Playing With Fire

Chapter 4 - Hazel-eyed beauty

Shahru slipped out of the apartment to grab the paperwork while the two ladies skipped around, giggling and hugging like a couple of school girls. The black haired, Kajol, caught him by surprise with her excitement over the apartment. Growing up the way he had, he always had to be prepared for anything. People didn't catch him by surprise often. However, the curvy little woman who reeked of money yet looked at him like she wanted to eat him up, and looked at the cozy apartment like it was the damn Taj Mahal, did just that. Probably because her hot little body sidetracked him. It had been a long damn time since he'd had a woman beneath him. His body stirred with sexual hunger that he forced himself to deny. This hazel-eyed beauty would be off limits. Two seconds in her company was all it took to know she needed a no-trespassing sign.

He knew that the woman in the next apartment over—she'd want more than he could give. He led his own life, had a few close acquaintances, but no one too close to him. Fewer people to risk letting down that way. Fewer people to risk seeing behind the mask he wore. But damn, something about her—shit, something about her in just the few minutes they'd been around each other—intrigued him.

She had a story. He didn't know what it was, but he wanted to. Why would someone like her be into a place like this? Not that the complex wasn't nice. It was, but it wasn't her kind of nice. Still, for some reason she wanted it to be. For some reason she needed support from her friend just to look at an apartment. For some reason he stood here wanting in on the gossip like a damn teenage girl.

Shahru laughed before going into his place to grab the paperwork for her. A couple minutes later he opened the door to B12 to hear Kajol talking about paint shades.
"The owners have no problem with painting as long as you don't go with wild colors or anything. If you do decide to paint, it all needs to be changed back when you leave. If you let me know what you want I can do it for you." He handed her the rental application.

"There's only a few things I'd like to do, and of course, I'd run them all by you ahead of time. If it's okay, I'd like to do the work myself, though."

Now that couldn't have shocked him more. She didn't look like a paint-and-overalls kind of girl. "You sure? I don't mind."

The other woman's phone rang. "Be right back, Kaj." She slipped out.

"Like I said, you don't have to feel obligated to do the painting yourself. That's what I'm here for. I'd be willing to do it for you."

"I'm sure you would, but this is my first place. I'm excited about doing it myself, if you don't mind. If that's against the rules or something, I—"

Her sweet little voice wrapped around him. Damn, he hadn't been this attracted to a
woman in a very long time. "How old are you?" He hoped like hell he hadn't been eying someone too young for him. She looked old enough. Maybe a few years younger than his thirty-two, but then, why would this be her first place if that were true?

"I'm twenty-five."

One he still wanted to know but wouldn't ask. "Just making sure I wasn't harboring
a runaway or something." He smiled at her, and she flushed pink. Knowing it was stupid, but unable to stop himself, Shahru said, "You have a story, and the more I'm around you, the more I'm curious what it is."

She frowned. Obviously that topic wasn't up for discussion. Not that it really mattered. He shouldn't care, anyway. "When do you think you'll have the papers back? I'm fairly sure you'll pass the application. If you're really interested, I'll tell anyone else who calls about the place that It's already been taken." He shouldn't do that—it surprised the hell out of him that he said it—but he would.

"I'll have the papers back to you later this afternoon. I want to move in as soon as possible."

This might be a huge-ass mistake, but he wanted her to move in soon as possible too.