Lia was up early, a habit of being a nurse that worked the morning shift. She had breakfast, went to the hardware store, and was up on the roof before nine. It was going well, and she was almost finished when a voice called down to her from above.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!"

Lia didn't bother to look up; she realized she was running out of time to get the job finished, so she started to work faster, ignoring the man. He couldn't get to her from where she was unless he came outside and climbed the ladder.

"I'm tarping your roof so that you have further time to consider my concerns!" she yelled back.

"Get the hell off my roof and my property you crazy woman!"

"Make me!" she challenged as she nailed faster, but she breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the window above her slam shut.

It took her about five more minutes, and when she finished, she grinned at her handy work. She had done it, she may not have won the war, but she had won the battle. She slid down to the edge of the roof and looked down at the ladder, freezing at the man she saw waiting for her at its base.

He was not skinny and balding. He was a mass of quivering muscle, Lia could tell by the way his arms were crossed and the muscles in his forearms clenched and unclenched as if he wanted to hit something or someone.

"Well, you have to come down sometime!" he yelled up at her.

Taking a deep breath, she turned around to descend the ladder. "You can at least hold the ladder," she suggested.

"A little late to be worried about your safety isn't it?" he asked, placing a foot on the base to hold the ladder in place. She noticed he was barefoot, and the cuffs of his blue jeans were frayed, and the knees had holes. The t-shirt he was wearing was also worn and had a few stains and holes in it as well.

As she hit the bottom step, he didn't back off as she had expected him to. Instead, he stepped up behind her, trapping her between him and the ladder.

Lia took a deep breath and froze, holding tight to the ladder. It wouldn't do to admit she was scared; it would only make her more of a target. She couldn't help keeping her mind from remembering the story about him killing his wife. Still, the vibe she got from him was not menacing, even though she thought that might be the mood he was trying to get across. It was a sexy, warm, just woke up vibe, as if he was still half asleep.

He was a big man, and his dark brown hair fell in waves around his head, covering his ears and neck, and he had a thick beard that hid half of his face. It was apparent that he wasn't into appearances. However, despite his raggedy look, he smelled divine, like citrus and fresh laundry detergent, and the heat emanating off him surrounded her just as his scent did.

"If you're trying to scare me it's not working," Lia said honestly. Her heart rate accelerating as he stayed close to her. She didn't think she had ever been as aware of another person like she was aware of Benjamin Emerson.

"I can see your heart pounding in your neck," he said softly next to her ear, "I think that means you're a little concerned."

She gave a smile. "I'm afraid of heights," she insisted as she turned and leaned back on the ladder.

He wasn't expecting it, and his eyes grew wide in shock before they narrowed. His face was only inches from hers, and Lia could see the green specks in his hazel irises. He let his gaze skim her face before he moved further into her space. "Get the hell off my property before I call the police, and if you ever try a stunt like this again I will call the police immediately, and you can deal with them first," he whispered in her ear.

Lia had a shiver chase up her spine at the feel of his breath on her cheek and his legs brushing hers, but she managed to control herself outwardly. Was she that desperate for a little male attention. Her engagement had ended nine months previous, so it had been a while, but she didn't think she missed it that much, especially since it had never been that great to begin with.

Suddenly, as if he was now bored with the conversation he pushed away from her and started walking back towards his porch without a backward glance.

"You're welcome!" she shouted after him. She had imagined the entire thing; there was no way that she could be attracted to such a vile man. It had been fear; they said it could do funny things to you.

*******

Ben slammed his front door on her words. Where in the world had she come from? He had moved into the house over a year ago, after his grandfather had died, in hopes of being left alone, and so far, it had been going great. That was until she had started to bother him a few weeks ago about the house.

He moved towards the kitchen that needed just as much work as the rest of the house to make himself some coffee.

He knew the house needed work, and it was in his to-do list, but he never did anything when he was working on a new book. There was never enough time. He wished he could hire someone to do the work, then he wouldn't have to worry about it, but he was hesitant to do so because hiring someone meant dealing with them. It meant meetings and picking out colors and furniture, and he didn't have time for all of that.

Since his two hours of sleep had been interrupted he might as well try to get some work done. He always wrote better when he was half asleep anyway; he tended not to overthink things.

As he waited for his coffee to brew, he made himself some toast and thought about his nosy neighbor. He had to admit she was a sexy little thing. Her blond hair had been pulled back into a long ponytail, and he couldn't help but notice how her jeans fit her so well because he had had a stellar view, and she smelled good too, like peaches and vanilla.

Ben rubbed his face and groaned as he remembered how his mood had changed from anger to lust in less than a minute. Her cute little body had been so close to his, and it had been so long since he had touched a woman. She was something he didn't need in his life right now. Hopefully, she took his warning seriously and stayed away.

His phone rang interrupting his thoughts, and he looked down to see his sister's name. With a sigh, he answered.

"Hey," he greeted as he moved to the coffee maker.

"Nice of you to decide to answer this time," Trinity greeted.

"It was nice of me, wasn't it. What do you want?" He carried his coffee and toast down the hall and towards the stairs.

"I was wondering if I could stop by this evening, we need to talk about your investments."

Trinity was a wiz at making money, and she had been able to triple the money he made off his books in less than ten years.

She sighed at his continued silence. "Ben, it's been over six months since we meet and some decisions needed to be made yesterday. I promise, half an hour tops," she begged

"Fine, but bring some Chinese, I haven't had any in a while. I have a hard time getting people to deliver lately." Ben fell into his desk chair, sipping his coffee.

"Gee, I wonder why? Perhaps it's your winning personality, or maybe it's the haunted house in which you live," she said sarcastically.

"It's not haunted!" Ben objected.

"It looks like it is, it's falling down around your ears. It's so primitive; I don't know how you manage quite honestly."

"You sound just like my nosy neighbor. You're not going to show up with a hammer and nails and start fixing things, are you?" he asked without thinking.

When he was greeted with nothing but silence he realized the mistake he had made and cringed.

"Nosy neighbor?" Trinity asked, trying to play it cool. "Tell me more."

"No, I prefer not to. It was all I could do not to kill her this morning," Ben said with a grimace as he thought about being awakened by the sound of hammering.

"You shouldn't say things like that Ben," Trinity chastised. "Especially after the rumors that Illianna's family started."

Ben shook his head, the rumors had never bothered him, he lived in his own written world more than he did in his reality, but he sometimes forgot how they had affected his family.

"I'm sorry Trinity, I forget how much it's affected you."

She accepted his apology and moved on. "I'll come by about six, will that work?

"Sure, I'll be here, don't forget the Chinese."

"I won't!"

Ben ended the call and threw his phone down on the desk. He needed a new character in his book, an antagonist, maybe she could be blond and smell like peaches and vanilla.