Page 30 of Never In My Wildest Dreams

He was glad he hadn’t been home that afternoon. Because he wouldn’t have been as nice as his mom had been. But enough about those assholes. He got up and brought his plate to the sink. At the window, he glanced out. “I’m going to split some more logs for the fire.”

“I was wondering when you were going to get around to it.” She came up behind him and set her empty plate on the counter. “You’ve only got enough to last the next three winters. Come on, Slacker. You need at least a year or two more.”

Her soft, feminine scent washed away any thoughts of his former friends and his concern about Marcus’s threat. It had him imagining peeling off her robe, hitching up the hem of her shirt, and gliding his hands up her warm belly, filling his palms with her tits. Were they small and pert or heavy and full?

Arousal got him half-hard, and he moved away from her. “I’ve got to work off some energy.” The blizzard was slowing down, and he was going out there. He’d shovel away this lust, even if it meant carving a path all the way into town.

He’d left his boots by the hearth, and on his way over to them, a thought struck him. “It’s Christmas Eve.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Why don’t you have a tree?”

“Thanks for thinking I can take down a mighty pine with my bare hands.” She flexed her biceps.

“You know I have an axe, right?”

“Even if I did, it’s not like I’d go out there and try to chop down a tree.”

“Nobody said you had to take down a ten-footer.”

“I’m just not in the mood.”

Well, moods changed. “Go on and check the water. Should be warming up by now. You can shower while I’m doing man-work.”

“You’re not going to cut down a tree, are you?” She got up, standing so close, he could smell the laundry detergent in her clothes. The faint scent of shampoo. She had a creamy complexion, and he wanted to see the flush of arousal pinken her cheeks.

He wanted to see her lips soften and part and her neck arch.

He wanted to know what sounds she’d make. Would she be loud, throaty? Demanding? Or would she whimper and sigh?

“If you’re really going to do this,” she said with a pleased grin. “Then, I’d better start making some decorations.”

“Sounds good.” He shoved his feet into the boots, and his hands into the still-damp gloves.

Damn, this woman intrigued him. She had a chef, she’d reached the pinnacle of success in her career…she didn’t know how to grate cheese. The puzzle was missing too many pieces for him to see a clear picture. Maybe she’d been an Olympic figure skater. To get to that level, her whole life had to be about training. Maybe she was an actress with a staff who managed her life.

It struck him just how narrow his world had become. He worked eighteen-hour days and rarely took vacation time. To be worthy of his commissions, he had to be available to his clients any time of the day or night. It was so all-consuming, he didn’t have time for social media or TV shows. And he wouldn’t recognize the latest pop or movie star if he fell over them.

As he headed for the back door, he realized something else he didn’t have time for. Friendships. Relationships. He hung out with his colleagues, but he didn’t think of them as friends. They joked around, bitched about difficult clients, and grabbed drinks every now and then. He didn’t date. He had hookups or went out with a woman as a plus-one to a wedding or an event.

He grabbed the axe from the utility closet and stepped outside. The realization hit him at the same time as the frigid air. Hellcat was the first woman he’d had an actual conversation with in a very long time. And he liked talking to her. Likedher.

Trudging through thigh-deep snow, her mischievous smile popped into his mind, setting off sparks under his skin.

The air froze in his nose and throat, but he kept going. He wanted to find the perfect tree for her…

What the hell?

He shook his head. Find the perfect tree? First of all, she didn’t even belong there. Secondly, he’d come there for a break. Not to be obsessing about some woman.

Well…too late for that. Hewaspreoccupied with her. What the hell was it about her that caught his interest?

He’d been around enough women to understand his body’s reactions. With Hellcat… She did something to him. Made him feel soft things he’d never felt before.

Was this why people got married? Because they found one person who got under their skin?

Probably. But this situation wasn’t like that. After this, they’d never see each other again. Weirdly, though, he had the sense Hellcat was a game-changer kind of woman. That if he spent more time with her, if she lived in his world…

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