Page 19 of Trust

As Jakob led Lani through the entryway of the Wulf home, which led to the open living area and kitchen, his nerves almost got the better of him. One of the things he used to do when on auditions was talking too much. It was one of his nervous tells. Right now, he wanted to babble his head off.

Why was he so bloody nervous? This wasn’t the first time he’d romanced a woman. He didn’t have trouble getting attention from women. Money and power were aphrodisiacs to many people. Add in the fame from his career, and he knew it attracted a lot of women. But Lani was different. She had known him for a decade and could see through his BS. He didn’t even know what he planned by inviting her back to his house. He had just wanted to get her out of the situation that was causing her pain.

After they both slipped off their shoes, Lani followed him down the hallway.

“I’ve always loved this house.”

He knew she had been there a couple of times. But it was one of the older homes along the beach, so they had not built it. There was a good chance that Lani knew the previous owners. There wasn’t a lot of beachfront property for new homes onOahu. You either bought a well-established home or would have to buy one and tear it down to build another one.

“The view is peaceful. It’s one of the reasons I paid a fortune for my condo. If I was going to be in Honolulu with all the traffic and tourists, I wanted a view of the water.”

Her shoulders were no longer scrunched up, and she smiled softly. “That’s better.”

She glanced at him, then she looked back out the windows. “What is?”

“You no longer look stressed. You’ve been off since you picked me up at the airport today.”

Her smile dimmed a little, and he didn’t like that one bit.

“Maybe it’s just you.”

He snorted. “I would have agreed if you didn’t seem so at peace right now. I mean, youarewith me.”

Another glance, this one from the corner of her eye as her mouth curved. Oh, damn, the woman was going to kill him with those looks. “You did promise me cheesecake.”

He threw his head back and laughed. “That’s something I like about you, Lani. You know just how to put me in my place. “Do you want some coffee with your cheesecake?”

“Normally, I would say no, but since I have to stay up for a meeting tonight, it might be a good idea.”

He nodded and pulled out the French press and the electric kettle.

“Do you want me to help you?”

Her soft, lyrical voice jarred him for a second. He looked over to find her standing just to his right, less than two feet away. When had she gotten so close? Lani could be quiet. She was only about five-four in her bare feet. For a woman who could be so vibrant, she sure could sneak up on him. Damn, but the woman was pretty. She had always captured his attention, and every woman he had dated from the time he’d met Lanihad failed to live up to his attraction to her. The truth was, he hadn’t had a lot of genuine relationships. Most of them had been contractual. That was one thing the network had promised him. No expectations in his personal life. They would not get into his personal business if he didn’t do anything illegal or morally corrupt.

“Jakob?” Her brow furrowed. “Are you okay?”

Great. He had been staring at her like an idiot. “If you could get the plates down, I’ll grab the cheesecake.”

She nodded and offered him another smile. Turning, she moved to grab the plates, and he tried not to notice the way her dress tightened across that word-class ass of hers. He failed miserably, mainly because his unruly dick kept getting in the way. It made sense since most of his blood had emptied out and headed straight to his groin. Thankfully, he had turned away from her before she could notice that he had been ogling her.

Once they got their coffees and plated up the cheesecake, they moved to the lanai.

“I miss being this close to the water.”

He frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“I moved out of the house. I didn’t feel comfortable with Royal there.”

“I can imagine that. The woman leaves a lot to be desired.”

She said nothing to that. Instead, she forked up some of the cheesecake. The moan that vibrated out of her throat sent his pulse racing. That one little sound sunk down deep inside of him, and well, a chap could only be so controlled. There was a good chance his cock would be imprinted with his zipper.

“That is the best cheesecake in the world,” she said. She smiled at him, but it faded as he continued to stare at her. “What? Do I have something on my face?”

He shook his head as he continued to stare at her.

“What?”

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