Make Me Series

Chapter One VADA The plane rattles and shakes as it prepares to make its landing. Cringing, I steady myself on the armrest, but when I place my hand down, it touches the guy sitting next to me. “Oh, s**t. Sorry.” I jerk my hand back and wrap my arms around my body. “It’s okay. Take it,” the older gentleman offers. I’m not afraid of flying, but I don’t exactly love it either. Especially when it feels like we’re about to fly straight into the ground. “Are you sure?” I ask although he’s already removed his arm. He nods, and I graciously wrap my fingers around it and squeeze. “Thank you.” We finally land, and once we deplane, I grab my carry-on and head for the baggage claim. I can already feel the heat and am completely overdressed in my black leggings, winter boots, and thick scarf. South Carolina feels like a sauna, and I can almost taste the heat and humidity. I hail a taxi and inform the driver where I’m going. It’s at least another two hours before we’ll arrive at the house, but it’ll be worth it. Quiet, solitary, peace. Just what I need to finish my novel. As soon as I open the car door, the scent of the ocean blows in the air. It smells like heaven. “Thank you,” I tell the driver when he pulls my luggage out of the trunk. “You definitely aren’t from around here, huh?” he comments, taking in my appearance and bad wardrobe choice. I furrow my brows, wondering if that’s meant as a bad thing. “You have a midwestern accent.” He confirms his suspicions. “Oh, yes. Chicago,” I tell him. “I’m definitely not in the city anymore.” I laugh, grabbing for my wallet. Chicago has been home to me for years, but it’s loud, attracts tourists all year round, and neighbors are so close, you can hear them pee. I can only drown out the noise for so long before it drives me insane, which led me to booking an Airbnb for a week. “It’s a whole different world out here,” he tells me. I hand him the money with a smile. “That’s what I’m hoping for.” As the taxi drives away, I grab my luggage and take in the scenery. It’s stunning. The Airbnb I rented is a small guesthouse with a garden view. The pictures were amazing, so I’m looking forward to staying in this little peaceful sanctuary for the next week. Walking up the sidewalk to the main house, I notice a cute porch swing on the patio and some planters along the porch steps. The owner seemed very charming and kind by the pictures, description, and detailed information he wrote for the listing. Everything screams southern. I like it. In fact, I like it a lot. I ring the bell, and when the door opens wide, my eyes scan up and down the man’s body, and I’m shocked to see he’s completely shirtless. He’s wearing low-cut jeans that ride effortlessly on his hips. He’s maybe a couple years older than me. Dark hair is tousled across his forehead, piercings in his ears, facial hair grazes his hard jawline, and rock-hard abs line his stomach. I swallow as my eyes roam down to the deep V that disappears into his low-cut jeans. He’s rugged and manly and definitely not what I expected to answer the door. He’s the epitome of a heartbreaker I’d write about in one of my romance novels, and I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing. It’s official. I’m undeniably not in Chicago anymore. “Can I help you or do you plan to stand here and stare at me all evening?” he asks in a faint southern accent; his words take me completely off guard. I snap my eyes back up and watch him as he studies my features. “That’s a rather crass assumption.” “Not an assumption, ma’am.” “Don’t call me ma’am. My name is Vada Collins. I rented the guesthouse,” I explain, tilting my chin toward the backyard. “Vada? Hm.” He strokes his fingers along his scruff as he narrows his eyes at me. “What?” “I wouldn’t have pegged you for a Vada. In fact, I read your name as Vat-ah.” “Yeah, that’s happened all my life.” I sigh. “Thanks, Mom and Dad,” I mutter to myself, but he chuckles anyway. “It’s cute.” I narrow my eyes at him, annoyed that he just called my name cute. “Don’t call my name that. I’m not an eight-year-old girl.” “f**k. You’re feisty, aren’t you? I like that in a woman.” He winks, and it sends a shiver down my spine. What the hell is happening? “Are you for real?” I ask. “As real as my twenty-inch c**k. Care to come in and see it?” He takes a step to the side and sweeps his arm from one side to the other, motioning for me to come in. “Excuse me?” I nearly choke on my tongue and take a step back as I envision him pulling down his pants and whipping out his anaconda. “Are you insane or something?” “Inviting you inside is what we folks down here call southern hospitality, sweetheart.” He flashes me one of those smirks I’d write about in my novels where the girl’s panties instantly combust, and although this man is s*x on a stick, I’m not falling for it. “I do not want to come inside and see your python-sized c**k, okay? Just give me the keys, and I’ll find my way around.” He starts laughing. Laughing. The asshole. “Sweetheart, I wasn’t talking about my python-sized c**k—although you aren’t wrong on how big it is—but I was literally talking about my rooster, Henry.” Wait. What? “You have a rooster?” My brows rise, and I can feel my cheeks starting to heat. I’ve just made a complete ass out of myself, and it’s all his fault. “That’s what I said. He likes to wander around the backyard, so don’t get freaked if you see him around the guesthouse.” I groan, closing my eyes to release the added stress. “Great, I’ll be sure to watch for him.” I hold my palm out flat in front of me. “The keys? Can I have them please?” His hand reaches for his pocket but then stops. “Not so fast. I need to go over the rules and stipulations first.” “I read all of the rules online when I booked the place. I know what your stipulations are. I’m tired, I smell like airplane, and I just want to take a hot shower,” I explain, but he ignores me. “Follow me,” he calls out, walking into the house and leaving me both confused and speechless on the porch. I step inside with my rolling suitcase and follow behind him. The wheels from my luggage rattle against the hardwood floor, and before I can fix it, he turns around, grabs my suitcase, and carries it on his shoulder. “Are you going to tell me your name?” I ask, realizing I only know him by his name on the Airbnb site—E. Rochester. Sounds made up now that I see him in the flesh. He looks more like a Mr. Robinson. Probably seduces young women and takes their youth and then bails. Or maybe the E stands for egotistical. “No. Are you going to tell me your favorite position?” “What?” I screech, certain I heard him wrong. “Of baseball,” he clarifies, looking over his other shoulder at me, sporting an infamous panty-melting smirk. “I don’t—” “It feels like you’re hoarding baseballs or bowling balls in here. Shit.” I narrow my brows, annoyed he continues to make s****l comments about normal things while knowing exactly what he’s doing. And I’m giving him just the reaction he’s hoping for. Dammit. “It’s books actually,” I correct him. “I’m a writer.” “A writer? Really?” He sets the luggage down in the middle of the kitchen that looks like it came straight from a Country Living magazine. “I wouldn’t have pegged you as a writer either.” “What does that mean?” I ask, folding my arms over my chest defensively. I’ve known this guy for all of five minutes, and already he’s labeling me and pissing me off. “You look like a basic girl. I assumed you were a dancer or something. Maybe a gymnast. Or hell, even a model.” I’m not sure what the hell he’s talking about, but I’m pretty certain that kind of sounded like a compliment? “What’s a basic girl?” “You know, hair up in one of those ironic messy buns that probably took you at least ten minutes to get just right. You’re wearing tight, black leggings with gray Ugg boots, and one of those scarfs that’s more for fashion than it is useful.” He shrugs, unapologetically. “All you’re missing is a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte in your hand and a pair of Gucci sunglasses.” “And that makes me a basic girl?” “That’s right, sweetheart.” I point a finger in the air at him. “Don’t call me sweetheart,” I tell him, annoyed. “And is that what they consider Southern hospitality down here because, if so, I gotta say—not impressed.” He laughs again, and it actually sounds real. “Just laying out the facts.” “Well, I mean, if that’s what we do around here with someone you literally met minutes ago, I’d say it’s my turn.” “Go for it. Give me your best.” He crosses his muscular arms over his broad chest, and it takes me a moment to remind myself to stop looking at his incredible body. Getting a better view of him in the light, I see a layer of sweat or water covering his chest and torso. Either he was working out or just got out of the shower. But who the hell works out in jeans, especially in this gross humidity? “Well, for starters, you answer the door shirtless. You have this whole edgy, heartbreaker look going on, which is probably because you think you’re God’s gift to women. Probably in a band and are used to sleeping with groupies every weekend. You flash that smirk around as if you know it gets you whatever you want, which if I were anything like a basic girl, I would fall head over heels for. You strut your body off as if it’s the only way to grab my attention in hopes I’ll just start stripping off all my clothes. Your hands look rugged and have calluses, so aside from playing in a band on Friday and Saturday nights, you work with your hands. A mechanic or builder, maybe.” He studies me as I continue to ramble, looking over his physique and handing out every stereotype he matches. If he wants to judge me based on five seconds of meeting me, then I have no choice but to do the same. “So, how close am I?” I ask, feeling confident with my assumptions. He purses his lips and nods. “I’m impressed.” “Well, I do have a knack for reading people. It’s what makes me a great writer.” “Is that so?” He arches a brow, and I nod confidently. “Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you, sweetheart, but you couldn’t be further from the truth,” he says, matter-of-factly. “However,” he continues in a low seductive tone, “you are right about one thing.” I roll my eyes and groan. “What’s that, Casanova?” “I was hoping you’d start stripping off all your clothes.” “You’re so vain,” I hiss at him. “I would never—” “You’re wearing six layers of clothing in ninety-degree weather,” he cuts me off. “Stripping off your clothes is to make sure you don’t pass out from a heatstroke on my newly remodeled kitchen floor.” I release a long-exaggerated breath, seriously over his s****l remarks and condescending attitude. “If this is what southern men are like, count me out.” “Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that. Your basic girl snark and sarcasm will scare them off for you.” I bite my tongue to keep from cursing him out. I don’t have the energy to deal with this egotistical asshole. “Can we just skip the rules and whatever else for now, and just give me the damn key, please? I’ve been traveling all day, I’m exhausted, and I need to wash the travel stench off me.” “I wasn’t going to say anything but—” “Can you just please stop being a d**k for one minute?” I pinch my eyes shut and inhale deeply. He raises his brows and then reaches into his pocket, revealing the keychain with a single key hanging from it. “Your wish is my command.” He holds it out, and I quickly grab it before he can pull it away. “Thank you,” I say, firmly. He opens the back door for me and points me in the direction of the guesthouse. He stays silent as I grab my suitcase and roll it behind me down the porch steps. The walkway to the guesthouse is lined with gorgeous flowers and bushes that I hadn’t expected, especially after meeting the owner—who, by the way, I still didn’t get his name. I spin around, determined to make him tell me, but when I do, a swarm of bugs start biting the s**t out of me. “Oh my God!” I wave my hands around frantically, spinning and trying to get away. I scream, hoping he’ll help me or at least get me out of here, but all I hear from his direction is laughter. “What the f**k?” I shout, thrashing my arms around, trying to dodge them. “If you had let me finish, I would’ve told you that your perfume was too strong. It attracts the mosquitoes. But so does travel body odor and sweat.” “You asshole,” I mutter, knowing he’ll hear me anyway. “Tried to warn ya,” he says casually, and when I look up at him, he’s leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed like the smug asshole he is.