Sea Haven 02 - Spirit Bound

can’t be in here either,” she said and tugged at his arm to get him out of the doorway. Her breath was coming faster now, breasts rising and falling, the color sweeping up her neck into her face. “Do you think of anything other than sex?”
    “Not around you. But I’m determined to behave.”
    “You’re not behaving at all, you know.” She closed the door firmly on her bedroom. “Is it safe to show you the guest bathroom?”
    “Do you have a tub in there?”
    “Yes, but not like one in the master bath.” She paused, one hand on the door, looking up at him a little mischievously. “The shower is killer though.” She opened the door slowly.
    Oh yeah. His mind could see them in that large shower together, the two of them fogging up all that glass, hands soaping up her body, delving into all her secrets.
    “This time it’s you.” His voice was a little hoarse.
    “You aren’t the only one with fantasies.”
    Not only did she look mischievous, and smug, but she looked absolutely adorable with her feathery eyelashes, tempting dimple and laughing eyes—and he didn’t find women “adorable.” He had never engaged in teasing before. He’d lived a lifetime in the shadows, years of seduction and intrigue, killing and disappearing, and only now did he feel he’d come alive and was experiencing so many firsts. He’d kissed many women, but kissing Judith felt like the first time. His body became aroused on demand, but with Judith, his body responded with a will of its own—another first for him. And now teasing. She made him laugh.
    “You’re deliberately tempting me,” he accused, realizing it was true.
    She flashed a smile at him. “Maybe a little,” she conceded.
    “You’re going to give me trouble, aren’t you?”
    “Absolutely.” She pushed open the guest room door revealing another spacious bedroom. “This bed is really comfortable.”
    He noted that large banks of windows seemed to be part of every room. She’d built the upper story with views in mind, not security. He could see great distances from every part of the house, but with open windows, even though the glass was tinted, a sniper could easily get a good shot. Inwardly he sighed. If he was to stay here on the farm, in this house—and what the hell was he thinking—he’d have to come up with a solution to the problem of those windows. How expensive was it to get bullet-proof glass in so many windows? He had money. Anyone in his position knew how to acquire and hide large amounts of money.
    “Why aren’t there dogs?”
    She frowned at him as she closed the bedroom door. “Dogs? I don’t understand.”
    “On a property of this size with so many of you being survivors of violence, I would expect a few dogs to help guard the property.”
    “Oh, that. Yes, it makes sense. Lexi and Airiana really push for dogs and so does Rikki’s husband.”
    Of course Lev would want dogs. “You don’t want them?”
    “Not until Rikki is comfortable with the idea. She has a difficult time with change. We’ve been talking about it for some time, sort of stepping around the idea, but now that she’s married and her husband has weighed in on the issue, I think we’re definitely going to have a few dogs. Airiana is very excited and I think Lexi will be relieved when we get them. She’s alone a lot working and a dog would make a good companion.”
    “Is your security system new?” He indicated the panel of numbers just inside her hallway. “You aren’t using it.”
    She made a face. “Levi wanted one installed in all our homes so we did it, but it’s a nuisance.” She led the way down the wide, sweeping staircase to the story below.
    “Nuisance?” he prompted. “Judith, security isn’t a nuisance. It’s put in place to protect you. Each of your houses is a good distance from the others. Essentially, you’re a woman alone living out here.”
    She rolled her eyes. “Now you sound like Levi. I like to go out onto my balcony in the middle of the night. Sometimes I sit in the garden or if I’m up late painting, sometimes all night, I leave the French doors open. My sisters come in all the time. I like an open-door policy. We’re always in and out of each other’s homes. If we had the security system on it would be going off continually.”
    “You have some serious issues, Judith. You need a little self-preservation drilled into you. All of you do.”
    “I’m never introducing you to Levi. He’s got us all learning