Page 4 of His to Love
We are pleased that you got the job and happy to have you staying with us. Please make yourself at home, there are drinks in the fridge and feel free to eat anything you want. We’re not hard to get along with. Just clean up after yourself and things will be fine.
See you around six,
Deacon and Mrs. Soliz
“So, you got the job then?” a man’s voice echoed around me.
Jumping, I gasped, “What?”
Hands shoved into the pockets of his blue jeans, a tall, muscular guy about my age came around the corner. Golden eyes shone brightly as he looked me up and down.
My body went hot as embarrassment filled me. But he seemed to be unaware of my discomfort. “Alejandra, right?” My name rolled off his tongue in a deep, slightly accented purr.
Remembering my manners, I extended my hand. “I am Alejandra De Le Cruz. And, yes, I got the job.”
He took my hand but didn’t shake it. Instead he turned it over and kissed the top of it as he tugged me closer to him. “I am Alejandro Soliz. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Alejandra.”
“People call me Alexa.” I pulled my hand out of his as I felt my palm begin to sweat.
“MayIcall you Alejandra? It’s such a beautiful name, after all.” He smiled charmingly as he took a step back. “Allow me to show you around your new home.”
I wasn’t sure how to take the young man who wasn’t supposed to be home. At least, that’s what my father had said. “Aren’t you going to college at UCLA?”
“I am.” He turned, stopping to wait for me to come up next to him. “I’ve come home for a brief visit. My father’s birthday was the day before yesterday, and I came home for the week to be with him.”
“How considerate of you.” He seemed nice. “You must be very close with your family.” Keeping close with family was important to me.
“I am very close to them. I’m their only child, you know.” His hand moved to rest on the small of my back and goosebumps pimpled my flesh. “Let me show you to your bedroom so you can put the luggage away.”
“Your home is much larger than I thought it would be.” I felt lucky he was there to show me around. “I don’t think I would’ve been able to figure out which room is mine if no one was here to tell me.”
“Happy to be of service to you, Alejandra.” Steering me down a long hallway, he stopped at the last door on the left. “This is my room.” He then turned me to the right. “And yours is here, right across the hall.”
Something about that made my stomach tighten and I felt as if I were about to break out in a sweat. There were four other doors along the passage, but our rooms were at the very end. It felt a little far away from the main areas of the house to me.
Reaching across my body, he opened the door and moved me inside the large bedroom. Elegantly furnished, the room had two doors, one on the right side and one on the left. “And those doors go where?”
Pointing at the one on the right, he said, “That is your private bathroom and the other one is your walk-in closet.” He gestured to the queen-sized bed. “And that is your bed. Would you like to test it out?”
I had no idea what he meant by that, but I wasn’t about to go lie down on it in front of him. “That’s okay, I trust it’s comfortable. This is a lovely home.”
He nodded as he took my luggage out of my hand, grazing his fingers along my fingers as he did so. “And large.” Rolling my bag toward the closet, he opened the door then put it inside. “Come, I’ll show you the rest of the house. My parents’ bedroom is all the way across the house.” He came back to me as I stood frozen in place.
I had no idea why his words evoked such a reaction in me, but I felt odd. There was a sense of danger mixed with curiosity, and a fair amount of anticipation laced with anxiety swirling inside of me. “So, it’s just me and you way down this hallway then?”
“Just the two of us.” His hand slid across my side then settled on the small of my back again. “Come.”
My feet moved but my mind was telling me to stay put, to lock him out of the bedroom and wait for his parents to come home before daring to come out. But there I went anyway.
I didn’t want to come off as some shy virgin. That’s exactly what I was, but I didn’t want him to know that.
I’d never been completely alone with a man in my life—certainly not one my own age. I didn’t know how to act. And for some reason, I had this feeling that this man wanted to have sex with me.
I knew that was preposterous since we were complete strangers, but the feeling just kept building as he continued moving me through the house, talking with his romantic Spanish accent. “The kitchen.” He stopped to open the stainless steel refrigerator. “Care for a drink? A glass of wine?”
“I really shouldn’t.” I’d been allowed a glass of wine only on special occasions. Drinking alcohol with a man present—one who seemed to be highly attracted to me—seemed like a bad idea.
I’d never had anyone be attracted to me. This entire experience was foreign to me. It was a little scary, but also sort of exciting.
