Page 9 of Loving Her Enemy

“I know him well enough to know he’ll be up for anything I’m offering,” Bristol said, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. “So don’t wait up and do not hide out in this room all night. Ms. Mae is making your favorite—Gyoza. See you later.”

Halayna stood speechless as her friend floated out of the room. She hadn’t had Gyoza in almost a year, not since the last time she made it for herself. She could almost taste the pan-fried dumplings that were filled with ground pork and minced vegetables wrapped in a thin dough. The cook had already proven she was an incredible cook. So, Halayna couldn’t wait for dinner.

She looked at the luggage and the clothes haphazardly thrown in. Bristol was right. Halayna shouldn’t leave until her wrist healed because lugging around suitcases, without a car, was going to slow the process. She was also right that they all could co-exist in the huge home without getting in each other’s way.

More importantly, her friend was right in reminding her that she didn’t have any money. Staying at Sloane’s place was an incredible opportunity for her ease into the life she wanted to create for herself. One where she didn’t have to be dependent on anyone but herself.

Not only did she need to swallow her pride and thank Sloane for letting her stay in his home, but she also had to stick to her plan. Find a job. Find an apartment. Save up some money, then start her dream business.

She looked around the beautiful space again and smiled. Maybe staying won’t be so bad.

Chapter Five

Yanking a T-shirt over his head, Sloane entered the kitchen and flipped on the under-cabinet lights instead of the overhead lighting. That gave the space just enough illumination for him to fix a midnight snack.

He had always been a night owl, even more so with all the traveling he’d been doing lately. And after being overseas, it always took him awhile to get his internal clock back on schedule once he returned home.

He moved across the room to the enormous refrigerator that blended into the cabinets and began pulling out the makings for a pastrami sandwich. His housekeeper had a couple of days off, but she always left the fridge well stocked for him to fend for himself. Now that there were guests in the house, the refrigerator exploded with options.

He set everything on the double-wide center island, grabbed a plate and began slathering spicy mustard on both sides of the rye bread. His mind trailed back to the meeting tonight. He and Reece had been working in Sloane’s home office and had just gotten off a call with Watanebe.

That was one advantage to being a night owl. Overseas calls, with major time differences, didn’t bother him. As for Reece, after the meeting, he decided to stay the night in one of the guest rooms instead of returning to his condo. Knowing him, though, he was probably camped out in the theater room. Watching an action flick was his way of winding down.

Sloane wiped his hands on a dry towel and pulled his cell phone from the front pocket of his sweats. At first, he thought about turning on some music. Instead, he pulled up his audio-lingual app that he had downloaded. This was the perfect time for him to practice his Japanese. Though he spoke three languages fluently, Japanese wasn’t one of them. It wasn’t coming as easy as Spanish and French, but he knew enough to get by in short conversations. However, the meeting this evening made it clear he needed more practice.

As he put the finishing touches on his sandwich, Sloane listened and repeated a few common phrases in Japanese. He didn’t need to be fluent, but learning enough of the language might put him ahead of others who were looking to do business with Watanebe.

“Nihongo o hanasa reru nodesu ne?” someone asked from behind him, and Sloane swung around so quickly, he hit his knee against the corner of the center island.

Son of a…

Hot, searing pain shot through his leg, and he gritted his teeth while rubbing his knee. Damn that hurt, but when he lifted his head, all thoughts of aches and pains fled his mind. Only to be replaced with immediate lust. He almost swallowed his tongue at the sight before him.

Halayna.

He hadn’t seen her since yesterday at the pool, and she was standing wide-eyed at the entrance of the kitchen with her hand over her mouth. Clearly, she hadn’t meant to say anything. Let alone say it in Japanese—asking him if he spoke the language.

But that wasn’t what had Sloane’s tongue hanging out his mouth. No, it was her state of dress that had him speechless.

He couldn’t pull his attention away from her white cotton tank top that did nothing to hide her firm breasts and perky nipples straining against the thin fabric. If that wasn’t enough to make his dick leap to attention, the sight of the tiniest white shorts he had ever seen on anyone, stole his breath.

It was a good thing the counter was between them. Otherwise, the way his sweatpants were tented, she’d be scandalized and even more embarrassed than she currently was.

Sloane tried to look away, but he couldn’t. Her long hair was piled on top of her head in a messy bun with tendrils framing her gorgeous, sienna-brown face. Which was free of makeup, not that she needed any.

His gaze did another slow crawl down her body and lingered on her long, shapely legs. He had always been a leg man, and hers were incredible. And she might be skinnier than he remembered, but she still had curves in all the right places. With her limited clothing, he could easily make out her toned body.

Yeah, Halayna Tanaka still had it going on.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt,” she said in a rush as if she was interrupting an important meeting. “I wasn’t expecting anyone to be awake, and when I heard you speaking Japanese, I…” Her sultry voice trailed off, and she looked everywhere but at him.

That’s when she seemed to notice her state of dress and gasped. She folded her arms across her chest and shuffled from one sock-covered foot to the other. “Umm, I’d better go.”

“No. Wait!” Sloane hurried to say as she started backing out of the room.

He willed his body under control because, if he let her go, there was no telling when he’d see her again, and they needed to talk. First, he had to find something to cover her up with. He considered himself a gentleman, but when it came to her, the attraction was too great. There was no way in hell he’d be able to focus on conversation with Halayna looking like a walking temptation.

He opened the pantry door, glad to see a white chef’s jacket hanging next to several aprons, and he pulled it out. If he was lucky, it would be long enough to hide those damn shorts.