Page 33 of Filthy Lovin Heroes

Tyler’s house was built high in the Hollywood Hills. The result was jaw-dropping views from every window. The Pacific Ocean stretched out on the western horizon and city of Los Angeles wrapped around everything else.

I followed the direction Tyler and Hercules went off in. I took a few wrong turns on the way, locating a state-of-the-art gym behind one door and a home theater behind another. This place was crazy big.

Finally, I found the pool area on the upper level of the property. I paused to take in the scene. There was an infinity pool, a hot tub, a lap pool, and several cabanas. I pushed open the sliding glass door and stepped out into the warming California sunshine.

The pool area at Tyler’s rivaled any luxury hotel. But the best part was the privacy. Not a soul besides us. I felt the recent tension from back home start to ease slightly with the fragrant breeze. I was safe here with Tyler. He might not be happy about my presence, but I was more relieved than he could know to be here.

Hercules lay next to the hot tub, his massive body sprawled out like a carpet. I made my way to the hot tub in my apparently offensive white bikini. I was not about to change now that Tyler had mentioned it. He could deal with it. I felt his eyes on me as I approached him though with his sunglasses on I couldn’t see if he was really watching me or not.

I worked damn hard to get this body. Running, yoga, and riding before the broken arm. I was not about to let Tyler ruin my mood this morning.

But a little help couldn’t hurt.

I detoured to the fully stocked outdoor bar I’d spied to the left side. Since it was barely eight in the morning, I made myself a mimosa. I was wary of alcohol after I literally threw myself at him at the airport. But orange juice and champagne wasn’t a big deal, besides for this one day I gave myself as a mini-vacation. A me day.

Usually, I considered myself a put together person. Events in the last year tested this image I had for myself though. But with Tyler, I seemed to find myself more vulnerable. I worried a lot about appearing weak. Strangely though Tyler probably didn’t like certain things I did, I felt like he accepted me underneath it all. Maybe it was just wishful thinking.

I poured my champagne into a crystal flute without offering any to Tyler. I felt pretty certain he didn’t start his day off with alcohol. In the wet bar fridge, I found a glass pitcher of orange juice. After months of wearing a cast, I was good at working around my injured hand. It might not be pretty, but I could get the job done.

“Is this freshly squeezed?” I sniffed, the aroma of citrus made my stomach rumble. The rubbery chicken on the flight seemed days ago.

“Organic oranges from my trees here. The kitchen staff pressed the juice for you.”

“Thank you. What a treat.” I liberally mixed the juice and champagne. The mimosa overflowed the rim, and I swiped at the liquid running down the sides. I didn’t bother to suppress a smile. This was about as far away from how my days started in Vermont as I could imagine. “You’ve got staff? I haven’t seen anyone.”

“They are paid well to stay out of sight.” Tyler tossed his sunglasses on the deck as I stepped into the hot tub.

The full effect of his glare was impossible to miss. “Tell me you’re legal.”

“Excuse me?” I almost choked on my drink. What the fuck happened to the nice sweet guy who consoled me five years ago? He’d been replaced by a cranky uptight asshole. “I’m twenty-one and I just graduated college.” I stepped into the hot tub, pausing to get used to the heat. The morning air was cool, but that just made the warm water feel divine as it flowed around my calves.

“I didn’t ask to see your diploma. I asked if you were old enough to drink that.” He pointed to my champagne flute. It was impossible not to stare at how his tattoos rippled across his muscled chest when he moved.

Holy fuck. He was hot.

“I am. Happy now?” I snapped. “For a rock star, you’re kind of a prude.” My muttering morphed into a sigh as I stepped deeper into the tub. The swirling water felt amazing. The few sips of mimosa took the edge off Tyler’s sour mood.

I sank down to the level of my boobs so that they were covered by water. I had to hold my cast out of the water though which majorly sucked. Still, I was not going to miss hot tubbing in Los Angeles because of the stupid cast. Luckily, it was due to come off in a few days.

“That may be,” Tyler reached for a switch behind him to stop the tub bubbles from splashing me. That was thoughtful of him. “But this is my house, and these are my rules. I’m not breaking the law, even for you Piper.”

“I wasn’t asking you.” What was he so uptight about? I was hardly going to get carded in his house.

“Good, then we understand each other,” he said.

His scowl said it all. He really did hate having me around. That made me feel like a giant empty pit was stretched out before me, waiting to swallow me up.

Thank God for the mimosa. I needed it. At this rate, I’d be spending most of my time drinking to avoid feeling crushed about Tyler. I didn’t have a pill problem but I didn’t want to end up a drunk either.

“This feels heavenly.” I changed the subject as I rested my casted arm on the edge of the hot top with the rest of my body submerged. “I’m really sorry about all this. I know this is a favor to Harrison.”

Tyler glanced over at Hercules as he spoke. The dog had moved to a shady spot on the grassy lawn. His black coat must’ve been heating up fast. “What do you plan to do out here?”

“I get my cast off in a few days. Then I can start showing around my portfolio to the studios. I’d like to start looking for apartments too. What’s your week like?”

Tyler shook his damp curls before leaning back on the edge of the hot tub. “Lots of business meetings this week.”

“That’s good.”

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