, I am not doing so great at achieving that goal, am I?”

It was a rhetorical question, but she shook her head emphatically. Rush hated himself, but it was also a relief. She wouldn’t be a threat to his heart in any way after all of that. Now she could stay, they could help, and he wouldn’t end up in any kind of relationship that could destroy what little soul he may have left.

Shit. . .was he emotionally inaccessible? He’d literally just proven that to himself. By being such an ass, he’d destroyed any possibility just in case the beautiful woman in his house may pose a threat in the future. But as he was getting what he thought he wanted, he didn’t like it and started back peddling.

Damn, he was fucked up. Even more so when he realized that wasn’t exclusive to this time. That was his norm. Be a total ass, apologize enough to achieve whatever he needed, from sex to information, then walk away knowing there was no way a woman could fall in love with that. And in the off chance she did, he’d play it like, hey, you knew who I was going in.

“I propose we start completely over. I’ve never met you and you’ve never met me. We can get to know each other the right way, strictly to build a rapport, become friends. Ones who can share information. No funny business. Deal?”

When she didn’t respond, he retracted his extended hand and offered his pinky instead. She hesitantly hooked her pinkie with his. It humbled him a little and an unexpected sense of loss rolled through him. He wouldn’t have minded a little funny business, especially since she obviously wasn’t emotionally available. It would’ve been an ideal arrangement for someone like him.

“I’d like that.”

“Now that we’re on the right track, how about you fill me in on the wedding wear?” Rush cursed himself as he watched her shut back down.

Julia’s eyes displayed every emotion she was feeling. A ghost of a smile fluttered across his lips. She wasn’t capable of deception. Sure, her mouth could lie like anyone’s could, but those eyes would give her away every time.

“Okay, you can keep that secret.” For now, was implied. Her relief was immediate and again shown in her captivating eyes. It was obvious there was at least a jilted groom somewhere. One that would likely be looking for her at some point. Rush already felt protective, which he refused to analyze. Instead, he chalked it up to her being in his home and under Mark’s protection.

“How about you bring me as up to speed as Mark at least? That way, we can work on solving whatever needs to be solved.”

Secrets were heavy, and Julia’s were no different. She dropped down to the sofa and sighed. How she’d deceived anyone long enough to get away was beyond him, but he planned to win her trust and find out. He’d make that bastard pay for whatever it was he did. Then he’d get his house back and move on with the half-life he had planned.

“I’m sorry Mark volunteered your house, but he and Charlie saved me. I was wandering around dressed in, well, anyway. I had no ID, money, or even normal shoes. They offered up your place, Charlie gave me clothes, and they brought me here.”

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