“All right. Stay put for now. I’m only ten minutes away. If the water looks like it’s rising, get out of the car and onto higher ground.”
“Okay. I’m sorry. I didn’t meant to—”
“Not your fault. Just hold tight. And keep your phone close.” He hung up the call and strode toward the garage, grabbing a set of keys off the pegboard in the laundry room and pulling on a jacket. His car wouldn’t be any better than hers in the water, but his housekeeper’s son had been working on an old Jeep and had asked to store it at Wyatt’s. The paint job wasn’t done yet, but Wyatt knew the kid had gotten the engine in shape last month. If this helped him get Kelsey out of this situation safely, he’d buy the guy that paint job.Author: Roni Loren
Visibility was still a challenge as he made his way off his property and toward the cluster of neighborhoods closer to the highway. The sky had gone a weird green-gray, and the automatic street lights were popping on even though it wasn’t even six yet. He kept a hand on the wheel and called Henry to set up and handle a tow for Kelsey’s car. Wyatt didn’t want her sitting out there, waiting for someone to get her car.
It took him a little longer than he hoped to get to her. Other cars besides hers had gotten stuck, so he had to carefully maneuver around them, but luckily the water seemed to be staying at a manageable level. The rain let up a bit as he made his way down the road, and he spotted Kelsey’s car in the right lane, the street lamp above her making the white car look orange.
He pulled up behind her and hopped out, the icy rain soaking him instantly. Kelsey was already opening her door before he got to her. She pushed an umbrella through the crack and popped it open, a bright pink spot in the haze of gray. She climbed out of the car, water rushing over her heeled boots, and grabbed the top of the car to steady herself.
He made his way over as quickly as he could, but he still had on his dress shoes from his trip to the office earlier today and the damn things had no grip. He motioned at her and raised his voice, fighting with the ever-rolling thunder. “Get in the Jeep!”
“All my stuff is still in here,” she called back, taking a careful step in his direction and shutting the driver’s-side door. “For the trip.”
He made his way over to her, locking a hand beneath her elbow and breathing a sigh of relief that she was okay. “I got it. Let’s just get you inside the Jeep first.”
“I can help.”
“And I want you out of this. Inside. Now.”
She gave him the eye but held back another protest. She thrust the umbrella into his hand and now he could see the damn thing wasn’t just pink but also had a pattern of little cupcakes all over it. “Take this.”
“I don’t need—”
“So all the stuff doesn’t get wet.”
“Fine.” He took the umbrella from her and nudged her toward the Jeep, putting the keys in her hand. “Go. And turn on the heat.”
As soon as he verified she was able to get herself through the water without stumbling, he opened her trunk and grabbed her suitcase, but there looked to be two grocery bags in there as well. Dammit. He couldn’t get all of it. He slammed the trunk closed and hurried back to the Jeep, tossing the suitcase in the back, then sloshed his way back through the water for the sacks of groceries.
By the time he climbed back into the driver’s seat, he was soaked, freezing, and trying hard not to shiver. He shrugged out of his drenched coat and held his hands up against the vents, but no warmth was coming out.
“I can’t get it to heat up,” Kelsey said, her voice vibrating with her own shivers. She wrapped her arms around herself, her blonde hair saturated and dripping onto her shoulders.
Crap. Apparently the kid had fixed the engine but hadn’t gotten to the heating system yet. “We need to get back to the house.”
“But my car . . .”
“I’ve already got someone on the way.” He made sure nobody was behind them, then reversed and drove over the median to get to the other side of the road so they could head back. “We need to get home and out of these clothes.”
She glanced his way, an eyebrow lifted. “Not wasting any time getting me naked, are you?”
He chuckled, glad she could still make jokes when her vehicle was about to float down the damn street. “Don’t tempt me. I just walked around with a pink cupcake umbrella. I may feel the need to reassert my manhood.”
She smiled and leaned forward to shrug her way out of her saturated jacket, filling his peripheral vision with an impossibly tempting view. He tried to keep his eyes on the road, but had a hard time focusing on safety or being a gentleman with Kelsey’s now-see-through cream-colored blouse taunting him, the wet material clinging to her skin and molding over the swells of her breasts and her cold-stiffened nipples. Wyatt stopped for a red light and dropped any pretense of politeness to give her a long, assessing view.
She glanced his way, no doubt noticing the heat in his eyes, then looked down as if only now realizing what she’d revealed. Her hands moved to cover herself.
The flash of modesty endeared him, but he wasn’t going to let her get away with it. Training started now. “Put your hands in your lap, Kelsey. No reason to hide from me. You need to get accustomed to me seeing your body.”
She wet her lips and followed his direction, clasping her hands in front of her. He could see the pattern of her lace bra beneath the shirt now and the dark shadow of her areolas peeking through. The sight was enough to have his cock twitching and his good sense evaporating. He’d promised himself he wouldn’t touch her until they negotiated limits. But he hadn’t anticipated this kind of immediate assault on his noble intentions.
The car behind him honked, dragging him from the delicious sight. The light had turned green, and he had no choice but to pull forward. He cleared his throat. “Have you had any second thoughts about our arrangement?”
“No.”
“Honesty, please.”