Page 5 of Unveiled

Chapter Three

The nerve of this man.He may or may not be the homeowner. Mark and Charlie swore he wasn’t due for two weeks. Either way, he was an arrogant prick who needed to be brought down a few pegs.

“You can keep your perks, if in fact you even belong here. I would rather live on the streets.” Pity he was such an asshole because he was totally the type of man she’d always wanted. Physically, that is. He had romance book boyfriend good looks.

Sharp jaw with scruff; check. Smoldering green eyes with a penetrating stare; double check. Abs of steel and dimpled chin; triple check. But damn, he opened his mouth and her body went dry and her legs snapped shut.

Too bad her life wasn’t a romance novel or he’d turn out to have a heart of gold and they’d fall into bed and have perfect sex, then live happily ever after.

The man with the amazing body and horrid personality cleared his throat. He was more miffed she was ignoring him than the fact she was supposedly in his home. Not waiting for permission a second longer, Tatum turned from his touch. She grabbed a long tee and some underwear from the nearest surface.

He was right about one assessment. She was sloppy enough to look like a squatter. In my defense, she argued silently with herself as she dressed, I’m only here temporarily, geez. Judgey much, doucherocket?

Tatum refused to cower just because she was naked. He tried to intimidate her and use it to his advantage, like all men. One thing she’d never suffered from was poor self-esteem. Plenty of other issues, but not that one, at least not until recently.

Once she was semi-dressed, she faced him again. “Look, Mister whoever you are, I assure you I’m here by invitation. And as soon as we clear this up, I expect a full apology before you waltz out the door with your good looks and bad attitude.”

His smile was blinding. . .and perfectly book boyfriend crooked; quadruple check. “You think I’m good looking?”

Jesus, he was alpha hole to the extreme. She almost pinched herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming she was in a romance novel at that point. “That’s what you took from that, jerkasaurus rex?”

“It’s Rush, actually, and yeah. A drop-dead gorgeous woman calls me good looking and I’m going to zero in on it.”

“Rush?” Shit, he is supposed to be here. “You’re, um, home early.” She wasn’t sure what to say or do. He was about to kick her out on her ass with nowhere to go and no one to turn to. At least this time she’d be dressed more appropriately. That is, if mister asshat allowed her to finish getting dressed. “I’m sorry. I’ll just gather my things and go. But for the record, Mark did bring me here. Said I could do the housekeeping until you arrived in two weeks.”

Tatum reached for a pair of jeans and slipped them on. Searching through bags, she looked for practical shoes. His voice startled her. “If you had known who I was when I walked in here, would you have treated me differently?”

Tatum stood her full height and placed her hands on her hips. No need to lie. “Not if you acted the way you did, no. I wouldn’t give two shits who you are. If you act like an ass, then I treat you like one, period. My dad taught me that. Always conduct myself the way I want to be treated. I guess I apply that to others. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to grab a few things so I can leave.”

Tatum couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Even having nowhere to go was preferable to spending time with a grade A jerk like Rush.

“Wait.” He grabbed her wrist. She sent him what she hoped was a withering look and he released her. “Sorry, I shouldn’t put my hands on you without permission. My dad taught me that.” His sheepish, almost shy demeanor showed him in a different light. She was actually thinking he wasn’t that bad. . .until he opened his mouth again.

“Look, if Mark hired you, then I have no problem with you staying on and doing whatever he’s paying you, or rather, I’m paying you to do. He’s pretty good at reading people.” He kept dragging his hand across his head and through his scruff like he was nervous, but his words were at odds with that. Tatum couldn’t get a read on him and that bothered her.

She scoffed at her own thoughts. It wouldn’t help. Hell, I lived in the same house as Dale and never got a read on him. In a short time, she’d come to trust Mark and Charlie. There was just something about them. The man in front of her was a different story altogether. His body language was completely opposite of what came out of his mouth. It was like he was trying to be someone he wasn’t. Who was she to talk, though? She was totally being someone she wasn’t.

“It’s just, as help, the room down the hall would be more appropriate. . .uh, I didn’t catch your name.” And there it is. However, she needed the place to stay, and the help Mark offered that she was working up the courage to ask for. She would swallow her pride and deal with the arrogant asshole for as long as she needed to.

“I didn’t throw it.” She began snatching up clothes and gathering bags to make her retreat. “But it’s Julia.” Using the name Mark had given her felt like a shield. A layer of protection she needed. She collected as much as she could and headed toward the door. “Sorry about the room.”

“No worries. You’re more than welcome to stay in my bed as long as you don’t mind sharing.”

Ugh, what a jerk. “I’d rather sleep in the lion enclosure at the zoo wearing a hot dog hula skirt and dipped in bacon grease.” His laughter chased her down the hall like a haunting reminder that he was all that stood between her and homelessness.

Once the door was closed, she dropped the clothes and slid down the back of the door. For the first time since she’d run from her old life, she cry cried. Tatum wasn’t crying because she felt sorry for herself, that was a waste of energy. She cried to release emotion. So much had been bottled up inside her that it needed to come out somehow.

Rush seemed to amplify all her feelings. She didn’t understand it because he was an arrogant prick, but there was something in his green eyes she recognized. A subtle disconnected desperation that appeared when someone lost their mooring. Like her.

Tatum dashed away her tears and got dressed for real, including a bra. “Feel what you need to feel. Give it its due, then pull yourself together and do what needs to be done, Pumpkin.” That was what her father would tell her, so that’s what she did.

If she had to play the part of housekeeper, but with the master at home, she would. For starters, Tatum would make him one hell of a breakfast.

She placed the last of the breakfast on the counter when Rush emerged from his room. “I made pancakes. You going somewhere?” She asked as she made her own plate.

“No. Why?” The man seemed genuinely puzzled. Tatum sat and eyed him thoughtfully.

“Well, because you’re wearing a belt and shoes. It also looks like you’ve got your keys and phone in your pocket.” She realized her mistake as soon as he took a bite of pancake and let that crooked half-smile slip into place.

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