Why Choose? Have Them Both

Attraction

1

Sarah held back a gasp as she looked into the deepest blue eyes she had ever seen. His warm skin had a hint of flushing in the cheeks, a full broad mouth and chiseled jaw. His hair was a little disheveled and flopped onto his face. He took one look at her and a broad, almost wicked grin spread across his face.

“Sarah... Sarah Shadow?” he asked still grinning as he looked her up and down once again.

Sarah clutched her towel tighter as a blush crept over her and tucked one foot behind the other, wishing she could hide from this beautiful stranger. She was so incredibly embarrassed she almost forgot to respond.

“Err, yes…” was the best she could manage.

His grin became wider as he took a breath, and she noticed his broad shoulders in the greenish t-shirt he was wearing, which was tight around his large biceps. She stole a glance farther down, noting jeans and a taut waist. Her heartbeat rose somewhat as she realised he was one of the sexiest men she’d ever seen, and here she was in just her towel, her hair a mess and looking like some weirdo at the door!

“I’m Damien, I've come to drop off your supplies. I work for the owner as a groundskeeper and general dog's body”. His grin seemed to widen, showing his happy nature.

“Right…” she replied, wishing she could get a grip…what must he think?!

“I can see I caught you at an interesting time, Sarah” he winked at her, face full of playful mischief.

"I wanted to see if you’d arrived before I delivered your supplies. How about I come back in about an hour and drop them off?"

"Yes, that would be great,” said Sarah, finding her voice. Damien winked and turned to go. “Bye” she said, rather lamely. Damien didn’t turn but waved in response and left through the gate.

Sarah shut the door and leaned against it, relieved that the interaction was over and mortified that she’d answered the door in just her towel. She shook her body, as if to shake off the embarrassment, and went back upstairs to the bathroom. To her surprise, she realised she had left the shower running and turned it off. She rinsed the bath down and went back to her room to find some clothes. She picked out a short, cotton summer dress with some tight shorts underneath. A pair of slim, black and white trainers on her feet with hidden socks would do nicely. She picked out her favourite bra and tied her hair up in a high ponytail, the curls cascading from it. No harm in looking good, especially if she wanted to make a better impression on Damien. She was about to leave the room when the perfume caught her eye and she sprayed some more over herself, the bath having washed it away no doubt. As she walked down the stairs she started to wonder what supplies Damien was talking about. She recalled reading an email about it and grabbed her phone from her bag and looked through it. She quickly found the email and scrolled to the bottom where it listed the supplies she would receive.

It included almost everything she might need: food, drinks, toiletries and art supplies (most of the latter she had sent off a list for as requested by the competition paperwork).

She was surprised that it was all here so quickly after she had arrived. But then again, they had decided what date she would arrive so, thinking about it, there was nothing to be too impressed by. She glanced around the hallway to see if there was a clock and found that it was 8:37pm. Her stomach growled, and she realised she hadn’t eaten since much earlier - around lunchtime on the flight to the airport. There wasn’t any time to eat after that as she had been bundled into a car to travel to the port, which was a good 3-hour drive. Then there was the private boat trip which took her to the island she was on now, followed by another car which took her to the cottage. It was a long and interesting journey, the cottage being so far away. Its isolation was supposed to help with creativity and likely explained why supplies were included. It was a secluded island with only two other inhabitants, besides her. The email told her that Damien would be living in the smaller lodge that was somewhere near the cottage and that there was a basic emergency supply cabin somewhere on the island that was there for emergencies. It mentioned that the cabin was mostly staffed on rotation and that she was to contact them only in an emergency. It also listed emergency numbers, provided a picture of Damien (which did him no justice whatsoever), offered his references and background checks. She had been given the option of a female groundskeeper if she wanted, but at the time she didn’t want to be responsible for someone losing their job, so she hadn’t requested a change. Something that she was now feeling quite happy about. Other than the fact that she has made a fool of herself, that is.

Besides, a hunk that gorgeous probably had a girlfriend anyway, or a different girl every night. If he was even into girls, that is. Glancing back at the clock, she guessed there was about another 30–40 minutes until Damien returned, and she decided to sit in the dining room and sketch some of the garden while she waited.

She grabbed her sketchbook and took a seat at the table and glanced through the window for inspiration. As the sun was well into setting, she noticed the contrast between the sky and the tree line and began to make a rough sketch of it. Once she had finished, she began focusing on a flower she could just about see in the front of the garden and focussed on drawing the details to make it as lifelike as she could. Having finished this after a short period of time, she found her mind wondering towards Damien. She remembered how his eyes had practically shouted at her and began to sketch them from memory. She recalled his long, thick lashes, proud eyebrows and the almond shape of them. His irises seemed wide, and she wished she had some colour to show just how blue they were. A knock at the door aroused her from her sketch.

Throwing down her pencil, she hurried to the door and opened it with a smile. “Damien, hi” she said, opening the door and stepping back.

“Hello, nice to see you dressed” he winked and smiled. Sarah began to flush but refused to be awkward. Besides, he seemed to be joking in a playful way.

“I have been known to wear clothes from time to time," she replied. Looking behind Damien she could see some bags and boxes.

Damien followed her gaze and said, “This is everything that arrived for you yesterday. Shall I bring them in?”

Sarah nodded and stepped out to help him bring in the supplies.

“Thank you,” said Damien, grabbing one of the larger boxes. “Shall I drop them in the hallway or kitchen?” He asked as he turned back to her. “Food etc. in the kitchen and art stuff on the dining table please,” said Sarah.

They both walked back and forth, bringing in each box and bag, Sarah taking her time to check what was inside each thing she picked up. They both returned to the garden and bent to pick up the last two items. Sarah’s breath caught as Damien's hands met with hers as they went for the same box. She looked into his eyes, and almost melted. Warm feelings bubbled from her stomach and spread throughout her body at their touch. “Let me miss”, he requested as he stared into her eyes. Sarah felt another flush coming and withdrew her hands. “If you insist,” she smiled at him and bent to pick up the last box and strolled into the dining room. They both placed their boxes on the table and Sarah took a seat and gestured for Damien to do the same.

“How long have you worked here?” Sarah asked as he sat down. Damien paused a moment and said “Mr. Blackthorne hired me about 5 years ago”, he said. When he noticed Sarah’s frown, he followed up with “Mr. Blackthorne owns the cottage you’ve rented”, he said with raised eyebrows.

“Oh!” said Sarah. “I haven’t rented this cottage - I won a competition and this was the prize. Well, a year of being here for free was anyway”, she shrugged.

“I wasn’t aware Mr. Blackthorne offered this place up as a prize…usually he rents the place out to rich idiots and the like,” he said. “What competition did you enter?”

“My friend, Jessie, entered my paintings, without my knowledge” replied Sarah with a grin and an eye roll.

“Some friend,” replied Damien. “Can I see some of your work?” he asked. Sarah shook her head. “I don’t have anything here with me. But I intend to paint here, so you’ll likely see one at some point. You live on the island, right?”

“Sort of, I tend to stay here when guests do. Otherwise, I go back home. It can get quite lonely being here otherwise, but the pay more than makes up for it,” he replied, looking at her sketch pad on the table.

He walked over and picked the sketchbook up and began flicking through it. “These are amazing”, he said with a sincerity. Sarah bloomed and smiled, saying “You think so? They’re just sketches…” She paced towards Damien and sat in the chair next to him. He continued to flick through her book and Sarah couldn’t help but notice the casual way he was sprawled in the chair. Comfortable like he felt he belonged. His long legs were stretched out infront of him, his hair fell into his face as he looked through the pages. Sarah let herself have a good look at him. Damien's lips were slightly apart and his wide chest heaved as he took a deep breath through his nose. He tucked some hair behind his ear and Sarah looked at his strong jawline. Her breathing sped up as she glanced at his biceps, bent and taught. She took a deep breath to calm herself. Damien looked at her. A wolfish grin swept across his gorgeous face. “Like what you see, Sarah?” He purred with confidence and a sparkle in his eye. The comment caught Sarah off guard, and she scrambled for a response. Looking down, she panicked about what to say, when all of a sudden she looked him in the eye and simply said “Yes.” She continued looking at him with a never-before-experienced confidence and waited for his response, heart beating fast.

Damien suddenly looked towards the window as if he heard something and frowned.

“I have to go” he said. “I am working on the grounds tomorrow. Let me know if you would like to explore the island and I can show you around”. Sarah wondered what had happened. Was it what she said? They were flirting, weren't they? Disappointment flooded her. Sarah stood up and followed him out. He opened the front door and before rushing out he said “Make sure to lock the door tonight” and left without looking back.