Page 32 of Take A Number
“Whatever you say, boss.”
Our bedroom is on the main level at the end of a long hallway that leads out to a lit-up veranda with tons of outdoor seating. There are some caterers outside that appear to be setting up for the girls’ dinner. Dean opens the door around the corner and steps back to let me walk in first.
As soon as I see our room for the weekend, the butterflies erupt in my belly again. There’s a giant four-poster bed that looks like a slice of beige heaven. The carpet is lush and bouncy beneath my feet and when I turn, I mosey over to check out the attached bathroom.
My jaw drops when I see floor-to-ceiling windows right next to a lush soaker tub overlooking stunning mountains. Beside the tub is a shower that looks straight out of a billionaire’s magazine…if that is a thing. The tub is lovely with jets and the whole shebang, but the glass shower has double heads, back massagers, and a steamer.
Holy shit, I’m never going to want to leave this bathroom.
Out of nowhere, my mind does this weird segue into some sort of carnal cavewoman and the thoughts that echo in my head are horrifying:
Sex.
Shower sex.
Tub sex.
Dean naked.
Me naked with Dean.
Dean’s ass that looks really good in those jeans pressed up against the glass window for all those aspens to see.
Dean’s big, warm hands cupping my breasts as he presses me to—
“Norah.” Dean says my name and I jump, my hands flying to my chest as I try to stop my heart from lurching from my body. “Did you hear me?”
“No, what?” I stutter and struggle to breathe because the bathroom suddenly feels ten times smaller now that he’s in here with me.
“I said I’d take the couch.” He straightens his glasses and frowns at me like he’s debating if I need CPR.
“Oh…um…okay.” I dip my head and scurry out of the bathroom, taking in big gulps of air.
I spot my suitcase on the sofa beneath the large bay window and make my way over to it like a lifeline. If I can focus on my bag, Dean can’t see my red cheeks, and I’ll have time to stop thinking about sex or showers or naked bodies.
Damn him. Why did he have to bring up sex in the car? I was doing just fine until he opened his big, stupid, flirtatious mouth.
With shaky hands, I unzip my suitcase, and the second I peel open the flap, my entire body seizes in panic. I gasp and slam it closed as fast as humanly possible.
“What’s the matter?” Dean asks, his footsteps heavy as he rushes over to stand beside me. He stares at my suitcase that I’m white-knuckled and holding shut right now.
“Nothing!” I turn to sit on it.
Dean frowns at me, a laugh teasing the edges of his mouth. “Not nothing. What was in there? A mouse or something?”
I level him with a look. “A mouse, Dean? How the hell would a mouse get in my suitcase?”
He laughs. “I don’t know. You’re clearly freaked out about something in there, so just tell me what it is.”
I shake my head from side to side.
“Norah.”
“No.”
“Norah,” he says my name again and steps closer to me, wafting me with his freshly showered body and that deliciously seductive cologne. “I’m going to find out one way or another.”
“It’s none of your business,” I state woodenly and feel my cheeks heat.
