Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Axel couldn’t sleep.
He was exhausted, and every inch of his body was sore, but every inch of his body was also on alert because there was a beautiful woman sleeping three feet away.
And he was very aware of her.
He had been all night.
From the moment he essentially tackled her to the ground, it had been hard to think of anything else. The storm was a good distraction, but the more time they spent together, the more attracted he became.
Their situation pretty much made it impossible for him to act on it or even flirt a little with her. They were trapped here in the lodge, and there was no way he was going to do anything that would scare her or even make her uncomfortable.
Beside him, Maisie rolled onto her side, facing him. The dress she opted to wear had a V-neck, and with the way she was lying right now, he had a spectacular view of her cleavage. The firelight cast a soft glow on her, and he swore he’d be content to just watch her until he fell asleep.
Only…the more he looked at her, the more he imagined doing more than just watching her.
Her skin would be warm and soft; that was a given. But he wondered where she liked to be touched. Her curves had been driving him wild, but he got the impression that she was a little self-conscious about her size. Would she let him touch her by the firelight, or would she prefer total darkness?
Both had their appeal, but Axel almost groaned just thinking about joining her on her mattress and peeling that little resort dress off of her.
“You okay?” Maisie whispered, and he nearly jumped out of his skin.
“Um…yeah,” he mumbled. “Why?”
“You groaned. Are you all right?” She leaned up on one elbow, studying him. “Are you feeling the effects of that fall earlier? Maybe you should have put ice on wherever it hurts.”
Now he inwardly groaned—since he clearly hadn’t done that seconds ago—because there was no way he was putting ice between his damn legs.
Clearing his throat, he shifted uncomfortably to lie on his side facing her, careful to bunch the blankets strategically in front of him.
“I’m fine,” he lied. “I’m just having a hard time shutting my brain off so I can sleep.”
Okay, that last part wasn’t a lie.
“I know what you mean,” she said quietly. “This entire day—hell, these last few weeks—have been a lot. I feel like I haven’t been able to relax for far too long.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to offer to help with that, but…he couldn’t.
He shouldn’t.
“Can I ask you something, Axel?”
He nodded.
“Was going into construction your dream or was there something else you would have done if circumstances were different?”
Sighing, he pushed up, mimicking her pose.
“That’s a good question. I honestly don’t know.
My circumstances were pretty much solidified at a young age.
Academics weren’t my thing. College was out of the question, so that meant working in the trades.
I don’t see it as a bad thing because I’m good at what I do and enjoy it.
Plus, those skills helped me to be part of this project.
I think it would have been a major disappointment if my lack of finances had kept me from being a part of the resort. ”
She smiled sleepily at him. “You’re lucky that you have such good friends who made that possible for you.”
“We’re like brothers. From the first time we met as kids, there was a connection there.
Like I mentioned earlier, we’re all so wildly different, but when we’re together, none of that matters.
We all bring something to the group, and that's what makes it work. I don’t know where I’d be without them.
Hell, I don’t know if I’d even still be alive without them.
I went through a hell of a rebellious streak when I went out on my own.
But Walker, Milo, Connor, and Slater? I can’t even tell you how many times they bailed my ass out and got me back on track. ”
Her smile turned sad, and he wondered what she was thinking but didn’t know how to ask.
“I don’t have any friends like that,” she said softly. “I have acquaintances who are too self-absorbed to notice when I’m crashing and burning. Like now.”
Damn.
“Maisie, I…”
She yawned, rolling onto her back. “Sorry. I don’t mean to be a downer. I guess I’m just over-tired and talking nonsense.”
Somehow, he didn’t think it was. He had a feeling she was speaking the truth, and no one else ever listened.
“You don’t have to be sorry,” he assured her. “And I’m a really good listener. If you want to talk…”
Turning her head, she looked at him and sighed. “I think if I shared more, it might taint your view of me when we finally do that interview tomorrow.”
They hadn’t done it earlier. After they changed and met back up in the kitchen, they had made a mess while making their sundaes and then thought it would be fun to eat them in bed.
And instead of talking about her proposal or the resort, they had talked about TV shows and movies, music, and just random topics.
It was really enjoyable, but they were both tired and decided to call it a night and handle the interview tomorrow before she left.
“I can separate the two. Your talent as a decorator and designer is separate from what your life is like on your personal time.”
Her laugh was more like a snort. “I wish I could believe that.” She sighed again. “My life is a mess right now. I already told you that getting this job is a matter of life and death, and I don’t want to drag you any further into it than that.”
“Okay, but…saying things like that just makes me want to know what’s going on so I can help you.”
But he already knew how he could help her.
Hiring her was the answer, but it felt weird to make that offer to her right now, and he had a feeling her pride wouldn’t allow her to accept it until she gave the entire presentation.
“You know what I wish?” she whispered.
Axel shook his head.
“I wish I had met you in another setting. A place where we didn’t have this job thing between us. You seem like a genuinely nice guy.”
“I am a nice guy,” he said gruffly. “And if we’re being honest, I wish we hadn’t met because of a professional situation.”
Her eyes went a little wide. “Really?”
Ugh…what am I doing? I’m flirting with disaster here!
“Yeah. Really. I’ve enjoyed talking to you.
And cooking with you. And laughing with you.
I know you’re going through something right now, and we have this interview in the morning, but there’s a part of me that can’t help but wonder what it would be like if that weren’t a thing.
If we were just two people stranded together in a storm. ”
He swallowed hard and wanted to kick his own ass for being so bold and putting that out there. But he couldn’t help it. He wasn’t a liar, and he appreciated it when people were honest with him. He knew Maisie would be honest about how she felt.
“I wish that too,” she said, her voice so low he almost didn’t hear her.
They laid there just staring at each other in the semi-darkness for several long moments.
“If there wasn’t a job on the line, what would be different right now?” she asked, and Axel wasn’t sure if he should give her a casual answer or a brutally honest one.
“I’m afraid to answer that,” he said, his voice going gruff again.
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
“Why would it…?”
He pushed up a little more, the blankets draping over his hip.
“Because if there wasn’t a job on the line, I’d want to be under those blankets with you.
I never would have let you put on that dress, because I would have peeled your robe off of you right here in front of the fire and I would have kissed every damn inch of you. ”
Her soft gasp was her immediate response before she turned away. “You don’t have to say that.”
“One thing you should know about me, Maisie, is that I say what I mean, and mean what I say. You’re a beautiful woman, and in any other circumstance, I’d want to be buried deep inside of you right now.”
When she turned to look at him again, he couldn’t quite tell what she was thinking. Was she shocked? Appalled? Turned on? Turned off? The firelight was great in a lot of ways, but with the way the shadow was falling, he wasn’t sure if he needed to apologize or close the distance between them.
“Oh, wow,” she whispered. “I…I don’t know how to respond to that.”
He wanted to encourage her to say exactly what was on her mind, but he didn’t want to appear to be too pushy.
Then again, Axel knew he wasn’t going to sleep a damn wink if he didn’t know the answer.
“Just tell me exactly what’s on your mind,” he said quietly.
For a moment, she didn’t say anything. She fidgeted a bit before rolling back onto her side to face him. “I think I’m extremely conflicted. If I didn’t need this job so damn much, I’d probably be holding up these blankets right now and begging you to join me under them.”
Damn.
“I’m sorry, Axel. My life is just…well…it’s a shitshow right now. And I know you’re not going to just give me the job because of my sob story. I can already tell that’s not the kind of man you are. I know you’re going to be fair about what I present to you.”
“And I already told you I was impressed as hell with what I saw. The other applicants didn’t put in half the work, and I already knew I didn’t want to hire them.”
“Okay, but…I feel like there’s still like a cloud over us. If you gave me the job, it wouldn’t be right to get involved or even have a fling. It would be weird, right?”
He couldn’t answer because he didn’t agree even a little bit. If all she wanted to give him was a fling, he’d be more than happy with it. His life wasn’t exactly conducive to having a relationship right now, and he certainly wasn’t looking for one.
But to have one night—or maybe a few more—with Maisie would be freaking amazing.