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“That’s a hard one to miss in the present circumstances.”
I spluttered, then marched to the side of the bed and hopped to grab the towel dangling from the broken floorboard. The man on the bed gave a little grunt when it took me a few jumps to reach it, and by the time I wrapped the towel around myself to glare at him, his hands were cupping his groin and his jaw looked very tight.
“Good night, sir.” I stomped toward his bedroom door, intent on marching right out of there and back up to my apartment. Every stride made the towel rasp against my butt, sending little stinging pains shooting across my skin.
My footsteps faltered near the bedroom door, because I remembered that the key to my front door was hanging on the hook where it belonged, which was inside my apartment. Meaning I was locked out.
Movement behind me made me freeze. Fabric rustled, and I heard the slight squeak of the bed springs as he pushed himself off the mattress. The man stood and stalked to the closet to my left, and I stole a glance at the rear view of him. He had a great ass. Damn him. No disasters in sight, other than the gargantuan ego and evident lack of shame. I watched as he pulled out a pair of gray sweatpants and a white T-shirt, tugged the clothing on, and turned to face me.
His gaze slid over my towel-clad body, down my bare legs, all the way to the toes that were clenching and unclenching in the plush pile of his rug.
“You,” he said in a low voice, “are bleeding all over my floor.”
THREE
SEBASTIAN
I’d been in New Elwood, Virginia for two days, and didn’t think I’d find an ass as sweet as hers around here. Sure, it was in rare porcupine form, but enticing nonetheless.
As a single, wealthy real estate developer, women had done some pretty wild things to get my attention. But falling through my ceiling naked was a first.
Couldn’t say I was too surprised. Everything in this so-called building was falling apart. I couldn’t wait to get back to my downtown apartment in Arlington. The only reason I was living in this godforsaken dump was to fulfill the conditions of my grandmother’s will. All I had to do was endure this place for thirty days, and I’d get my full inheritance—a few key properties in this town. Grandma Lydia loved giving gifts with strings attached. Death apparently hadn’t cured her of the habit.
I’d spent the last year fighting with the executor of her estate to try to get that particular condition overturned, and all I’d managed to do was shovel thousands of dollars into my lawyers’ bank accounts. So I wasn’t too happy about being here in the first place.
But first things first. There was a naked woman in my bedroom whose butt splinters were causing her to bleed all over my floor.
She glanced at her feet, then gave me her back. I watched as she tried to open the towel enough to get a glimpse of her own ass over her shoulder. When that didn’t work, she moved to the mirror leaning against the wall to catch sight of her reflection.
From where I stood, the mirror revealed the extent of her injuries. I winced. That had to hurt. She was lucky her fall hadn’t been any worse. This place was a death trap. I’d be tearing this dump down as soon as I could, and no heritage preservation officer would stop me.
And once I did, I’d be one step nearer to closing the business deal of a lifetime and getting the hell out of this town.
The woman clenched her jaw and wrapped her towel around herself again, loosely enough that it draped down to her mid-back. “First, that pain-in-my-ass email. Now this?” she mumbled as a piece of auburn hair fell across her face.
“Just a pain-in-the-ass kind of day, huh.” I dropped my gaze to the offending area beneath her towel, arching a brow.
“Oh, very funny,” she snapped.
I found myself enjoying getting a reaction out of her. In business, I prided myself on my ability to get people off-balance so I could negotiate a killer deal. This was no different. Wondering if I could get her skin to flush red with outrage all the way down to the towel, I reached inside my opened suitcase on the floor and pulled out a grooming kit. Inside was a pair of tweezers. I held them up, tapping the ends together. “Allow me.”
Her eyes widened. “You have got to be kidding me.”
“Never been more serious.”
“I’m not letting you tend to my ass with those.” Her chin took on a stubborn little tilt that I found extremely gratifying.
“Did you have something else in mind?”
She tightened the towel around her bust with a small huff, causing the towel to tighten on her ass. Her wince was subtle, but I saw it. “Maybe I should call a doctor.”
I knew this town was known for preserving its history, but I doubted there were any MDs still willing to make house calls. Besides, my conscience was giving me a bit of a twinge. She was putting on a brave face, but I could tell she was in pain. No one could ever accuse me of being soft-hearted, but I wasn’t so bad that I’d let a bleeding woman walk out of my place without at least trying to help.
“I could take you to the emergency room, but do you really want to stand in the waiting room, blood streaking down the back of your thighs wearing nothing but a towel?” I glanced at my sweats. I could probably part with them, for a good cause. Grimacing, I dismissed the thought. Less than a day in this town and I was already doing good deeds for people. This place was bad for my health. “I’m not seeing many other options for you,” I pointed out, lifting the tweezers.
It was still a ridiculous offer. There were a thousand better options than letting me go at her rump with a pair of tweezers. A cab. An ambulance. Hell, even my Maserati, though I just had it detailed, and I’d complain about it the whole way to the hospital. And I absolutely would not wait with her until she got treated. A man had his limits.
But she stood there, bloody and furious, and I found myself entranced.
