Sun God Seeks…Surrogate? (Accidentally Yours #3)(29)
Author: Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

At the far end of the room was a large panoramic window overlooking a never-ending stretch of rolling desert with the only green in sight being the impressive saguaro cacti. The gray, angry-looking clouds blanketing the sky were perforated by random beams of sunlight. Something about the way they shined on the desert floor made them seem like spotlights from heaven.

I shook my head from side to side and eased myself from the bed. The clock on the wall said 7:00 a.m. I’d slept through the entire night, but noticed I still wore my karate gi.

Well, that’s something. No one’s changed my clothes. This day might not turn out so bad.

Wait. Your litmus test for a good day is that no one’s taken a gander at your privates while you slept?

Hey, considering all of the other crap…Cringe.

Memories, dark and disturbing, jackhammered my mind; a monster appearing out of nowhere, pulling me from Cimil’s cab—WTH, that woman really drove a cab?—the scummy-looking dudes in leather jackets pulling up in the black van—something was seriously wrong with them, like they’d forgotten their souls at home along with any sense of hygiene. And that man appearing right out of thin air. And— I sighed—“Nick…”

“You called?”

The sexiest male specimen I could ever hope to see, in this lifetime or the next, occupied a predominant percentage of the space inside the door frame. I didn’t know what made my girly bits more peppy, his sizzling smile—could melt my panties right off—or his deeply bronzed, hard chest and ripped abs or his…My eyes traveled toward the South Pole.

Swoon alert! Don’t fall over. Don’t fall over…

For heaven’s sake, the man wore nothing but a towel; nonetheless, my mind had no issue filling in the blanks. Or the uhhh…what’s the opposite of “blank”? ’Cause his man-treat was a far cry from a word defined as a void or a space. Space shuttle, yes. With supersized landing gear. And a glorious moon, right around the corner—firm, round, and solid as a rock.

In any case, horny little space analogies aside, my body didn’t seem to give a hoot if my memory of that night with Kinich was fictional; as far as it was concerned, he’d rocked my world and it wanted another go.

Stupid body.

I swallowed, my mouth suddenly as barren as the desert outside. “Nick. Mind telling me how I got all the way to…?”

“Sedona.” One corner of his mouth curled.

Oh, that smile…

“What was I saying?” I asked.

He laughed.

I amuse you, do I? That moved the needle from lusty fog to ticked off.

He must have noticed the steam spewing from my ears, because he suddenly offered, “I will tell you everything. But first, let me hunt down some breakfast. You’ll need your strength for this.”

“But I…”

He turned and disappeared down the hall before I could protest.

Well, great. I’m all gross and crusty, and the gorgeous, infuriating man wants to cook for me.

“I’m taking a shower first!” I called out to an empty space.

I surveyed the room for fresh clothes, surprised to discover my belongings from my overnight bag neatly stowed inside the walk-in closet that happened to be the size of my entire apartment back in New York.

I grabbed a comfy pink tee, jeans, bra, and undies and scampered off to the attached bathroom, where my jaw dropped.

“Holy deviled ham,” I whispered. It was exactly like the photos I’d seen in Cosmo—yes, yes. Right next to that article about the Orgasm Whisperer. I wanted to live in this bathroom. I wanted to die in this bathroom. I wanted to be this bathroom. Sunken Jacuzzi tub for four surrounded by fresh white candles, clear glass bowls filled with lavender bath salts, and bottles of infused oils; white wicker sitting area with a cappuccino machine and mini-fridge; and a shower big enough to bathe a small nation.

Saints. Every girl deserves a bathroom like this.

In two minutes flat the tub was filled—another amazing feature—and I lowered myself into the steaming-hot suds. The tips of my cold toes and the ache in my back melted away. The only thing missing was…

Kinich.

I’m hopeless.

“So. That’s where you disappeared to.” His cocoa-brown face and shimmering turquoise eyes hovered over me.

I sucked in a fortifying breath to keep from turning into a soggy little globule of neediness.

Fact: He took my breath away. He created a vacuum in my mental atmosphere.

Fact: I wanted this man. More than my date with five-star Mr. Bubble.

Fact: Something about him wasn’t right, and I was about to find out why.

Fiction: I was going to keep my cool.

He observed the sudsy water rippling over my body, masking my bareness.

“Sorry,” I said nervously. “I really missed my bathtub. And what a surprise! You have the exact same one as me.”

Nick raised one brow.

“Kidding.”

“Oh.” He nodded. “I wondered how that might be possible. The tub was custom built by a man in Japan who only accepts gold bullion as payment.”

I flashed him a questioning frown.

“That was a joke,” he said. “Who carries around gold bullion these days?”

“Not me. Bullion is heavy. I prefer gold coins,” I said facetiously.

“Exactly. So much easier to transport and hide.”

Ummm…yeah.

“I was about to get out,” I said. “So if you want to talk—”

“Actually”—he raised his hands, encouraging me to stay put—“It might make what I have to say easier if you’re relaxed.”

“That doesn’t sound good.” My heart thumped away, doing a lowrider bass beat.

“It is neither good nor bad; it simply is what it is.”

Frankly, after all of the weirdness I’d endured, there was no explanation under the sun that could quell me into a state of buying “it simply is what it is.” That’s the sort of thing you’d say about having a big ass or freckles. You might even say that about a rainy day or ugly painting. But not this. No. Because whatever he was about to say, it had to be big. And weird.

I poked the Jacuzzi button to turn off the jets. “I’m listening.”

I’m freaking out.

Nick cleared his throat, his piercing eyes vacillating between the deepest shades of green and aquamarine. “I’ve never had to tell a human this before, so bear with me.”

“Hu—human?”

So glad I peed before I got in the tub.