Chapter Three

Just as I passed the bathroom, the door opened.

I froze as the hot wet air that rolled out of the small room hit me. The first thing I noticed was the masculine scent that filled the air as steam pooled out of the bathroom and wrapped around me. A second later my eyes landed on a man stepping out of the bathroom.

The first thing that struck me was his height. He was easily over 6 feet tall with broad shoulders and tapered waist. He was shirtless with dark grey joggers hanging low on his hips leaving his defined chest and abs on display. His skin was golden like he had been out in the sun all summer and his arms were tattooed with intricate designs. Muscles flexed under the inked skin as he rubbed a towel over his head.

I stood dumbfounded as the towel dropped revealing dirty blonde hair, a sharp jawline, straight nose and blueish green eyes that made my heart stop beating the moment they landed on me. The cerulean and earth green orbs were hypnotic. I had never seen eyes that colour before and it made me think of stormy seas pressing against forest topped cliffs.

For a moment I was dumbfounded by what I saw in front of me. It's not like I've never seen a good looking guy before but I've never seen one half naked in my house. His skin rippled over his chest and ribs as he breathed while his wet locks glimmered in the dim light of the hallway, shimmering like ripe wheat in a hot summer breeze. The tattoos, detailed and blooming with pinks, blues, whites and black resembled something complex and puzzling. I couldn't see all of the detail and work but I felt like my eyes were chasing one beautifully illustrated story after another.

The spell cast over me by his eyes and presence wore off within a second and my heart jumped into my throat.

"How did you get into my house?!" I yelled in a brief moment of bravery.

"Whoa!" The man raised his palms in what seemed like a sign to show me he meant no harm. "Hey, I just moved it. I'm Aiden. My friend Liam said I could crash here. You're Ellie, right?"

Aiden.

My mind flashed to the memory of the night before when Liam had told me his friend would be staying for a while. I felt my brow tense as I frowned in confusion, my eyes snapping back to the blonde intruder.

"Liam said you wouldn't be here until next week."

It sounded like an accusation and maybe it was.

"Yeah, well my plans changed and your brother said it was cool to move in today. He said he'd call you and give you the heads up." Aiden shrugged, dropping the towel over one of his shoulders and crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm guessing he didn't?"

"No," I sighed, shifting uncomfortably. "He probably did, I just forgot my phone today."

"A teenager forgetting their phone? I thought that was unheard of." He smirked, soft pink lips quirking in amusement.

I couldn't help but frown in annoyance at the condescending comment but didn't say anything back. Maybe it was that I was still trying to recover from the fright of finding someone in my home or maybe it was because that someone looked like a model and was looking right at me.

"Uh, right well...welcome." I stumbled and cringed inwardly at my awkwardness. "I better go let my brother know you're here."

"Sure thing." Aiden nodded. "And It was nice to finally meet you, Ellie."

I swallowed thickly as my name rolled out of his mouth for a second time. I watched him head down the hall to the spare bedroom leaving me standing alone, dumbfounded while my mind whirled like a swarm of bees. It was awkward enough that a guy was now living here but a seriously good looking guy? I literally felt like I was going to die from awkwardness.