Chapter Fourteen
I look down from the cab of the digger I’ve hired.
The bramble-tangled and weed-ridden ground is finally showing itself.
The rich soil is still going to take some major work to make it anywhere near good enough to grow anything in.
But it will be by the time I’m ready to plant. It’s too late in the season now.
“What do you think?” Drew points to the area where the house used to stand. “I’m amazed it hasn’t blown down in the storms before now. It’s like cardboard.”
I smile at Trent as he pushes a wheelbarrow full of bricks and wooden frames up a length of wood and into a skip. He’s ditched his shirt, and his skin is already tanning, even with the sunscreen I’ve insisted on him using.
“That’s not what I wanted you to look at, but he’s cute. I’ll give you that.” Drew laughs. “Is it going well with you two?”
I don’t know how to answer that. Sure, we talk or text each other plenty, but we haven’t had any intimate time together.
It’s been over a week since we had the big talk, but I think we’re heading in the right direction.
“I like him a lot, but it’s new, and nothing has been defined.
He’s a great guy but has had a bad relationship. I’m letting him set the pace.”
Drew nods. “Merrick mentioned a couple of things about his family. They’re not good people, but Trent was always compliant with them.
Never one to rock the boat, or maybe it was his sense of self-preservation.
But this time, they went too far. Merrick isn’t sure he’s strong enough to keep away from them and his job.
He needs to have a reason to stay or at least not go back, to move on to something new. ”
I don’t like the sound of that at all. We could have something good. Drew gives me a pointed look. “What? Don’t look at me like that. I’m having a great time getting to know him, but we haven’t taken anything to the next level.”
“Well, without being too crude, I’ll give you some advice. If you want him to stay, you’re going to have to give him something worth staying for. Being a friend isn’t going to be enough. Honestly, mate, with the way he looks at you, he’s waiting for you to make the next move.”
I glance across the broken ground. Trent leans on the side of the skip, his chest smeared with sweat and mud. His cheeks are red from exertion, and his eyes are closed as he tips his head up to the sun. God, he’s a beautiful man, and I don’t want to wait until the end of the day to be close to him.
As I jump down from the digger, Drew pats my back. “Atta boy.”
I don’t know if Trent hears my approach or senses someone getting close to him, but he lowers his head and opens his eyes.
The brilliant blue of his irises sparkles as his pupils shrink down at the bright sunlight, and the corners of his mouth turn up into a smile.
Before he can speak, I clasp his face in my palms and press my mouth to his.
The surprise has him opening to me, and I dive into the wet heat of his mouth.
He tastes of the Coke he’s just drunk and sunshine.
He joins in and strokes his tongue over mine.
His hands rest on my waist, the callouses on his palms and fingertips chafing my skin.
As I deepen the kiss, I slide my hands up into his hair and capture the silky strands in my fingers. When we pull apart, both a little more than out of breath, he smiles. “What was that for? Not that I’m complaining.”
“Because I felt like it. You looked so good taking a moment I couldn’t resist you.” I press our foreheads together. “Can I come to you tonight?”
“Of course. Do you want to go to dinner first? Although getting a table may be tricky at short notice.” He frowns as he checks the time on his watch.
“How about I bring something, some cheeses and bread? We could eat outside.”
We agree, and after pecking his lips one more time, I get back to my digger and the clearing of all the gorse and brambles.
When I’m done, the sun is coming down, and I’m alone on the site.
Trent has left, but the full skip and the almost clear site of where the house once stood are a testament to how much work he’s done.
I know he’s not going to accept money from me, so I’ll have to think of some other way to pay him.
I doubt my body will be enough. I laugh at the thought of offering him that.
After parking the digger, I make sure it’s all secure, then pull the temporary steel gates behind me and padlock them.
I can’t go to the supermarket looking or smelling as I do.
A shower is in order first before I can be out in the public eye.
The drive back home is taking longer than it should, due to the weekend influx of holiday makers, which proves Trent’s theory that getting a table tonight would be difficult.
It also put me behind, so Waitrose will have to put up with me in all my sweaty glory.
At least people will give me a wide berth.
After our picnic at the weekend, I’ve got a good idea of what Trent likes to eat.
What I don’t know is how he’s going to decide to stay or go in a month’s time, and if I will or can have any input in it.
How far am I going to go? If he’s going to leave, my heart will be the one trampled on.
If I’m honest with myself, I’m already in too deep.
I want him, not just in my bed but in my everyday life too.
He has thrown himself into the work on my land, happily doing whatever is needed.
But now and then, a cloud goes over his eyes, and his happiness evaporates.
I want to stop whatever I’m doing and go to him, to talk him down from wherever he disappeared to.
That’s new to me too. With all my previous partners, I’ve always been easy-going, not wanting to make any of them into something more, which turned them into casual hook-ups, friends with benefits. Trent has made me want more from the moment I saw him.
Maybe Drew has a point. I have to give Trent something to make him want to stay, and the only thing I have to offer is me.
He needs to know that I want him, that I desire him, that I want him to stay.
I could go through the next four weeks letting him be in charge, but he seems too shy to tell me what he wants from me, with me.
Too shy to make the first step to something more intimate, to take me to bed.
So a little bit of help might be in order.
With that in mind, I take extra care getting ready, making sure everything is neat and tidy and clean as a whistle. I pack condoms and lube into a bag with some fresh clothes. I won’t show up with an overnight bag in my hand; it can stay in the Landie just in case.
I’m not going to push him, but he’s going to need a nudge of encouragement.