CHAPTER TWO
JADE
I have no idea where this gorgeous man came from. One minute I’m namaste’ing my way to inner peace- and boy, do I need it! - the next minute it sounds like a herd of wildlife parading through the bushes.
Only it’s no raccoon or even a cute deer stomping around. Instead, a deliciously rumpled older man who looks like he rolled straight out of bed stumbles into the little clearing behind my cabin.
Everything about his sudden appearance is shocking. With his tousled brown curls and dark sunglasses, he looks like a movie star. My peaceful tree pose is shaken. Wobbling on a suddenly unsteady leg, I throw my arms out for balance, all the while tensing myself for a less than pleasant topple.
That painful fall never comes.
The stranger is at my side in a blur of motion, his strong fingers grasping my hand, while his other hand encircles my waist, drawing me close to the firm and stable warmth of his body.
Too close! Too tight!
Instinct takes over. Freeing my fingers from his hand, I grab his forearm, turn my hip into his body, wrap my other arm over his shoulder and neatly flip him over onto his back.
My self-defense teacher would be proud.
Me? I’m mortified.
Leaning over the poor guy, he lets out a slow groan that one hundred percent shouldn’t turn me on. But since the universe is cruel and I can’t catch a break, I get turned on. My nipples tighten and press against my sports bra, lust making my throat dry and my palms sweaty.
In short, I’m a mess.
The sexy guy laying on his back staring up at the sky? He still looks amazing.
An apology is hovering on my numb tongue when he opens his mouth and spits out a string of foreign words. I have no clue what language he’s speaking, but I don’t need a translation app to know that they can’t be good.
I get out of his way while he scrambles to his feet, muttering something too low for me to make out, and then turns my music off.
“Hey!” I grab my phone away from him, my eyes meeting his tired blue ones for an endless moment that steals my breath.
There’s pain in them I recognize all too well as my own eyes have that same sad, haunted look in them ever since I found out my fiancé was cheating on me.
I soften toward him even while he spouts off about my music and how yoga should be quiet and peaceful. Knowing what to listen for, I hear the frustration under his words. Not at me, or my music, but at himself and whatever situation brought him here.
It’s barely been five minutes since this gorgeous stranger has been in my life, but a full gamut of emotions has raced through me, most notably pleasure. I’m enjoying this unexpected encounter. A smile that’s been absent for so long that it feels foreign stretches my cheeks. “That’s boring. Music brings me peace. The yoga moves are for my body, the rock is for my soul.”
“Good for you, but can you keep it down? I’m trying to nap,” he grumbles with an indiscernible and sexy accent that has me moving closer. I can’t place his accent, but it’s obvious he’s not from nowhere Indiana like I am, though, that’s for sure. Yet here he is in Virginia, the same as me and in a neighboring cabin.
At the mention of nap, a vision of him warm and snug in bed fills my head. And since the moment he’s walked into my view and I became a horny toad, the bed I picture him in is mine.
“Oh sure. Let me know your nap schedule, so I don’t disturb you in the future,” I say, determined to be accommodating.
Large blue eyes glare at me with an intensity that has my stomach doing somersaults. “I don’t know when I’ll be napping!” he snaps. “It’s random.”
So much for being helpful.
Snorting back a laugh, I say, “Well, I don’t have a set yoga schedule either. I’m on vacation.”
We stare at each other in silence for several long seconds. I’m enjoying the view, so it’s no hardship on my part. Sadly, my stomach gives a low whine, reminding me it’s lunch time.
“Want to have lunch with me?”
I’m not sure who’s more surprised. Him at the offer, or me, that I was brave enough to ask.
But hey, why not? That’s what this vacation is all about. Instead of putting off what I’ve long thought of as the vacation of a lifetime, I put a serious dent in my savings and decided why not now. And now that I’m here, and faced with an attractive man, why not take the chance and ask?