Clayton said, “I’ll be up in just a minute, Lydi.”
Chance released her, and she felt as if she was floating as she left the kitchen and went upstairs. She was in the bathroom, putting up her toiletries, when she heard a light tap on the door.
“Knock, knock.”
“I’m in here, Clayton,” she said, recognizing his voice. A moment later he peeked in, and she smiled at his handsome reflection in the mirror. She used to think they were impossible to tell apart, but gazing at him now she found that she could make out the difference. Besides being more serious, she could spot Clayton based on how he held his mouth. Chance could hardly keep a smile off his face, especially when he looked her way.
“Here are your towels. I brought you hand towels and washcloths, too.”
She sat on the edge of the big bathtub, and he pointed at it as he put the towels in the linen closet. “A nice, hot soak would probably feel good after all you’ve been through the last couple of days.”
Sighing in pleasure at the thought, she replied, “I might just do that.”
He hooked his thumbs in his jeans pockets, seeming to not know what to do with his hands and said, “I want you to feel comfortable here. Lydi. This is your home now. I know it must feel kind of strange right now, but…”
Following her instinct, Lydia went to him and put her arms around his waist. She couldn’t pinpoint the reason for his hesitancy but recognized that he wanted her to feel comfortable with him. She pressed her cheek against his chest and smiled as his steady heartbeat sped up.
Approaching the subject with honesty, she said, “I just hope you don’t regret me coming here.”
Clayton rubbed her shoulders and replied, “No matter what, Lydi, I’ll always look upon you coming here as a good thing.”
“I hope you’re right, Clayton. Thank you.”
When he’d kissed her earlier, the moment had been electric and intense. The embrace they shared now was for comfort, and she was reassured by his words.
Chapter Ten
Clayton did his best to tame the erection that was bulging at her proximity. She probably had no idea how much she affected him.
She was just as beautiful as he remembered her, maybe more so now that she was away from the draining stress of her job at the café. He’d questioned Chance’s mental capacity, when he’d told Clayton of his interest in the little beauty who worked at the little café in the middle of nowhere, until the day he’d met her himself. He could understand Chance’s attraction to her. She was beautiful, but more importantly she was genuine and kind. In short, she was nothing like the last woman he’d dated and he needed to remember it.
Seeing her clasped tightly in Chance’s arms earlier in the kitchen, had thrown him for a loop but not in a bad way. He’d actually wanted to join them but had held back in case she wasn’t ready for that yet. She didn’t need to earn his trust. He needed to earn hers.
Right now he had to keep his libido under control because she’d asked for time and a chance to get to know him better. He was determined to not rush her.
Reaching for a safe subject, he said, “Your help should get here at nine o’clock Wednesday morning.”
“Good. Today is Monday, so that will give me time to make a list of duties and get organized.”
“What time are you going to get started?”
“I’m an early riser. Probably about five.”
“Good. We can have a cup of coffee with you.”
She beamed at him and replied, “You make the coffee and I’ll make breakfast.” She sighed, and her breath tickled against his chest. His cock tingled and swelled at her soft, sexy sound.
He smooched her forehead and forced himself to step away. He knew if he kissed her again it would be impossible to leave her in there alone. The sweet, little thing had been here less than a day and already he was falling under her spell.
“I’ll leave you to it, Lydi. We’ll be downstairs if you need us. Pleasant dreams.”
Lydia’s eyebrows arched slightly at his retreat, but he needed to give her some space before her innocent allure changed his mind.
“Okay. Later,” she replied before turning on the tub faucet. Under the circumstances, it was the least he could do to give her the time she’d asked for. If she noticed the way his cock was hardening in reaction to her, she’d think he was a horndog.
He crossed paths with Chance as his brother was about to enter his bedroom and said, “Chance, remember you said we needed to talk if it looked like things might work out between me and Lydia? You got a few minutes?”
Chance grinned at him and flipped on his light switch. “Sure, come on in.”