Page 63 of A Labor of Hate
I grunted in frustration.“Okay, yes, please help me.”
Colt chuckled, enjoying the show far too much.“Wow, you even said ‘please’.”
“Don’t make me regret it,” I warned, as if there were anything I’d ever regret more than getting myself into this position in the first place.
“Wouldn’t dream of it.Now, would you like me to push from the back or pull from the front?”
“That’s a difficult question to answer.”Neither option was ideal.Either he got an armful of saggy swimsuit and raw, red legs, or I had to look at him while he helped me out from what was easily the worst predicament of my life.
“If you won’t decide, I’ll decide for you.”
“Ugh, okay, pull from the back, then.I’ll come back the way I came.I think that’s my best bet.”I hadn’t succeeded in getting my belly fully past the windowsill, so in theory this should be easier.
“Very well, then.Uh…” He broke off, having moved close enough his body heat faintly radiated across my legs.“How do I… how would you prefer I…grabyou?”
“However you can,” I grunted, quickly losing the battle against gravity as my arms trembled more violently.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes,” I bit out, the word sharper than intended.I sucked in a breath and tried again.“Sorry, that came out ruder than I meant.Yes, please, just grab whatever part of me you need to.I know you aren’t trying to cop a feel or anything.”
He’d never be the type to do so, period, but especially not while I was wearing the Celibacy Maker 3,000.The stupid, hearts-in-her-eyes part of me almost wished he would, though.What was an appreciative butt squeeze or two between fake spouses in the grand scheme of things, anyway?
When he still didn’t grab me, I let out a frustrated huff.My muscles would give out any second.“Colt, for the love of everything, just grab me.Touching me won’t kill you, but if you don’t get me out of here soon,Imight.”
Threatening my crush left a lot to be desired in the flirting department, but I couldn’t bring myself to care.Not when my sweaty fingers started slipping on the windowsill.My vision blurred around the edges, only the unmade bed in the center of the room in focus.
His arms locked around my thighs where they met my hips, his firm body pressing against my legs to provide leverage while he lifted me up by the hips.The sudden warmth and pressure and sheer electricity that flooded my body from the contact nearly made me lose my hold on the windowsill.My brain short-circuited.But in my defense, anyone would if their butt was pressed up against their crush’s rock-hard chest.
I snapped out of it, finally making myself useful by pushing myself up and off the sill with what strength I had left.For one heart-stopping moment, I didn’t budge.Then, with a sliding, almost grinding noise, I popped free.
The momentum sent me backward.Colt stumbled from having an entire woman shoot herself butt-first at him, his hold on my hips too awkward to prevent the inevitable.We both went down.His body cushioned my fall, a wheezing grunt escaping him as I all but sat on him.
I rolled off him as soon as I could, but the damage was already done.He lay on the grass staring at the darkening sky until his diaphragm could expand again.
The grass smooshed beneath my palms and knees as I crawled to his side, the earthy scent of the soil mixing with his subtle cologne.My hand hovered over his chest uncertainly.I doubted I’d cracked one of his ribs, but in case I had, I didn’t want to make things worse by poking around.“Are you okay?”
He finally sucked in a breath, the red fading from his freckled face with the return of oxygen.He rubbed at his chest, his hand brushing mine with every rapid inhale until I regained enough wits to move out of his way.
The corner of his mouth inched upward, humor sparking in the rich depths of his eyes.“This wasn’t what you meant when you said you’d kill me, right?Because I can’t deny its effectiveness.”
I snorted a laugh, relief flooding me.If he could tease me, he was fine.“This was just punishment for taking so long.”
He arched an eyebrow.“You have a strange way of saying thank you.”
My smile widened and, thoroughly spent, I collapsed onto my back beside him.I turned my head to face him, only to find our noses much closer than I’d anticipated since he’d done the same.
I didn’t move away, though.Neither did he.
I swallowed hard, my snarky reply lost in the wind as it bent the treetops overhead.The dark clouds I’d seen on the horizon when leaving the spa were nearly above us now, angry and vengeful.The backyard was covered in a thin gray film, darkening the world around us with the imminent storm.
And yet, for all the needles pricking my skin at the thought of a thunderstorm, I didn’t want to go inside.I didn’t want to move at all—or ever—if it meant robbing myself of this moment, this suspension of time beside him.
“Thank you,” I managed to say, my voice as breathless as it was sincere.“Really.”
A crease flickered between his brows, his eyes darting over my face, my hair, my lips.When he spoke, his voice barely carried over the howl of the wind.“You’re welcome.”
And then he looked further down me, where my belly pulled the otherwise saggy fashion disaster skyward.A monument to loud prints and clashing colors.
