Page 24 of Dove
“Son of a bitch,” I cursed colorfully through clenched teeth, my irritation growing.
From experience, I knew I should take a deep breath and step back. My mounting frustration wouldn’t make this go any easier, but my mind buzzed like a hive of angry bees, filled with all these conflicting thoughts, and my clit wasthrobbing, god, just from the chaste imaginings of us sitting on the couch together.
Jesus, I needed to get laid.
I needed?—
“Let me help with that.”
The sudden warm press of larger hands over mine steered me away from the pesky chicken wire.
“Jesus, Dove,” Josh’s voice came out reprimanding. “You’re all cut up.”
I looked down only to notice several more cuts than I had before.
“Why aren’t you wearing gloves?”
Oops.I’d forgotten all about the tough leather gloves we typically wore for this exact reason, distracted as I’d been.
Snatching my hands out of his, I resisted the urge to hide them behind my back.
Instead, I clutched the cutters in my hand like a lifeline.
“I’m fine,” I argued. “I’m almost done here. I thought you were ordering food?”
“I can help.” He grabbed the chicken wire, cautious of the sharp points. “And I came to ask what you wanted on your pizza.”
I gave him a pointed look.
After a beat he said, “I guess that means you still like pepperoni with?—”
“Extra cheese and a thin crust,” I finished for him. It’d been my order for years now. Josh always just doubled it. “Yes.”
I started to untangle the sections I’d cut free as Josh held it steady. I had to admit, it was faster this way. Of course, I’d never tell him that.
“You better get that order in soon,” I warned as I found another spot to cut free. The sound of the metal snapping echoed throughout the barn. “You know how busy they get on Friday nights. It’s like the whole damn town wants takeout.”
“I have a better idea,” he proposed instead, stilling my hands once more as he stole the cutters from my tight grip. He ignored my growing frown. “I’ll finish this, it won’t take me long to reinforce the coop now that you’ve got most of this cut, and you go get cleaned up.”
A break from this damn chicken wire sounded wonderful, I thought, side-eyeing it as if it were my own personal enemy. But I didn’t want Josh to think he could come in here and take over. Just like I didn’t want him to think he could walk back into my life and expect me to forget what he’d done.
“I know what I’m doing.” I stood up straighter, even though being on the taller side for a girl had nothing on his well over six-foot build. “I can do it. Go order the food and thenyouget cleaned up.”
The smile he gave me could be described as nothing short of handsome, and I had to lock my knees to keep them from buckling. It was both the best and worst feeling to have Josh back, I decided. Absence reallydidmake the heart grow fonder, because I didn’t remember it being this hard to just benearhim before.
“Are you trying to say I’m dirty?” he joked, plucking at his sweaty shirt.
I nodded, refusing to let my eyes flicker down like they desperately wanted to. “And smelly, too.”
Josh chuckled, twirling the cutters easily between deft fingers. Drawn like a magnet, my eyes darted down before darting back up. No more than a swift glance, but it was too late. The image they produced flashed across my mind. I grew hot at the thought of those thick fingers doing that same motion, with Josh knelt between my splayed thighs as he?—
On second thought, maybe a shower did sound like a good idea. A nice cold one.
“Fine,” I conceded sharply, needing to get out of his orbit. It was like the space between us was getting smaller by the minute, as if I was being pulled in. The distance separating us was suddenly both too little and too much at the same time.
The fact that he stood there so unaware, so unaffected…
Of course, he’s unaffected,my mind supplied. Whatever this was I was experiencing was purely one-sided. As it should be.
