She got out of bed and found the pants at the foot of the bed in a pile of clothing. She found her phone and set an alarm, and then she placed the phone on the nightstand on the side of the bed she’d been resting on. Lady raised her head and looked at her but didn’t get up. Kory couldn’t help but smile. She was a sweet dog. Kory could sense that.
She decided to get a drink of water before heading back to bed. Not wanting to be naked, she rifled through the clothing at the foot of the bed once more and picked up Stone’s t-shirt first. She held it to her face, breathing in his smell. Just the scent of his skin against the fabric comforted her somehow, so she slipped the shirt on. It was silly, she knew, but she didn’t want to traipse around his house naked. She didn’t know how close any neighbors were or if the curtains on the windows downstairs were wide open. She only knew they’d come up here without turning off any lights, and she didn’t want to be seen in the nude.
She walked toward the stairwell and made her way down the carpeted treads. Just as she’d remembered, there were still lights on. When she got to the second level, the one where they’d entered the house, she looked around. She was again in what she thought was a living room. She glanced around the cavernous space and concluded that it definitely was. A huge glass window that scaled the space from floor to majestic ceiling peered out over forest, and the window extended into what she thought was the family room area that was separated by a wall that didn’t quite touch the ceiling. There was an entryway against the wall of the kitchen. Near that exit was another door that led to who knew what, but as she walked toward the kitchen, the one place where bright lights poured out of, she peeked in the doorway. There was a hall with a few doors. One of them was open and looked like a bathroom, but she wasn’t about to go snooping…yet.
When she got in the kitchen, she searched in a couple of cabinets until she found the glasses. Then she poured water through the faucet and filled her glass, guzzling the water down. She noticed that it was cooler than the water in town, which was always warmer and gross in the summer months, but the water here tasted better. It wasn’t until she set the glass next to the sink and turned around that she noticed the fridge had a space in the door for both ice and water.
She walked over to the other end of the kitchen where she and Stone had first entered, where the large table hulked next to the fireplace, and peeked inside what she’d thought was a family room. Sure enough, there was a large couch and other furniture, as well as a huge widescreen TV and lots more electronic equipment. She walked over and shut the television off, but she noticed that the entryway carved into the wall that didn’t quite touch the ceiling beside the couch was in fact a doorway to the living room, just like she’s suspected when she’d been on the other side.
What continued to stick in her mind was the fact that this guy was fucking loaded, and she never would have guessed it. He didn’t act that way—the way he dressed, the way he talked, the way he carried himself never once suggested that he had a lot of money. She was beginning to wonder if she should become a tattoo artist. The biggest problem was that she couldn’t draw to save her life. But if his talents had afforded him all this? It was something she should perhaps consider looking into. Maybe she could take an art class or two at the college and see if maybe any talent could be drawn out of her.
Meanwhile, she wanted to climb back into bed next to him, bask in his warmth. He was a lot more tender than she’d expected. A guy covered in tattoos could easily be a cold, spiny asshole, but he’d been sweet and caring. Kory was probably the jerk in the relationship. She walked back through the kitchen and saw that there was a light switch at both ends of the room, so she waited until she got to the other side. She paused, not wanting to walk through the house if it was completely dark, so she tiptoed into the living room and turned on a lamp. Then she moved back to the kitchen doorway and turned the light off. As she turned around and began walking to the lamp to shut it off, she paused at the stairway. Maybe she’d peek downstairs a little before heading back up. She looked down and saw a light switch on the wall a few steps down and placed a foot on the first tread, deciding just to peek.
But then bright light flooded the area above her and she turned around. Stone stood at the top of the stairs in his bedroom looking down. “What’s up?” he asked.
Oh, poor thing. He looked so sleepy. “I just got up for a glass of water and…” Might as well be honest. “Just wondered how big your house is.”