Chapter Eight
Rachel
Brody ran his fingers idly up and down my back as I caught my breath against his chest. Holy shit, that had to have been the best sex I’d ever had. And that was with him injured. Once his back was better, we could really go at it.
Assuming he wanted that.
We had connected so quickly, at least from my perspective.
I didn’t want to make any assumptions and end up getting hurt.
For now, we had everything we needed for tomorrow, and we’d both come hard enough to get a good night’s sleep.
Once this whole thing was over tomorrow, I could ask him where we stood.
I could feel him softening inside me, and I knew the condom was about to make a big mess, so I sat up, reluctantly pulling away from the heat of his body.
“We should get cleaned up,” I said softly.
His eyes were half-hooded, but he leaned in to kiss me one last time before nodding.
We moved around each other in silence as we cleaned up, then finished putting everything for tomorrow into boxes. It wasn’t awkward, necessarily, but the unasked question weighed on my mind.
“Well, I guess I should go,” Brody said once everything was done.
His shirt was rumpled from what we’d done on the couch, and I desperately wanted to smooth my hands over his chest. Run them over his hair. Kiss him again and pull him back to my room. But instead, I nodded.
I was old enough to know that sex didn’t necessarily mean happily ever after.
Sometimes it just meant opportunity and hormones.
We hadn’t promised each other anything, so I wouldn’t hold it against him if he wasn’t interested.
I just knew I couldn’t get through a day of working with him knowing I’d never get my hands on him again.
It was better not to know, at least until the event was over.
With that in mind, I didn’t ask him to stay.
I walked him to the door and stayed far enough back that he didn’t try for a kiss. He gave my face one last, lingering look before nodding, and stepping out into the night.
“Lock up after I leave,” he said. Then he was gone.
I fell onto the couch, still smelling the combination of sweat and sex in the air. I heard his truck start up in the parking lot. The thing must have had a hole in the muffler. The sound faded, and silence pressed in around me.
I took our empty glasses to the sink, rinsed them, then set them aside.
I needed to get some sleep. I’d need to get up early enough to style my hair tomorrow, maybe sweep on a little makeup, even though I rarely wore it.
It would be a long day too, between the setup and manning the booth all day to talk forestry with the locals.
Knowing I should just shove him from my mind and get some sleep, I stepped into the shower and washed the smell of him off my skin. I hated to do it, but I knew I wouldn’t sleep if I didn’t.
******
I woke the next morning feeling like a harried mess.
I’d slept through my alarm, forgotten to set the timer on the coffeepot, and there was a dull throb in my temple.
The one good thing about being late was that I didn’t have time to dwell on anything.
I left my hair down, swiped on a coat of mascara, threw on some clothes and was out the door in twenty minutes with a banana in one hand, and a tumbler of coffee in the other.
When I came bustling through the door of the community center, my eyes immediately landed on the wide, plaid-covered shoulders of Brody as he leaned down to grab something from a box at his feet.
Stubborn man.
I jogged over and put a hand on his shoulder. “Let me do that.”
He tensed under my hand and turned to face me. “I can do it,” he said gruffly, but there was no bite to his words. I stepped closer, feeling bold in my frazzled state.
“We both know you like me on my knees. I’ll get the stuff from the box, and pass it to you.”
Something flashed in his dark eyes, and then they dropped to my lips.
He gave a single nod, and we got to work. I focused on the display rather than the questions that were swirling through my head about the man beside me.
The day flew by. Brody and I were both passionate about our project and a little stubborn, so we barely left the table.
We both did a lot of talking, but none of it was to each other.
Eventually, things wound down and people started to clear, but my heart rate picked up.
This was it.
After today, the info would stay on display, but there was no reason for us to be here. No reason for me to see him again. I wanted to know how he felt. I wanted him to know that I didn’t want this to be the end.
“Your project looks like it went well, Rachel.” I turned to see Mayor Caldwell standing behind me.
“Our project, and yes, we had some great discussions today.”
He nodded and flicked his eyes to where Brody was skulking over my shoulder. “I had my doubts, but you two pulled it off. Congratulations.”
I glanced over at Brody. “We make a great team, actually.”
The mayor’s eyes flicked to Brody again. “She’s right,” he turned his eyes to me. “We may seem like opposites, but we’re both passionate about the same thing.”
I nodded, almost forgetting that Mayor Caldwell was even there. “I’m glad you trusted me enough to…work on this project together.”
He took half a step forward. “I don’t trust many people, especially not…about forestry…but your curiosity, and the way you’re reserved, but not afraid.” He held my eyes with his. “I think I’d like to work on more projects with you in the future.”
I couldn’t help the smile that spread over my face. “I’d like that too. I’m excited to see what we can do once your back is better. Even more intense research, I bet.”
Mayor Caldwell cleared his throat. “Yes, well, anyway, good work, you two.” He eyed us both, then turned and walked away.
Brody moved even closer, bringing his hands to my waist. “So, can I show you that cut block sometime? You never got to see it the other day.”
I brought my arms up around his neck and smiled. “Only if I get to drive.”