I perch gently on one of the higher edges of the bed-frame, letting out a shaky exhale as I watch him stroke himself.
“Look, uh…” His voice is so deep that he has to clear his throat, flexing out a large hand before raking it through his hair again. “Don’t mean to impose. But if you don’t have anyone to help you get those inside, I can take a look at them for you, if you’d like.”
As much as I would love to spend my morning watching this gorgeous, small town muscle mountain carrying things for me, I can’t help but think that the wooden frames will be too heavy for one guy on his own.
“That’s super kind,” I tell him honestly, “but I think that this is more of a two-man job.”
He watches me for a moment before rumbling, “No such thing.”
His eyes hold mine for a couple of seconds, before he tips his chin at the headboard leaning against the wall of the condo.
“Want me to give it a try?”
I don’t think that it’s possible, but I also kind of want to see if he can do it.
I twist my lips, trying to hide my smile, and I nod. “Yeah, okay.”
I can tell that he knows that I don’t think he can do it because by the time that he’s finally two feet away from me he’s subtly rolling his shoulders in preparation. When his gaze catches mine his mouth lifts in amusement.
“Can you, uh…?” He looks down into my eyes, humour and heat sizzling in the air between us. He tentatively holds out his khaki cap, silently asking me if I can hold onto it for him.
“Oh, sure, of course,” I breathe out, trying to not burst into flames when our fingers accidentally brush against each other.
It’s like a zap of lightning. Coarse against soft.
Tanner grunts, quickly averting his gaze.
I re-cross my legs, swallowing nervously.
Tanner moves over to the headboard, leaning back slightly as if sizing it up, and then he crouches down so that he can get one hand positioned beneath it, the other firmly gripping the top. With one deep guttural sound he suddenly heaves it up, turning it ninety-degrees so that he’s holding it vertically. Then, when he’s sure that he’s holding it steady, he meets my eyes and gives me a jerk of his chin.
“This is fine. Thought it was gonna be heavy.”
I try to subtly pick my jaw up off the floor.
He nods his head toward the entrance of the condo and says, “Want me to take these inside? I can drop them in the foyer for you, if you want. I’ll do it fast, save them from the rain.”
I blink up at him curiously, watching the rain sparkle on his cheekbones.
I mean, having him carry them inside for me would be super helpful…
And it doesn’t exactly hurt that he’s, like, totally gorgeous…
“I’d love that. And that’s so considerate, thank you,” I say to him, getting to my feet and jogging to the front door. I swipe my key against the fob, opening it up for him.
Tanner carefully manoeuvres the first large piece of wood into the glossy entrance of the condo and, with an almost smile, he murmurs, “No problem.”
He sets the headboard gently against one of the dark ruby walls and briefly surveys the foyer before looking down at me again. He jerks a thumb back toward the entrance.
“Want me to grab the rest for you?”
He’s so to-the-point that I can’t help but smile. And after searching my eyes, he slowly allows himself to smile back.
And hissmile?
It’s the most handsome smile that I’ve ever seen.
“Yes, please,” I say gently, following him tentatively to the doorway.