Chapter One
Annie
Every swing of the axe makes Blaine’s muscles ripple and glisten in the high afternoon summer sun. Sweat trickles down his sculpted back and into the waistband of his jeans that hug his perfect ass and accentuate his muscled thighs.
Fuck…
It’s sinful for a man to look that good.
His thick, caramel-colored hair flops forward with each movement, falling over his forehead furrowed with his exertion and concentration.
Wood chips fly wildly around him as he tears into the massive log, trying to beat the five other men competing against him.
I clench my thighs together against the ache there just watching him.
The buzzer sounds signaling the end of the event, and the six contestants all step away from their work, ready for inspection by the judges to see who won the chopping portion of the annual Lumberjack Festival in Hayes Creek, Wisconsin.
Turning to my new friend at the fence, I grin at her. “I’m going to go talk to my husband. It was nice meeting you. I’m Annie, by the way.”
She grins at me. “Oh, yeah, you, too. I’m Raelynn.”
I offer her a parting wave and hustle off to the right through the crowd, toward where Blaine stands with his axe propped on top of the log, his chest heaving, breathing ragged. Sweat rolling in rivulets down across his chiseled pecs and washboard abs.
Christ is he hot.
And allllll mine.
I lean against the wood fence, draping my arms over the top while I watch the judges do their thing. Blaine finally turns and scans the throngs of people, searching for me. When his green eyes find mine, his lips twitch into a grin.
One of the judges says something to him, drawing his attention back over to them, and they motion to his log. He nods and replies, offering them a smile and a little inclination of his head before they wander off to the next contestant.
Blaine turns and slowly saunters over to me, those damn jeans hugging everything so brilliantly, the heat of the day suddenly seems a thousand times worse.
I wink at him. “Hey there, lumberjack.”
He grins. “Hey there, beautiful.”
After all this time, it shouldn’t still affect me when he calls me that, but butterflies take flight in my stomach, and I lean closer, undeterred by the sweat pouring off him.
“I have to say, your efforts out there were pretty impressive.”
He glances back at his log and shrugs a shoulder. “I don’t think I won.”
I pout at him. “Well, that’s just unfair. Part of the judging criteria should be how hot the lumberjack looks doing his thing.”
Because he would definitely win if that were considered.
Blaine chuckles and waggles his eyebrows at me. “I’ll have to let Jax know to add that to the judging criteria next year.”
Scanning the crowd, waiting for the announcement of the winner, I shift on my feet, pressing my thighs together against the building throb between them. “So, you have an hour off after this, right?”
He narrows his eyes at me slightly. “Yeah…”
His suspicions already raised, I try to play coy, looking up at him through thick lashes. “Well, I was thinking…”
Blaine leans closer, resting his forearms on the fence next to mine. “Uh oh, this always leads to trouble.”
This man knows me too well…
After a decade, it’s hard to get anything by him. He can read me like an open book, and I can him. Which is why it’s so entertaining to know I’ve been able to keep a secret from him all weekend while he competed.
I roll my eyes exaggeratedly at his comment. “Fine, if you don’t want to hear it.”
He reaches out and grabs my wrist, tugging me into the fence as close to him as he can with the rough-hewn beams between us. “I would love to hear your idea. Just because it’s bound to be trouble doesn’t mean I won’t be down to join you for it.”
Fighting another grin, I press my hands against his sweat- slickened chest. “Well, I was thinking that since the log roll competition took place this morning that the beautiful lake just through the woods over there is probably abandoned right now while everybody tries to grab a cold beer and a snack before the next event starts…”
And there’s no need to expand on that.
Blaine knows exactly what I’m suggesting.
He issues a little growl of approval, his chest rumbling against my palms. “Hmm, you’re probably right. What did you have in mind? A nice stroll around it?”
Ha.
Funny man.
I lean up on my tiptoes so I can reach him and drop a quick kiss on his lips. “That is definitely not what I was thinking. I had more of a why-don’t-you-come-split-me kind of situation playing out in my head while I watched you tear into that log.”
His body stiffens, undoubtedly including the part that’s currently pressed up against the fence, and he leans toward me, brushing his lips against my ear. “You get us two ice-cold beers, and I’ll meet you down there in five minutes. But be prepared.”
Pulling back slightly, raising a brow. “For what?”
He issues a lecherous grin filled with sensual promise. “For me to use all my splitting power. You asked for it.”
Sure as hell did.
I extricate myself from his hold, grinning to myself, and head off toward one of the beer tents to grab him the drink he’ll definitely need on this hot afternoon—especially after that performance.
It was a demonstration of raw, animalistic strength.
The type of things I never see him doing when we’re at home in Milwaukee.
And he was built for it—all six foot four, two hundred and forty pounds of him.
He was in his element, and seeing it again after so long made my entire body tingle and crave his big hands all over me.
On my way toward the vendor tents, I scan the other logs in the competition ring, and he’s right. He definitely did not win. But he was a close second to the owner and host of the Lumberjack Festival, Jax Benton. Still not a bad showing considering Blaine usually wears $20,000 suits every day and not Levi’s and a flannel shirt.
The skills he learned growing up here have stayed with him, and apparently, even with his current muscles coming from the gym and not splitting wood all day, he can still give the other lumberjacks a run for their money.
Tapping my foot, impatient to get meet Blaine, I wait and watch my new friend Raelynn chatting closely with Jax. I grin at the clear chemistry between them, then make it to the front of the line, pay for the beer, and hustle around the parking lot and down the trail that leads to the lake.
Just like earlier this morning, when I walked down toward the log roll portion of the festival, the pure beauty of the woods surrounding me now releases any anxiety I might be holding about revealing my surprise to Blaine. The trees blow in the light breeze, bright green leaves rustling, creating a soft, pleasant song to stroll to.
But there isn’t any sign of Blaine.
Where is he?
I kind of anticipated him meeting me at the edge of the forest before I even started coming down this way, but he probably had to finish up with the judges and wait for the formal announcement. And he may have gotten stuck talking with another lumberjack or old friends from his childhood who all seem to be here this weekend.
The trees in front of me start to thin as the trail widens approaching the lake. Sunlight reflects off the surface, light waves lapping at the shores, driven by the soft breeze. I step out from between the final two pines to the edge of the rocky beach, and turn back toward the path to search for Blaine.
Footsteps crunch behind me, and strong arms wrap around my waist.
I jerk slightly, splashing the beer over my hand and glance at Blaine, who wears a smug grin.
“Hello there, beautiful.” He takes the drink and downs half of it, a playful flash in his eyes. “I’m so glad you could join me.”
“Did you think that I wouldn’t?”
He walks me forward a few steps toward the tree-line and pushes my chest against one of the large trees, his hot breath fluttering against my ear. “I was kind of hoping I could chase you through the woods and you’d play hard to get.”