CHAPTER SEVEN Danny
CHAPTER SEVEN
Danny
Well… that wasn’t horrible. Though Mr. Grumpy walked away from me looking like he’d rather be anywhere but here, he seemed like he was going to eat the food I made.
Today had been a good day, and it looked like it might end on not such a bad note if he was going to join me for dinner.
I’d spent the day putting up lights and decorating.
The way I saw it, I’d be here or I wouldn’t, but either way, I decided the place needed a little holiday magic.
Oh, and while I was doing all of that, I tried hard not to think about my new roomie and how he was “workin’ on something.
” Note that I repeated his words in a gruff, deep voice there.
I’d watched him walk like a mile to a huge garage, that might have been bigger than this cabin, and disappear.
No clue what was inside or what he did in there.
I kept telling myself that maybe I didn’t want to know.
However, judging by dark stains on his jean vest and not-matching-color jeans, and the black around his nail beds, I would have said he was out there fixing up something. Like a tractor or a car… or his motorcycle. Hello! There was a thought.
The shower cut on, and I stood there for a long moment, not thinking about him stripping down to nothing. Nope, I certainly wasn’t having a desperately needy fantasy about him ducking under the spray or what he looked like all dripping wet and soapy.
My breath actually stopped as I pictured his chest. All that manly hair, that did nothing to hide his tight muscles. I conjured up an image of what he looked like below, you know, the part I hadn’t been lucky enough to get a peek at yesterday.
“Is it hot in here, or is it just me?” I said to the past, present, and future ghosts—because if anyone was getting a visit this Christmas, it most certainly was Grumpy Pants—in the room as I fanned myself, suddenly all verklempt and in need of a glass of iced tea.
A move I picked up from Jayden, no doubt.
Goodness gracious. I could not be in the same space as this man. I couldn’t. I had no idea where this was coming from, and I desperately wished I could block the effects he had on me.
Despite what I did for a living, I wasn’t really that much of a flirt or horndog.
Well, okay, I might have been a big flirt, but I did it in a way that wasn’t meant to be taken seriously, at least in real life.
It was a little over the top and blatantly obvious, and usually done on purpose.
And while I liked sex, it wasn’t one of the things I actually craved all the time.
Sure, it was a part of my ideal fantasy life with a partner, but when it came to fucking—as in, meaningless, down and dirty, “thanks for everything, okay, bye” fucking—I always found that I didn’t get much out of it.
Which was why I did a lot of solo work. It was why I wasn’t as wildly popular as a lot of other campeople that I knew.
It was why I hadn’t signed up with an agency or worked for someone.
Because the type of intimate work I did, well, it just wasn’t highly sought after.
But I believed that I made a difference in the people’s lives who did watch and follow me, even if only for a small amount of time.
And that was the thing that mattered to me the most.
I gave them something they couldn’t find just anywhere. I gave them something just for them. I let them know that their wants and needs mattered just as much as anyone else's.
But enough about that.
I didn’t want to think about sex or work… or the fact that I hadn’t made the promo ad that Jayden roped me into yet.
The water turned off, and then there was a screeching sound that hinted at the curtain being pulled back.
My cheeks flushed as I thought about him all wet and drying off now.
I was so screwed.
Oh, right. Dinner.
I rushed to get the table set, cocking my head at the messy plating, but then deciding that life was messy, so why shouldn’t our food be sometimes, too. Then I smiled at it like it was actually some piece of profound art.
“Do you always smile at everything?” His gruff voice came from right behind me, making me jump and almost let out a scream.
I smiled wider as I inched the edge of the plate back and twisted it slightly, like I was adjusting it just right. When in reality, I was trying to stop my heart from attempting to gallop right out of my chest.
“Why wouldn’t I?” I asked, finally turning to face him. “Do you always walk around with your sexy chest hanging out?” I hadn’t meant to counter with a snarky comment, but it fell out of my mouth as my eyes instantly took in said sexy chest.
My breath nearly left me when I saw he was in a towel, which happened to be slung dangerously low on his hips.
This was one of my favorite meals, but right now, I wanted to devour the scowling biker in front of me.
“This is my house, I shouldn’t have to cover up if I don’t want to,” he shot back, and I choked on a snort at the way he sounded like a bratty teenager. “And maybe I just plain ole forgot my clothes. It’s not like I’m used to having to grab things since I’m supposed to be here alone.”
My lips twitched. Oh, there was a smile on the horizon I couldn’t push down.
“Stop that,” he ordered, brow so furrowed I was scared it was about to come down and cover his eyes.
“Stop what?” I asked, choking on a laugh. I cleared my throat, reeling it in and standing stoic, but with a smile a mile wide.
“That!” he said, his eyes pointedly looking at my mouth. Unfortunately, the horrified and confused expression he was wearing said everything but “I want to kiss that smile right off your face.”
Which, in all fairness, if he were to kiss me, he’d probably only make my smile bigger.
Maybe I should stop torturing the man. Though, to be fair, it wasn’t all completely intentional. He just… hated my personality, so that was on him.
Since I couldn’t dull it down, I tried hard to reel it in and plaster on a neutral face.
“Now what are you doing?” he asked, and yeah, I felt how dumb my unintentional duck face was.
“There’s just no pleasing you, is there?” I threw my hands up and flopped down in the closest chair. “Let’s eat. I’ll try my hardest not to upset you with my mouth.”
That got a snort out of him.
Could it be…
Was Mr. I-Hate-Your-Smile actually thinking the same kind of dirty thoughts I was after the words had popped out?
I mean, I hadn’t meant it to be dirty, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to try and derail that train.
Nope, wasn’t my style. And maybe that was okay because I might be slowly getting somewhere with him.
Little by little, I was chipping away at his exterior.