Page 12 of Wild Valentine
No panties.
“Fuck.” I turn away and run a hand through my hair.
This woman.
If I don’t get her out of here, I’m going to slam her up against the wall and take her right her in the doorway.
“I’ll grab my tool kit. Meet you over there.”
“Thank you,” she calls after me as I retrieve my tool kit from under the sink. When I come back, she’s still standing in the doorway.
“For god’s sake, put some clothes on.”
Her eyes bug out of her head, but there’s a small smile on her lips. I wonder if she came over her on purpose to seduce me.
I’d be so lucky. I’m just trying to give myself an excuse to take her up against the wall.
No, she’s too innocent for that. Hazel went to take a shower, and the water was cold. She’s not trying to seduce an old grouchy mountain man like me.
I stride toward her cabin, and I hear her bare feet crunching on the leaves behind me. She’ll catch her death out here walking around in the cold in nothing but a flimsy towel.
When we get to her cabin, I don’t dare to look back. I toe my boots off and head into the bathroom. I had it fitted out a few months back when I started renting the place out.
The property came with both cabins and a shed, which I’ve turned into a workshop. I don’t need the money. I have shares in the family sawmill, and with my army pension and my carvings, I have everything I need. But it can get lonely on the mountain, and I like the company of an occasional visitor.
But right now I’m regretting my life choices.
The sexiest woman I’ve ever met is behind me in nothing but a towel. My knuckles turn white from gripping my toolbox so hard to keep from gripping her.
I head to the bathroom and try the shower. The knob is turned all the way to cold, so I switch it to hot and turn the shower on, staring at the water and waiting to see if it’ll heat up.
She’s behind me. I can tell by the scent of coffee and rose water. But I don’t dare look at her. Not if I want to avoid a lawsuit.
After a few minutes, steam rises off the water. I put my hand under the shower, and it’s scalding.
I risk a look at Hazel and she’s still in the goddamn towel, leaning casually against the bathroom door.
“You’ve got to turn it to the left for hot.”
“Oh.” She looks sheepish, biting her lower lip.
I frown. She’s a smart girl. I can tell by the way she writes. How’d she get the tap wrong? Maybe it’s the other way around where she comes from. All I know is I have to get out of here before I do something stupid.
“I’ll leave you alone to have your shower.”
“Stay.” Her voice comes out as a whisper that make my cock jerk.
Her eyes widen, and her hand flies to her mouth. “I mean, stay and have a coffee with me. I’ll only be a minute. I’d like to explain.”
If I stay here with only a wall between us knowing she’s naked in that shower, there’s no telling what I might do.
“I can’t.”
Her brow furrows in that little frown she does when she’s not getting her way. With the dark smudges under her eyes, she suddenly looks tired. Maybe I’m being too harsh. It can’t be easy coming all this way only to be turned down.
“Look, Hazel, I’m not going to do the interview. Not even for a pretty girl in a towel.”
She looks down, and I can’t read her expression. I wonder if she came over in the towel on purpose to get my attention. It’s something a woman would do.
