Page 6 of Wild for the Mountain Man
“Yeah, sure.” Walker grumbled, following behind me into my store. I closed the door behind him.
“Give me one second while I close. Feel free to have a seat in the back. There’s a sitting area.”
“Ok. If you need any help, holler at me,” Walker said before walking towards the back room. I flipped the lock, pulled the curtains down, and turned the sign around to close. I went around the store and checked all the window locks and closed any open curtains or shades.
My hands shook the entire time, the thought of Walker in my break room turning my legs into jelly.
No matter how much the attraction to him distracts me, I couldn’t let it. Not if I was going to prove to him that Halloween was the best holiday ever. He was about to get a crash course in it all.
After finishing my list of closing tasks, including cleaning up from the opening day festivities, I headed to the break room, finding Walker sitting at the table using his phone. “So, what changed your mind?” I asked, sliding into a seat across from him.
Walker studied me, his stare intense, almost if passion had an expression and I swallowed over the growing lump in my throat.
He was older, no doubt more experienced than me. How would he react to finding out I wasn’t?
Or learning I was still a virgin? Would it turn him off?
“I haven’t stopped thinking about you since we met earlier. Most of the time, I’m a grumpy asshole, but there’s something about you, Elora…something that makes menotwant to be an asshole, especially not to you. Instead, I want to wrap you in my arms and never let you go.”
“I haven’t stopped thinking about you either, but you’re my landlord. Isn’t that crossing professional boundaries?”
Walker shrugged again before turning his mouth up in a half smile. “You rent it for a month. Does it really matter?”
I chuckled. “Good point. Follow me. I want to show you a few things.” If I didn’t know his eyes were on my back, I still would’ve felt them, that’s how hot his stare was.
I brought him over to my favorite section of my store, my collection of Halloween themed purses. From pumpkins to skulls to ghosts, there was something for everyone and many of my regulars went crazy for them. “Aren’t they adorable?” I squealed with excitement.
But Walker wasn’t looking at the purses. He stared at me, a cute smile on his face. I quickly moved us along to my next favorite section, my collection of horror dolls.
“Look at this one. Gross, right?” I asked as I held up one of my zombie babies. This one was missing an eye and looked bloody.
Walker winced, his face full of disgust. “And you like that strange looking thing because…”
“They’re adorable.” I said. “Here, look at this. It’s not gross.” I showed him my collection of pumpkin pins.
His eyes grew wide as he looked them over. “Pretty impressive. But I still don’t understand the point of the holiday. Why are we talking candy from strangers again?”
“Granted, that part has been a bit commercialized. The real holiday is all about the day of the dead.” I grabbed a piece of candy from my pocket leftover from earlier in the day and held it out to Walker.
He looked down, then back up, a smile playing on his sexy lips.
Sexy, kissable lips.
Ones I suddenly very much wanted to kiss. Despite the alarms, the warning bells, the stern voice in my head, I wanted him to kiss me more than anything I’d ever felt before.
Silence fell between us, the sexual tension growing at a sped-up rate, my chest rising and falling quickly.
He still hadn’t kissed me after asking if he could, and I couldn’t wait much longer. Not when I wanted him this badly.
With a sigh, I turned towards the next collection, one of witch figurines, some sparkly, some short, some tall, and all varying shades of purple. I waved my hand over them, a big smile on my face. “Another favorite of mine. Aren’t they so cool looking?”
“They are. They look almost hand painted.”
“Another reason I love them so much. But okay, let’s get into some more traditional things.” I showed him a few jack-o’-lanterns. I explained some of the folklore and he listened intently. I laughed as he tried on a few costumes and hid behind a few masks.
As the night wore on, we laughed and ate too much candy, ran around my store in masks, and joked about Halloween. We even did a store scavenger hunt. Well, more like I sent Walker on one.
And when the clock ticked past ten and I could barely keep my eyes open, we walked to our cars together.
