Love Shack (Tiny Houses, Big Hearts) (8 page)

“Wow.” Felicity cleared her throat. “Be grateful I have dormers on this unit. If I let the roof pitch, you would have to crawl into bed.”

He rocked the back of his head against the roof to look around the space. He might be frowning, but she loved her loft. It was spacious by tiny house standards. She had a bedside table that she’d made from a wooden magazine holder. It held her Kindle, a small lamp, and had an outlet below.

She pulled out her Kindle. Pointing to the cut out at the back of the makeshift shelf, she showed him the USB charge port on the wall. “You can plug in there.”

He was still looking around. So rather than stand awkwardly, she sat awkwardly on her bed.

“I am assuming you don’t get dressed up here.”

She shook her head and patted a spot on the bed a good way away from her. Another luxury she allowed herself was a queen sized bed in this space. She was a sprawler, and giving it up to someone who didn’t appreciate it was going to make sleeping on the couch sting even more. But as he did a little dog-like spin to sit down, she realized there was nowhere else he’d fit.

“I usually just get dressed by the stairs. I keep my clothes in the cubbies under there, but I’ll get dressed in the bathroom since you’re staying with me.” She assured him when he looked horrified at the thought of her getting naked.

“Okay. I’ll get dressed in the closet you call a bathroom too, but it’s pretty obvious there is no third floor on this place, so there’s no second bedroom. Where are you going to sleep?”

“I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“You mean the bench with a few pillows on it?”

Felicity was going to make her headache worse if she rolled her eyes any more tonight, so she just let it go and nodded.

“That’s ridiculous. I’m not going to throw you out of your bedroom and make you sleep on padded plywood for a month.”

“It’s oak, actually.”

“Whatever the lumber is, I’m assuming it’s not as comfortable as the memory foam we’re sitting on.”

“The only other option is the floor.”

He craned his neck around her to look down at the lower space of the house. She could smell a bit of the butter sauce as he huffed out his breath, and just a hint of the wine. She was hungry again.

“We’re both adults. As long as you don’t sleep in the nude, I see no reason we can’t share a queen sized bed. You don’t sleep in the nude, do you?”

“No.”

“Then it’s settled.”

Leaning back under the pitch of the roof, Brandon pulled his large phone out of his pocket and held up her mini USB cable. “Mind if I use this?”

“Go for it. My Kindle is charged, and my phone is downstairs.”

“You don’t keep your phone by your bed?”

“No. I have my alarm on it. It’s too easy to hit snooze when it’s on the same floor as I am.” She flipped open her Kindle and turned on the Wi-Fi.

A banner at the top said three items were downloading. She’d borrowed a couple of cookbooks from the local digital library that she’d forgotten about. Watching the bar progress, she walked to the living area.

“Isn’t it illegal to not have a railing?”

Felicity watched as the strong confident banker crab walked down the steps.

“In a loft situation, I don’t even have to have stairs. I just prefer the permanence of this fixture and I like the extra storage underneath.”

He looked at the loft. “How would you get up if you didn’t have stairs?”

“A ladder.”

“This is a glorified tree house. Just on the ground.”

Felicity dug to the back of her drawers and was grateful she hadn’t tossed her pajama pants. She didn’t sleep naked, but she did spend most nights in a thin tank top and underwear. She was going to have to keep the air conditioning on and layer up a bit more tonight.

“While you get your game set up in my fort, I’m going to get ready for bed.”

He looked at his watch. “Already?”

“Deborah is going to be waiting at the station in the morning again, remember? And I want a full eight hours and at least two cups of coffee before I go in front of a television crew in the bright morning sun. Especially after half a bottle of wine.”

Brandon opened up his suitcases and eyed her clothes storage for a minute before hiking the luggage up the stairs. When she made it out of the bathroom, he was spinning circles with two suits in his hand.

“I’ve got a small hanging space next to the broom closet.” Felicity pressed a panel under the stairs and the door clicked open. There was plenty of space for his suits. Aside from one fancy dress and one suit, she didn’t do the pressed and polished thing. She still kept the space for hanging in case she traveled somewhere she’d need a heavy coat or winter gear.

Brandon hung his items, and grabbed hers. “This is yours?”

The bright blue shimmer of the sequin and lace sheath dress laughed at her. She couldn’t put it back fast enough. “We all need cocktail attire.”

“That was a Versace.”

“Yes.”

“Someone secretly appreciates the finer things.” He sang his words in a tease.

Felicity shoved the dress to the back of the closet where it belonged. She grabbed her wetsuit that always fell to the floor and rehung it to cover the Versace sparkle.

Brandon watched her crush the fragile material with a look of horror. She could hear some of the sequins crunching under her rough touch.

“Someone also knows when the finer things should move aside for practicality and items that actually mean something.”

She grabbed a brush and went upstairs to take out her stress on her locks for a bit.

Brushing out curls was always an interesting adventure. So after she had expanded the diameter of her head to roughly the circumference of a Christmas tree, Felicity parted her hair and did two simple braids. She was finishing up wrapping the last hair tie when she heard Brandon curse as he stubbed his toe.

The rise of the steps was a bit more severe to allow extra drawer space. It took a bit of getting used to.

Then he came up the steps shirtless. That would also take some getting used to.

His pants had the same blue and white stripe hers did, just in thicker lines. She found herself a bit too fascinated by the way the button in front gaped as he bent over, and her hands slipped wrapping up the hair-tie.

The fabric band sailed across the room and smacked into Brandon’s shoulder.

Felicity hurried to grab it. There was already a little bit of a red mark on his skin. She put a hand over the mark. His shoulder flexed under her hand.

“I’m so sorry.”

He reached down and grabbed the band off the floor and handed it to her. He was already bent from the shallow ceiling height, so it took him very little effort to reach her launched weapon of hair taming.

“Don’t worry about it. Took away a bit of the sting from my toe.” He moved toward the side of the bed that Felicity usually slept on, but now it was where his phone was.

She watched as he got on his hands and knees and moved over to the far side of the mattress. He looked like a powerful cat on the prowl. His shoulders bunched and rippled, and she was trying really hard not to look at his ass, but it was right in front of her face, and was really rounded and perfect.

Felicity’s body seemed to realize before she did that it had been a while since she’d had a man in her bed. And it was the first time ever she’d had a man in
this
bed. Then she realized what was under the cubby on that side. Hopefully her guest wasn’t a snooper. Or at least, she hoped he wouldn’t figure out there was a latch under that side of the mattress.

A girl needs some secrets.

Chapter Fourteen

For someone so tiny, her hands were extremely warm. Brandon could still feel the imprint of her palm on his shoulder.

It was a good thing sports were on. Crazy shack lady, or not, she was adorable in her little braids and pajama pants.

Brandon wasn’t a lonely man by any means. He preferred to have his space, even when he was in a relationship. He chuckled to himself when he realized it was a good thing he’d broken it off with Rebecca months earlier. Explaining this situation to a girlfriend would not have gone over well.

“What’s so funny?”

Felicity’s voice was a bit higher pitched than normal. She was a nutjob for living here, but she was still a woman, and he was probably doing something to offend her. He seemed to have a knack for it whenever he got close enough to the opposite sex.

“I was just thinking that it was a good thing I’m not dating anyone.” Realizing how that sounded, Brandon coughed. “I mean…I’m sleeping in your bed. I mean…we’re pretty close to each other in here.”

That didn’t sound any better.

Luckily, she wasn’t offended. “Oh. That’s good.”

“That I’m not in a relationship?”

Her eyes widened. “I’m not coming onto you. I swear. I was just nervous that you’d found…” If possible, her eyelids stretched even wider and he could see the whites of her eyes glowing at him in the dim light.

“What did you think I found, Felicity?”

This whole day had been awkward as hell for him, and he’d felt like he was running around in the wrong direction of sanity since he’d gotten here. For the first time since he’d met this woman, it seemed like he might have an advantage. He hoped it was embarrassing, because he’d forgotten his night shirts, and unless he wanted to wear a polo to bed, he was showing her his nipples every night.

“Nothing. Forget I said anything.” She picked up her e-reader and pretended to read, while she looked at him sideways over the purple leather cover.

“So if I were to reach over this way…” Brandon just stuck his hand out to the left to see what kind of reaction he got.

He got a very interesting one.

“You
did
find my stuff. Look. I’m not embarrassed. It’s very healthy to have a sexual appetite, and we should all have the freedom in our own house…”

Brandon’s smile tipped her off that he had been fishing and she pressed her lips together to keep any more words from coming out.

His mind conjured all kinds of crazy things she could have hidden. “I never said I found anything, but I am sure going to look now.”

He turned his body and began to feel along the floor, but he didn’t get to even reach past the little makeshift end table when he was rocked onto his back and mounted like a horse. Occupied with his treasure hunt, Brandon was caught off guard when she lunged for him. He’d fallen on his back, but he wasn’t sure why he let her hold his hands over his head while she sat on his stomach. He was too stunned to move once she got him there.

Her breasts grazed his chest, her core pressed against his flexing abs, and she was panting lightly just inches from his own lips.

“This is awkward,” she said.

Brandon nodded, but he had to admit to himself—it sure didn’t feel awkward to his body. His skin began to heat beneath her touch, and his heart pounded enough blood south of the border to keep him rendered speechless.

Neither one of them knew what to say, so they both muttered, “Good night” as she dismounted, and Brandon was grateful sleep claimed him early.

* * * * *

Light poured into the small space, and Brandon’s eyes blinked against the sunrise.

Felicity didn’t seem as affected by the brightness. She rolled over and stretched. She pushed the covers off herself, but Brandon pulled them tight. He was used to waking up with a bit of a problem in the mornings, but this was bordering on blue balls.

“I’m going to get a quick shower, and then I’ll show you how to use the Chemex to get some caffeine.”

She left the bedroom area and Brandon exhaled. His hand automatically went to his crotch to adjust, but he moved it away quickly. His penis was not behaving like the good guest he’d promised to be when he’d suggested sleeping in the same bed. The floor might not be a bad idea after he’d throbbed with every cute noise she’d made before he passed out. He could sleep on the floor for a month.

He heard the shower kick on, and knew he had a couple minutes. He rolled over and clicked on his tablet to get the news. There was probably some kind of horrible event going on, but nope. What smiled back at him from the front page of the news website was the woman he was trying to wrap his head around without straining his erection.

The picture included him as well, but he was sweating like a sinner in church. It wasn’t a flattering shot. The cameraman had caught him eyeing the house. Brandon needed a better poker face.

This was why he never gambled. It was a pointless endeavor with him being so easy to read. The stock ticker began to ding with the pre-opening reports he had set to come in for his investments. But he couldn’t even concentrate on them as he heard Felicity start singing.

Brandon needed to get his hormones under control if he was going to stay with this woman. A box of tissues was on the magazine rack next to her side of the bed. Brandon listened to the shower for a few seconds. He heard some noises, but it was all very obvious she’d be busy in the shower for a bit. He needed to release this tension, and he didn’t know when he’d have any alone time again. Brandon pushed the covers off and his cock pitched a painfully large tent against his pajama bottoms.