Defy Desire

Chapter 21 - Maia

I took my hair down from its bun as I studied his bathroom. The large, silver tub stole the show in the centre of the room perched on grand, curled feet and was almost twice the size of my own back at home. It had almost finished filling up and I had used far too much bath milk in the water and the foam was practically overflowing.

I moved back into his bedroom and made the bed quickly while I waited. My eyes glanced towards the bookshelves near the window and I moved towards them and studied the titles. I hadn't heard of most of them and pulled an interesting looking one out studying the cover. It was some sort of crime novel; I placed it back in it's place.

'You're probably not likely to find something that suits your taste on there...' His voice came from behind me and I turned to see him smiling.

'I was just browsing,' I said, smiling softly, and I turned back to the shelf.

'What sort of read do you prefer?' he asked, his voice getting closer until he was stood right behind me.

'I'm usually one for a thriller if I'm honest,' I told him.

I noticed his hand reach over my shoulder and pull something out.

'You might enjoy this,' he said. I could feel his breath on my neck as he spoke. 'It's my favourite author and I think this could be a 1st edition; it's rather old now.'

I took it from him and studied it before turning to him and smiling.

'I'll give it a go,' I told him.

He stared at me with a small smile and I moved away from him to stop the tap in the bathroom before the water overflowed. I shut the door behind me and tried to calm my pounding heart as I turned off the tap. I set the book down on the side and stripped out of the clothes he had lent me before climbing into the tub. I reached over for the book and lay back, opening it to the first page. He was planning on working for most of the day, so reading was probably a good plan to pass my Sunday by and not have to be alone in my apartment thinking about the previous night.

I made my way through chapter one. It was quite different to what I'd usually read, after all it was an older piece of writing, but I intended to give it a chance after he had said it was one of his favourites. I came to chapter 2 and had started to gain more of an interest into the introduction of the character and continued through to chapter 3 and by this point, I was drawn in.

I lay there in the bath and began my way through the next chapter when the door opened. I expected to hear his voice echo through but no sound came after a few seconds and when I glanced up from the book he was coming in. I felt a moment of self-consciousness until I realised I was totally consumed by the foam rising up from the bath and I smiled at him

'I thought you were going back to finish your work?' I questioned. 'Everything okay?'

'Couldn't concentrate,' he said, his expression was strange.

'Okay,' I said, focusing my eyes on him. 'Are you okay?'

He glanced at the floor for a second, his hand still on the door handle and then back up to me. 'It's impossible for me to focus on work knowing you're in here.'

'Oh...' I murmured. 'Well, you could have told me no when I asked to stay.'

I felt a little embarrassed and didn't know what else to say to him.

'That's not what I meant.' He immediately shook his head. 'Sorry.'

I watched him start to appear shifty and awkward and I realised he hadn't meant what I'd thought. A smile touched my lips at the sight of him looking a little embarrassed.