Page 10 of Holiday Wishes and Tentacle Dreams
Jake cringed at the overwhelming visual, then brushed it off. It was a place to live. A place to start over. He was lucky to have it. He could deal with overbearing thematic furnishings for a few months.
Resting Miranda Priestly’s carrier on the kitchen table, Jake stepped into the living room and gasped. The view wasincredible. The bay window was enormous, running most of the length of the side of the house facing the ocean. Not only was he confronted with sand and surf but also miles of coastline where Maine jutted out to the east.
Maybe everything wasn’tcompletelyterrible. Inside the house, the whoosh of the ocean water hitting the shore was like a faint, meditative blanket to the ear.
Out in the water, a man was surfing, wearing only a pair of board shorts, which seemed insane. It wasn’t February yet, but it was still pretty freaking cold.
On the other hand, he was a superb surfer. And really hot. For a moment, Jake allowed himself to get lost in ogling the stranger, with his toned, muscular chest and his blond hair. Plus, he was tall, and he had tattoos. Jakelovedtattoos.
He wrenched himself away from the vision on the water. It was ridiculous to think romantically about anyone at this point. Phil had just dumped him. He was unemployed and barely had a place to live. No one would be interested in a fat, jobless mess.
A shrill, obnoxious meow poured forth from the kitchen, and Jake spun around. He shouldn’t have left MP in the carrier. She was probably champing at the bit to explore her new home.Moving back to her, he unlatched the metal door and, excited to be free, the kitten darted out of her prison.
And straight through the still-open door.
Jake stumbled and yelped as he ran after her, calling her name as he raced down the steps. She bolted down the pathway on the side of the house leading to the beach, and he groaned.
Why was everything always so hard? Why did everything bad happen to him?
Already out of breath, Jake ran after her, but she wasn’t tempted by his calls to return.
What if she jumped into the ocean? Cats didn’t like water, right? But she could be surprised by a wave and swept out to sea. Or maybe an octopus could sneak up onto the beach and grab her with its tentacles. Or a kraken!
Visions of various sea creatures munching on his beloved kitty flashed through his head as the path transitioned from concrete to sand. He was on the beach now, and Miranda Priestly was about two hundred feet ahead of him.
She was still running at top speed, frolicking in the sand, glorying in how easy it had been to evade him. Stupid cat. He stopped for a moment to recover his breath, but his eyes stayed trained on MP, who shot further down the beach, up to the edge of the water, and…
Into the arms of the blonde surfer.
He was almost fully out of the water now, his toes the only part of him still covered. He wore a wide grin as he gazed down at the evil traitor in his arms.
Figures. All it took was one hot surfer, and Miranda Priestly discarded Jake like fish bones once the feast was over. Although Jake had to admit she had good taste.
Still huffing and puffing, Jake finally reached the guy, who had stepped out of the ocean and was strolling towards him.
“Who is this glorious being?” the man asked, petting MP, whose eyes were closed in ecstasy, oblivious to the angst she had caused.
“Uh, hi. Thanks for grabbing her. That’s Miranda Priestly. MP for short, but never Miranda. She gets very pissy about being called Miranda.”
The shirtless man chuckled, and Jake’s stomach did a ridiculous little pirouette inside his torso.
Really? It was going to be like that? No. Absolutely not. Jake would force himself to act normally, even if the guy was a total hottie.
“Anyway, thanks again,” Jake said, holding out his arms. The surfer transferred the cat over to him with surprising gentleness, brushing his fingers over Jake’s forearm. Even through Jake’s red flannel shirt, a spark of desire ignited at the touch.
Come on. He wasn’tthathard up. Sure, the guy was hot, but that wasn’t enough to explain the shiver running down his spine. This was silly. God, there’d been a flannel barrier between them.
Flannel. Because it was autumn. November. Almost winter.
“How can you be out here surfing without a wetsuit or anything?” Jake asked. “It’s freezing.”
The man shrugged as if it were nothing. “I’ve always had an affinity for the cold, and I find the sensation of rubber against my skin quite irritating. Besides, if I don a wetsuit, I cannot display my tattoos. You seem to appreciate them.”
Jake’s face flashed hot at the man’s words. He hadn’t realized how obvious his ogling had been. He’d spent the last thirty seconds poring over every inch of the man’s ink. On his right arm was a large skull surrounded by red roses. That was pretty, but what really made Jake drool were the tattoos across the man’s left shoulder. Black and white tentacles in a swirling pattern. His cock twitched in his jeans at the sight of them.
He had to stop. The man was beautiful, but this was rude. “I’m sorry?—”
“Oh, don’t be. I adore the attention, especially from a handsome man like you. The name’s Doren.”