Filthy Rich, Wild with Lust

Chapter 9

A drug that I shouldn’t want, and I don’t... I swear I don’t.

Henley is walking around in his bedroom wearing only a towel. He leaves his blinds open, and I’m beginning to wonder if he’s purposely showing me what he’s got. What he thinks I’m missing out on. Baiting me to think deviant things about him while I’m alone in bed.

Not that I ever would, of course.

I bite my thumbnail as my eyes roam over his cut muscles. Tanned broad back and a scattering of hair on his chest and a thin trail that disappears down under his towel.

Damn it, why does he have to be so great in bed?

Stop it.

There is nothing about him to like, yet I find myself going over our little kitchen exchange the other night. On some level I kind of wish he ripped off my Minnie Mouse panties and bent me over the counter.

He pulls back the blankets, and I hold my breath; he drops the towel, and I get a bird’s-eye view of his perfect ass. My stomach flutters.

There it is.

He climbs into bed and picks up a book from the side table. He puts his glasses on and sits up against his grand headboard.

What’s he reading?

I wish I had binoculars.

I smile at the thought, and after one long last look through the window, I climb into bed and snuggle into my pillow. “Good night, Barry,” I say as I look over at my housemate.

But he doesn’t hear me; Barry’s fast asleep.

“Good morning.” I smile as I walk into the nurses’station.

“Hey, you’re back.” Leonie smiles as she hands me the huge stack of patient files. “How’s the big homeowner doing?”

“Great.” I laugh. Today is my first shift back at work after a week off. “Thanks for letting me do day shift for the next few weeks. My new dog is still settling in, and I can’t leave him at night just yet.” I open the first folder and begin to read the notes.

“What’s his name?” Karen asks.

“My dog?” I move to the second folder. “Barry.”

“Barry?” Warren frowns. “Why the hell would you call your dog Barry?”

“I didn’t. He came with it.”

“So... tell us all about your house. We’ve been dying for updates,” Leonie puts in.

“Well.” I shrug. “The house is terrible, but the street is nice.”

“And the neighbors?”

“Are... great.”

Warren turns to the computer, and Leonie widens her eyes at me behind his back.

“What?” I mouth.

She scribbles on some paper.

Karen told me that Warren is going to ask you out on a date today.

My eyes widen. s**t. I have felt him being super friendly for a while now, and I really don’t know how to handle it because I treasure our friendship. We work together nearly every shift; it’s just going to be awkward between us if he asks me out. Renee scribbles another note.

Tell him that you have a boyfriend or something.

“Are you kidding me?” I mouth.

Before he asks you out or it’s going to be f*****g awkward.

True.

“I have a garden, and my dog is great. I really think I’m going to like it there.” I ramble on.

“I’m really looking forward to Deb’s bachelorette party on Saturday,” Leonie says.

“Me too,” I reply. Not really. There’s that small problem of Barry being home alone. It will be fine; he’ll be settled in by then, surely.

“So what made you buy in that area?” Warren asks. “It’s a fair way from your old place.”

Um. I try to think on my feet. I need to buy some time. “I got back with my ex,” I lie.

Warren looks up from the computer, horrified. “What?” He glances between Renee and me. “Since when?”

“Well...” I pause. Oh no, please don’t question this. I can’t lie for s**t.

Leonie cuts in. “Ages ago. He lives next door, doesn’t he? You found the property while you were staying at his house.”

What?

That is the worst lie of all time.

“Yeah.” I shrug. “So... it just made sense... to stay in the area.”

Jeez.

Warren nods and fakes a smile. “Sounds great.”

I rub Warren’s shoulder, feeling guilty for lying, but he needs to trust me on this one. This is better for us. “Let’s get to work, buddy. I missed our friendship while I was away.”

“I missed you too.” Warren drags himself off the chair. “Let’s go.”

Warren walks out of the room, and Leonie wipes her forehead.

Phew, that was close.

“You ready to go, big boy?”

Barry runs to the front door, his tail wagging wildly. We’ve made our own little morning routine, and it seems to be going great.

Turns out that if Barry goes for a run in the morning, then he’s quite content for me to go to work while he lies in the sun in the backyard.

Taking care of this damn dog is like having a baby.

I mean, I knew they were hard work, but I didn’t realize he would be quite such a handful.

I put his leash on and walk out the front door. There’s a method to my madness. I’ve worked out that if I leave at exactly 5:40 a.m., I happen to run into the asshole engineer from next door as he leaves for work.

I really need to get ahold of myself. My spying is turning into a full-time occupation, and I really don’t know why because I don’t even like him.

It’s just that it would be a lot easier to ignore him if he wasn’t so easy on the eyes... and the memory.

We walk down the front sidewalk, and Carol is watering her garden with the hose. “Morning, Juliet,” she calls.

“Good morning, Carol.” I beam. “Beautiful day, isn’t it?”

“It sure is. You hitting the pavement again this morning, dear?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Run for me, too, will you?”

I laugh and stretch my legs as I hold on to my mailbox. Honestly, this cul-de-sac is like living in a dream. I’m basically a Stepford wife, but just without the husband and the being-rich-and-perfect part.

Right on cue, Henley’s front door opens, and he walks out in his suit, navy blue today. He glances up and waves to Carol and me. And like the dirty perverts we are, we both wave back.

He puts his briefcase into the back seat of his Range Rover and answers his phone. He stands beside his car as he talks to someone, and my eyes linger over the fine specimen. Perfect posture, six foot four, dark hair, square jaw, and built like a well-oiled machine.

A s*x machine.

And I should know, because I see him near naked every night.

I think he secretly wants me to look, and I mean, if I was half as hot as him, I would leave my blinds open too. Hell, I would just walk around naked all the time.

Ugh... get a grip, Juliet.

He’s a giant dickhead... remember?

He keeps talking on the phone, and he needs to hurry up and go, or else I’ll have to start running in front of him. That’s awkward. What will I look like from behind? Usually, I only catch a quick glimpse of him, and then he drives away.

I keep stretching, trying to bide my time.

Drive away now... go on. Get in your car, and drive away.

I glance back over to him as he talks on the phone. The sleeves on his jacket are hitched up a little, and I can see his expensive chunky watch. I don’t know what kind of watch that is, but it probably costs more than my car.

Damn it, I can’t loiter any longer. It’s so obvious what I’m doing. Here goes nothing. “Let’s go, buddy.” I begin to jog with my trusty friend beside me, trying my hardest to look perky. I get fifty yards up the road and am about to collapse. Drive past already. I can’t keep up the pace for this long.

As I approach the military house, the front door opens. A big buff guy with a crew cut appears with two girls.

He kisses one girl and then turns and kisses the other. Carol was right; they are gangbangers.

Oh...

I keep running past, fascinated.

How exotic... my mind boggles. How does that work? Does he finish one off completely and then move on to the other, or do they keep swapping the entire time? I think on this scenario for a moment. I don’t think I would like to share with another girl; that’s not hot to me. I would want to be the one with two men.

Barry suddenly cuts across in front of me. I stumble and fall and just catch myself in the nick of time in the most unladylike of ways.

The black Range Rover pulls up beside me, and the passenger-side window comes down. “What happened, Juliet, distracted? Can’t keep your eyes on the road?” Henley asks as he raises his brow, and I don’t know if he’s being playful or judgy.

“Just keeping an eye on things around here, Mr. James,” I reply as I keep running.

“And as the newest member of Carol’s neighborhood watch program, what have you worked out?” he asks.

“That the military house is definitely one to watch.”

Mischief flashes across his face as he drives along at a slow pace beside me. “I thought you would run faster than this.”