Nothing but darkness.
It was well after midnight, and most people in town were sleeping. Even if they weren’t, it was unlikely he could actually see lights that were any dimmer than the blazing glow from the lighthouse from this far away. Although he’d built his home on the side of the Peninsula closest to Amesport, and his bedroom window faced town and the Atlantic, downtown Amesport was still a few miles away.
Turning away from the window even more aggravated, Jared searched for his pants on the floor and rifled through the pockets until he found his cell phone. He crawled back into his bed, gripping the phone hard in his fist, willing himself not to call her.
She’s sleeping. You aren’t going to call her now.
But what if she wasn’t? What if the house was leaking so badly that she wasn’t asleep? What if she needed help and nobody was there to help her?
In the end, Jared dialed her number, contact information she’d given him back when he’d been researching his family history. Come to think of it, he really needed to talk to her about handing out her number so easily to anybody who might need information. But right at the moment, he hoped like hell that it was her home phone as well as her business.
“Hello?”
Mara’s sleepy, husky voice made Jared’s dick stand at attention immediately. Erotic visions filled his mind. They all included Mara in his bed with him, in various positions, and always coming hard.
He clasped the phone, knowing his greatest pleasure in having Mara here in his bed would be that he would know that she was safe, away from a home with a leaking roof and other possible safety hazards.
“It’s me.” Stupid response, but it was about all he could get out of his mouth when he was imagining her in his bed, naked and having multiple orgasms.
“Hello, you.”
Jared listened intently, able to tell by her breathlessness that she was sitting up in bed, becoming more aware of her surroundings. “Is your roof leaking?” he asked abruptly, feeling like an idiot now because he’d given in to the urge to call. She’d obviously been sleeping comfortably. The last thing she needed was a middle-of-the-night call from a near-stalker acquaintance who’d just admitted to killing two people earlier that day.
“It’s leaking pretty badly. I’m glad you called. I need to change out the buckets.”
His heart was pounding as loud as the rain against his house, relief washing over him as he realized he hadn’t scared her away because he’d opened his big mouth earlier. She didn’t sound the least bit frightened of him.
I’m glad you called. I’m glad you called. Jared didn’t much care why she was okay with him calling her, it only matter that she didn’t mind.
She needed to change the buckets—as in more than one container? Jared wondered what the hell time she’d gone to bed. How could the leaks possibly fill a damn canister or pot that quickly? “You need to get out of that house,” he growled, feeling even more protective of her because she wasn’t uneasy with him. Obviously, the woman didn’t have the smallest bit of instinct for self-preservation.
“I know,” she agreed forlornly. “But I only have a little while longer to live here, and it’s been my home since the day I was born. And I have no place else to go yet.”
You can be with me. I want you to be with me.
Jared closed his eyes, almost able to feel her pain. His childhood home had been a prison, and he’d been counting the days until he could escape and go away to college. Mara’s situation was completely different. She had loved her mother, and leaving her home had to be difficult. He didn’t completely understand her sorrow, but he could reason it out. And for some fucked-up reason, he could feel her, even though he never let any of his emotions touch him anymore. “It will all work out okay. We didn’t get to discuss business today, but I have a guest house that you can take over, and you can use the house to start production of your products. Hire whatever help you need. Get whatever equipment you want.”
“You want me to live with you? Start my business there?”
Hell, yes.
“You wouldn’t be exactly living with me. The guest house is separate from my residence. We can find the right property eventually, get you a shop. But it would take some time. You don’t have time.” She needed to leave that dilapidated house as fast as possible.
“I’m going to have to show you that I can turn a profit first, before you pour your money into a shop,” she replied agreeably. “I understand that.”
Jared opened his eyes and shook his head, even though she couldn’t see him. “It isn’t that. It will take time to find the right place, the right location. Since you don’t have the luxury of time, we can use my place for now.”