Fallen Too Far (Rosemary Beach #1)(10)

"Guys. And flirting. At least, I think that is what is happening." I sounded like an idiot. The smile that slowly stretched across Woods face made me want to crawl under the golf cart and hide. I was so out of my league.

"Yes, this is definitely flirting. And how is it that someone as f**king unbelievably hot as you is not used to this kind of thing?"

I tensed at his words and shook my head. I needed to get to the sixteenth hole. "I've just been busy the past few years. If, uh, you don't need anything else the golfers on the sixteenth hole are probably angry with me by now."

Woods nodded and took a step back. "I'm not done with you. Not by a long shot. But for right now I'll let you get back to work."

I hurried back to the driver's side of the cart and climbed in. The next hole was a bunch of retired men. I had never looked more forward to being leered at by old guys in my life but at least they didn't flirt.

When I walked out to my truck that evening I was relieved to see no sign of Woods. I should have known he was just teasing the help. I had made a couple of hundred dollars in tips today and I decided that treating myself to an actual meal was okay. I pulled into the drive-thru at McDonalds and ordered a cheeseburger and fries. I ate them happily on the way back to Rush's. There was no car outside tonight.

I wouldn't walk in on him having sex tonight. Then again, he might have brought someone here in his car. I walked inside and stopped in the foyer. No television. No sound at all, but the door had been unlocked. I hadn't had to use the hidden key he'd told me about.

I'd sweated too much today. I had to have a shower before I went to bed. I stepped into the kitchen and checked the front porch to make sure it was free of any sexual escapades. Getting a shower would be easy.

I ducked into my room and grabbed the old pair of Cain's boxers and a tank top that I slept in at night.  Cain had given them to me when we were young and silly. He'd wanted me to sleep in something that was his. I'd been sleeping in them every since. Although now they were much tighter than they had been then. I'd developed curves since the age of fifteen.

I took a deep breath of the ocean air as I stepped outside. This was my third night here and I had yet to actually make it down to the water. I'd come home so tired that I hadn't had the energy to go out there. I went down the steps and put my pajamas in the bathroom before slipping off my tennis shoes.

The sand was still warm from the sun's heat. I walked across it in the darkness until the water's edge rushed up to meet me. The cold startled me and I sucked in a breath but let the salt water cover my feet.

My mom's smile as she told me about the time she'd played in the ocean flashed in my memory and I tilted my head up to heaven and smiled. I was finally here. I was here for both of us.

A sound to the left broke into my thoughts. I turned to look down the beach just as the moonlight broke free of the clouds and Rush was spotlighted in the darkness. Running.

Once again, he was shirtless. The shorts he was wearing hung low on his narrow hips and I was mesmerized by the way his body looked as he ran toward me. I wasn't sure if I should move or if he was done. His feet slowed and then he came to a stop beside me. The sweat on his chest glistened in the soft light. Oddly enough I wanted to reach out and touch it. Something that a body like his made couldn't be gross. It was impossible.

"You're back," he said as he took a few deep breaths.

"I just got off work," I replied, trying hard to keep my eyes on his and not his chest.

"So you got a job?"

"Yes. Yesterday."

"Where at?"

I wasn't sure how I felt about telling him too much. He wasn't a friend.  And it was obvious I'd never consider him family. Our parents might be married but he didn't seem to want to have anything to do with my father or me.

"Kerrington Country Club," I replied.

Rush's eyebrows shot up and he took a step closer to me. He slipped a hand under my chin and tilted my face up. "You're wearing mascara," he said, studying me.

"Yes, I am," I pulled my chin out of his grasp. He might be letting me sleep at his house but I didn't like him touching me. Or maybe I did like him touching me and that was the problem. I didn't want to like him touching me.

"It makes you look more your age." He stepped back and did a slow appraisal of my clothing.

"You're the cart girl at the golf course," he said simply looking back up at me.

"How did you know?" I asked.

He waved a hand at me. "The outfit. Tight little white shorts and polo shirts. It's the uniform."

I was glad for the darkness. I was positive I was blushing.

"You're making a f**king killing aren't you?" he asked in an amused tone.

I'd made over five hundred dollars in tips in two days. That wasn't a killing to him but to me it was.

I shrugged. "You will be relieved to know that I'll be out of here in less than a month."

He didn't respond right away. I should probably leave and go get my shower. I started to say something when he took a step closer to me. "I probably should be. Relieved that is. Real f**king relieved. But, I'm not. I'm not relieved, Blaire," he paused and leaned down to whisper in my ear, "why is that?"

I wanted to reach out and grab his arms to keep from crumpling to the ground in a heap of mush. But I refrained.