Page 41 of Need You
Chapter Nine
Colt nearly knocked Delaney down. She’d been at his door, poised to knock, when he rushed out. Due to good reflexes, he caught her before she hit the ground.
“Sorry.” He kept his hands on her arms, reluctant to take them off. Not because he thought she was still in danger of falling but because she felt good. Soft and womanly. She smelled good too.
“You have an emergency?” she asked.
“No.” He was just running late as usual. “What’s up?”
“I made you something.”
That’s when he noticed the girly gift bag she held in her right hand. “You did? Why?”
She waved her free hand in the air. “It’s a long story. Just consider it a thank-you for yesterday.... It was lovely.” She handed him the bag, then waited expectantly.
Colt presumed she wanted him to open it in front of her. He untied the ribbon, felt into the bag, and pulled out some sort of a garment. Shorts. Navy blue ones that looked similar to all his others. But newer and lighter.
The last time someone had given him a gift, besides his parents, was his secret Santa at the annual Garner Adventure Christmas party. It’d been a ten-dollar Starbucks travel mug. He wasn’t quite sure how to react to Delaney’s present. She was a world famous designer. The shorts were probably worth at least three figures.
“Try them on,” she said, and practically pushed him back inside the house.
He didn’t really have time, but under the circumstances how could he say no? Taking the shorts to his bedroom, he got out of his uniform pants and slipped them on.
Whoa! What was he thinking? These were nothing like his other shorts. These were freaking unbelievable. First off, they fit him like they’d been custom made to his body. Secondly, they were incredibly comfortable while being ... Hell, he didn’t know anything about fashion. But these seemed deluxe, plenty of pockets, and a cut that wasn’t so bulky and long that they made him look distorted.
He knew cargo shorts had a bad rap. A dozen women had told him so. Still, there was a reason why they were the uniform for adventure tour guides everywhere. How else could they store gear on a long hike or a climb or a sport fishing trip? Backpacks were great but not always easy to get to when you needed bear spray in a split second.
He checked them out in the mirror. Yeah, the shorts were unbelievable, all right.
“Well?” Delaney called. “Come out so I can see them.”
He walked out of his room. “Can you make me more?”
She zoomed in on him, made him turn a few times, and pulled a pin cushion out of her purse. “Stand still. They’re too long and a little too full in the hips.”
“What are you talking about? They’re perfect.”
“Not quite, but they will be when I alter them.”
“You’re going to take them?” He felt a sudden, irrational possessiveness over the shorts.
She had her hands all over his waist, hips, thighs, even his ass. If it weren’t for her jabbing the pins a little too close to his package, he would’ve gotten a hard-on.
“Only for the day. Then I’ll return them. Promise.”
“Jeez, Delaney, you could make a fortune with these shorts.”
“I’m glad you like them, but a fortune? Highly doubtful. I hate to break it to you, but cargo shorts are not so much in style.”
“These could be. You could singlehandedly bring ’em back.”
“I think I’ll pass. They do look great on you, however.”
“Yeah?” He looked down where she was putting the last pins in the hems.
When she finished and looked up, they locked eyes and he was a goner. If he stood there any longer he was going to kiss her and that would be . . . a stunningly bad idea.
“I’ve got to get to work,” he said, but didn’t want to move.
