“I know.”
She rolled her eyes as he pushed the door open and let her walk in first. The first thing she noticed was the vaulted ceilings. The place was fucking huge. They were in a kitchen that was massive, modern, and sparkling clean. It had a rustic feel just like the outside had, but it also felt as though a television chef like Gordon Ramsay would feel completely at home working in it. There was a huge island in the center surrounded by tall cabinets hovering over a sink, stove, and refrigerator. Next to where they stood was a huge stone fireplace that Kory found quaint. She’d never seen a fireplace in a kitchen, and she wondered if he ever used it.
“You okay if I give you the tour later?”
“Yeah, sure.” She hadn’t expected a tour, but she wouldn’t turn one down. The kitchen alone was half the size of the three-bedroom apartment she shared with her girlfriends. She looked forward to seeing the remainder.
She heard a click-click-click sound on the tile before she saw the dog running around the island toward Stone. It was a toy collie and it yapped as it bounded toward them. Stone squatted down. “Kory, this is Lady.”
“Aw. She’s cute.” She bent over too and held out her hand so the dog could sniff it. She seemed wary of Kory. Maybe she sensed that Kory wasn’t much of a dog person, but a cute dog like this, she could get used to.
“Don’t worry. I don’t need to let her out. She has a dog door downstairs so she can come and go as she pleases. But it leads into a fenced yard. There are too many things out here that could hurt her if she wandered around all the time. I take her for plenty of walks, but when I’m not home, I prefer her close and safe.”
“Makes sense.” The dog licked Kory’s hand, and then Kory knew she was at least halfway accepted. She patted the dog on the head.
“One sec,” Stone said and walked to a long tall cabinet next to the stainless steel fridge and pulled out a small bag. He opened the seal and, based on Lady’s reaction of excitement, dashing toward Stone and sitting faithfully at his feet, Kory figured out he had a doggy treat of some kind he was offering her.
He didn’t give it to her, though. He said, “Come on, girl,” and walked out of the room. Kory had heard music playing in the other room, but she heard it shut off and then heard a television changing channels. “Why don’t you watch this for now? I promise I’ll spend more time with you later.”
Oh. That was so cute. He was worried about making his poor dog lonely, and Kory almost felt guilty that she was going to be stealing him away from her for a while.
He walked back in the kitchen. “And you. God, I don’t know that I’ll be able to control myself enough to not scare the shit out of you. But I’m gonna try.”
Kory knew he was just exaggerating…but why did her throat constrict anyway?
Chapter Ten
KORY RAN HER fingers through her hair, staring at Stone’s ceiling, trying to relax but feeling the fear—utterly irrational—burgeon in her chest. She was trying to calm herself to no avail.
It wasn’t that Stone wasn’t the ideal lover. After all, she’d already established that she was attracted to the guy on so many levels, it wasn’t even funny. And he was obviously the kind of guy who could take good care of himself. As he’d led her from the kitchen to his bedroom, Kory had to fight to keep her mouth closed. He’d kissed her hard before leaving the kitchen, taking her by the hand out of the room. The doorway near the other side, on the wall next to the refrigerator, led into a large living room, and here the vaulted ceilings were even more impressive. There was a wall toward the right that was open at the top, and Kory could see flashing colors from what she assumed was a TV and probably where Lady was. A family room, maybe? The living room had warm furniture and another fireplace. Stone was leading her toward the stairwell, though, and it led up and down from where they were. She was again struck by the enormity of the place and left wondering just how much money this place cost.
Up the stairs and they were in a huge bedroom. There was just one door up there, and that was likely to a bathroom. The ceiling here wasn’t high like it had been downstairs, but it was a huge room. There was a large window on one side of the room that she noticed even before he switched the light on. When he did, she was amazed. It was a beautiful, warm room in earthy tones. It felt like a cabin inside, but she could imagine Stone there. She was impressed that the bed was made, because hers hadn’t been when she’d left her apartment. In spite of the heat, his bed was covered with a large white comforter, and she knew why. His house was chilled to at least seventy degrees, if not less, so he might use it while he was sleeping. He wrapped a hand around her waist while grabbing a remote control off the dresser and pressing a button. Kory noticed that small beige blinds began rolling down the window, covering it and affording them a little privacy.