Page 12 of Rocky Mountain Desire
Chapter Three
The nonchalance she’d donned like a cloak was harder to maintain once she was warm enough to concentrate on something other than the ice in her limbs. Things like his firm body under hers.
The tingling in her extremities slowly faded. The tingling in her core refused to go away.
“How do you like running the shop?” His deep growly voice tickled her ears at the same time he wiggled just enough to scrape his whiskered chin over her shoulder. She hoped the lingering chill in the air would stand as a good enough excuse for the goose bumps that rose in response.
“Stitching Post?” Hope shrugged, then froze as that motion slid their skin together too intimately. “It’s amazing. Although, there are moments, like when I’ve got more work to do than seems humanly possible, I wonder why in the world I thought being a business owner was a good idea.”
Matt chuckled. “The chores can seem unending, can’t they?”
“Like ninety five percent of the time?”
“At least you don’t have to muck shit.”
A laugh escaped her and she manoeuvred carefully to the bottom of the giant tub, slipping between his knees as she dipped her hands in the water one last time. “There is that. You’re right. If we want to play ‘who has the dirtiest tasks’, I’m pretty sure the ranch wins. But mindless? Matt, you need to try restocking the thread bins sometime.”
He sat straighter, his wet shirt clinging to the ridges of the six-pack muscles covering his abdomen. Oh dear. Hope dragged her gaze away.
“Those little white spool things? They got numbers on them, right?”
“Yeah, only they slip out of the rack on a spring-loaded system, which makes it oh-so-fun for the kids who get away from their moms to stand and one after another make them goping ping pingacross the room. One day I swear I reloaded that thing four times before I caught the little vermin and tied them down.”
Matt was laughing as she stood and reached for the towel. The timbre of the sound changed then cut off. She steadily ignored him, stepping onto the bathmat to catch the drips.
Yeah, she had enough body to catch anyone’s attention. She wasn’t unaware of it. Only she wasn’t trying to make this any harder for him than it already was.
The sheer dirtiness of her thought patterns made her want to snort. Poor baby. Hard?
“You warm already?” Matt crossed his hands over his lap casually, pulling his knees up to hide what must be another erection. Although she didn’t think he’d really lost the first one.
“Warm enough to go…”
The power was still out. What in the world was she leaving to go do?
Matt smirked. “I think you need to reconsider your options, friend. You were pretty chilled. The apartment isn’t getting any warmer.”
“So we’re going to sit in the tub all night?”
“Until we’re wrinkled like prunes.”
She shivered, and his expression changed, this time from lighthearted to deep concern.
Not even that was enough to stop her from getting out of temptation’s reach. “Now don’t look like that. I’m okay. Let me get a bunch of layers on, and I’ll be fine. You stay in the tub for a bit then we can talk about what happens next.”
It was the best idea—he couldn’t argue with her logic. When he nodded, she picked up one of the candles and used it to reach her bedroom.
Fifteen minutes later she had a flashlight to illuminate her way. Long johns, two layers of socks, a thick long-sleeve sweater and a quilted hoodie she’d made completed the outfit. She’d also dug up a few things for Matt, although she wasn’t sure how happy he’d be to receive them.
She tapped on the bathroom door. “Knock, knock. Is it safe to enter, your majesty?”
“My kingdom consists of six feet of water, two feet deep. One knock will suffice.”
Hope laughed and opened the door, her amusement dying away as she took him in. Candlelight glowed over Matt’s naked skin—he’d taken off his wet T-shirt, and all those ridges she’d felt under her before were now out in public. It wasn’t clear right off if he’d also removed the boxers. She wasn’t sure she could handle knowing.
Sweet mercy, what evil thing had she done to be tormented like this?
Ignoring him completely—ha!—Hope strode to the sink and plopped down the pile of clothing. She clicked on the spare flashlight and set it on the counter as well.
