Begin Again (Again #1)(14)

I grimaced. “No thanks. No need. Would you excuse me now? I’ve got to go brush my teeth,” I said, putting down my coffee and getting up to leave. But I didn’t get far.

Kaden had grabbed me by the wrist and turned me around. In a sweeping move he’d trapped me between his legs. I stumbled and had to support myself with the other hand on his shoulder to avoid falling into his lap. I felt his hard muscles under his thin cotton shirt. Mmm.

“Monica is the only woman I’d call a friend.”

His grip around my wrist was gentle. I could have freed myself at any moment. But I didn’t want to, not at all.

“So you didn’t violate any rules,” he whispered, letting go.

Confused, I stayed put and frowned down at Kaden. “So I did everything right?”

Kaden raised one eyebrow. “That’s not how I’d put it, actually.”

“Actually,” I mimicked, grinning broadly at him.

“Don’t get too cocky, Allison.”

The grin froze on my face.

“How do you know my name’s Allison?” I demanded.

It was as if that other moment between us had never been. Kaden had rolled a bit backward on my desk chair and was giving me this nasty, mean look I’d come to know so well. “A good guess? There aren’t that many possibilities with a name like Allie.”

“Ah.” I turned away from him. “I really have to go wash up,” I said, and dashed out.

Sighing, I leaned over the sink and supported myself with both hands on the cool surface. Everything’s fine. It didn’t take magic for him to conjure Allie into Allison. And that wasn’t even my first name, just my middle name. Everything was okay. No need to worry.

Just as I shoved the toothbrush into my mouth, I heard a knock. And of course Kaden opened the door without waiting for me to say, “Come in.”

I should have screamed. Why isn’t there a lock? What if I’d been on the toilet? But instead I tried to appear as undisturbed as possible, and said only: “Hmm?”

“Do you have hiking shoes?” he asked.

I shook my head and brushed my teeth a bit more vehemently than necessary.

“That’s not going to do you any good,” muttered Kaden.

I spit out the toothpaste and rinsed my mouth well before asking, “You want to go on a hike with me?”

My words were muffled, as I dried my face with a hand towel.

“You said something about how you came here because of the scenery. I thought I could show you a few spots.”

Looking at Kaden, I raised one eyebrow. “Why?”

The fact that he could change so much overnight was utterly confusing to me.

Kaden just shrugged. “You don’t have to come. If you want, you can also sit around here and cry.”

Oh. My. God. Had he heard my little nervous breakdown last night?

He raised his eyebrows. “The walls are thin.”

“I was just—” I started, but Kaden interrupted.

“I don’t give a shit why you were bawling. Rule one,” he admonished me, as I pressed my lips together. Of course. “But if you’re in the mood to see a bit of Woodshill and you’re seriously into nature, come with me. I’m going out today.”

I swung around to face him as he followed me back to my bedroom. “You got me. But please leave me alone while I get dressed.”

His eyes twinkled. “I could help you.”

“Rule number three, Kaden,” I admonished, and even surprised myself at how well I managed to imitate his tone. Hopefully it would sink in with him, how ridiculous that whole thing was.

“No, I mean I could help you pick out what to wear,” he replied, without picking up on my joke. His brows knit, he walked over to my shelf and inspected my shoes. “You really don’t have any hiking shoes, do you?”

“Nope. I’ve only been in Woodshill a few days.”

He lifted up a pair of my heels. “But you have a hell of a lot of these.”

“You can’t have enough pumps.”

“I’m sure they look incredibly sexy, but I doubt you could walk for long in them.” He put the shoes back in their place and grabbed a pair of sneakers. They were old things that I only wore when I went to a Pilates class. “These will have to do.”

He set them on the floor in front of me and left the room. “Get a move on. I wanted to leave half an hour ago.”

He didn’t see me roll my eyes. On one hand it was nice of him to want to take me along, but on the other hand his domineering style was driving me crazy.

Still, I was secretly pleased to see something of the mountains that I’d only viewed from a distance or on the Internet. I put on a pair of jeans and a blouse. Then I tied the laces of my sneakers in tight loops and grabbed my purse.

When I entered the living room, Kaden was leaning against the kitchen counter. Seeing me, he frowned so darkly that I could hardly see his eyes. “Are you kidding me?” he asked, in disbelief.

“What?” I looked down at myself—not bad, if you asked me.

“Your top won’t work at all. It’s going to fall apart the minute you come near a branch. Come here,” he said and went into his room.

Taken aback, I followed him to the doorway.

He was standing in front of his dresser, rummaging around one of the upper drawers. As he reached, his sweatshirt slipped up so high that I could see a bit of his skin. A very nice sight. Especially when I let my eyes wander down below the waistband of his boxer shorts. My roomie had a very nice …