Chapter 6 #3
It was crazy that Axel’s face came to mind, but she knew that would never happen, not even in a million years—not only because it was too soon to even be thinking of such a thing, but her parents would die if she brought him home.
A man with no proper lineage, who grew up in foster care, and worked in construction?
Yeah, they’d probably try to have her committed for even considering it.
This train of thought made her entire body tense up, and she hated it.
Plus, this was just…a fling, right? Under normal circumstances, they would have had an interview, she would have gotten the job, and maybe their paths would have crossed every now and again. It was just a storm that brought them together.
Plus…her life was a mess, and from everything she’d learned in the last few days, Axel’s had a hard enough life without her bringing all her bullshit into it.
It seemed like he was finally getting things together and feeling good about where he was at.
If Maisie stayed around and he found out who she really was, all the hard work he’d put into his life might come undone.
There was no way she would do that to him. He deserved better.
He deserved everything because he was a genuinely good person.
That meant she needed to enjoy what little time they had left because it was all going to be over far too soon.
“Think happy thoughts…think happy thoughts…think happy thoughts…” she whispered, closing her eyes and breathing in the fresh morning air.
It took several moments for her to force her mind to go blank.
She’d been existing in fight-or-flight mode for the last few weeks, and hadn’t realized how relaxed she’d become while stranded here with Axel.
Although she was pretty sure all the orgasms she’d had in the last twenty-four hours helped with that.
Today, they were going to go up to the lodge so she could look at all the spaces while he did some inspections to make sure there weren’t any leaks or damage from the storm. Yesterday they focused on the grounds and the cabins; today was all about the lodge.
And she was really looking forward to it. Everything she did for her presentation was based on pictures she found online, so it was going to be super helpful for her to walk around and envision how everything was going to look while standing in all the spaces.
Just thinking about it was helping the tension leave her body.
Thankfully.
Sitting down on the dock, she simply stared out at the lake for a while.
Axel was probably waking up and wondering where she was, but she wasn’t ready to get up and go back to the cabin yet.
She had no idea how long she sat there, but at some point, she heard footsteps and knew her alone time was over.
Without a word, Axel sat down beside her on the dock and handed her a cup of coffee. And they sat like that for a few minutes before Maisie turned her head and looked at him.
“Thank you.”
His smile was a little sleepy, his hair was all askew, and it looked like he had just rolled out of bed.
It was a good look on him.
“I hope you don’t mind my interrupting your quiet time, but I woke up and you weren’t there, and I know you like your coffee first thing in the morning.”
Just the fact that he remembered that made her heart melt a little.
“I’ve never been out in nature like this,” she admitted quietly. “Like, I know we walked all around yesterday afternoon, but I mean watching the sunrise on the lake, listening to all the sounds. It was really quite peaceful.”
“And then I went and ruined it. Sorry.”
Maisie rested her head on his shoulder. “You didn’t ruin anything. I was planning on heading back to the cabin, but I was being lazy.”
“Nothing wrong with that.”
They sat in companionable silence, sipping their coffee, for a few more minutes before she felt like it was time to stand. Axel stood first before reaching out his hand to help her up.
“Before I came here, I lived in Baltimore,” he said, facing the lake again.
“It was always loud and hectic, especially with the traffic, and it’s how I started every day.
Now, this is.” Turning his head again, he grinned at her.
“I don’t know if I could ever go back to the noise and chaos of a big city.
I think deep down, I’m a small-town guy. ”
Add that to all the reasons they’d never work, she thought.
“You seem completely in your element,” she said instead. “It looks good on you.”
His smile grew. “Thanks.” Taking her hand, he nodded toward the path. “Since we’re up, we might as well get our day started. Do you want to eat breakfast in the cabin, or should we bring stuff up to the lodge?”
She wanted a little more time to themselves.
Although that was going to happen no matter where they had their breakfast, she wanted the intimacy of them just being a man and woman sharing a meal together rather than coworkers up in the wide-open spaces of the lodge.
“The cabin,” she finally said.
They began walking when he agreed. “That was kind of my choice too. Like…the lodge is work and the cabin’s home. Sometimes it’s nice to keep the two separate.”
Back in the cabin, they made waffles again.
Why? Because they’re delicious. Maisie showered while they were heating, and when she stepped out of the bathroom, Axel had his small table set for them.
He kissed her softly before holding out her chair for her, and her heart actually ached because a fling shouldn’t be this good.
Or…the flinger? Flingee? Was that even a word?
Either way, the guy you were flinging with shouldn’t be better than all the guys you’d ever known. It wasn’t fair.
“You okay?” he asked as he served their breakfast. “You were frowning.”
“Oh, um…sorry. My mind just wandered a bit. Thinking about all I want to accomplish today.”
“I get that.” He sat opposite her, and for a few minutes, they ate in silence. “You don’t have to accomplish everything today,” he commented. “I mean, even if the roads are cleared tomorrow, it’s not like you have to leave and can never come back, right?”
“Once the roads are open, I should leave,” she countered quietly. “I’d like to be in my own clothes again, and I really need to start ordering products so we can get things rolling here.”
“Yeah, but we haven’t had time to talk to Walker about signing contracts and completing costs and payments and all that.”
Damn. She’d forgotten about that part.
“And when did you say he’d be back?”
All he did was study her for a moment. “We can call him later today and find out. For now, let’s enjoy our breakfast and then head up to the lodge to get started.”
“Okay.”
So they finished eating, cleaned up, and Maisie got dressed while Axel packed up a cooler bag of food for them to have for lunch.
She had to pack up all her presentation stuff and bring it with her because she wanted to have all of her information right there with her so she could make changes on the spot.
Up at the lodge, Axel put the food away and then helped her set all of her stuff up exactly where she had it the first night.
“Okay, I’m gonna leave you to it,” he said. “You don’t need me following you around like a shadow, and I’ve got to head up to the top floor to inspect all the rooms and the owner’s suite, and then up to the mechanical floor to inspect for any leaks or damage to the roof.”
“Fingers crossed everything’s okay.”
“Same. We just had a new roof put on, so it better be in good condition. I’d hate it if we had damage already.” He glanced around before facing her again. “Are you going to be okay? Do you need to ask me questions while you’re walking around?”
“If I think of any, I’ll make note of them in my phone and discuss them with you over lunch. I really want to envision everything I mocked up in the actual rooms and all that. I’m going to take some pictures and load them into this program I have so you’ll be able to see it all.”
His smile was almost ridiculously bright. “I can’t wait! This is the stage where it’s feeling like we’re getting close to being able to open to guests!”
She couldn’t help but smile too. “I’ll do everything I can to help you get there. I promise.”
Leaning in, he kissed her soundly before wishing her luck and walking away.
Now it was really time to get started, but it suddenly felt overwhelming.
She really should have a contract in place before she got in too deep.
After all, everything could change, and Walker—or any of the guys—could decide to go with someone else and use her ideas anyway!
That didn’t seem likely. If the rest of the guys were like Axel, she couldn’t imagine them screwing her like that.
Still, by this point in a business relationship, there would be an initial agreement in place that outlined the scope of work.
It would list all the areas to be decorated, the design phases including concept, schematic, design development, and installation.
Next would be payment terms, purchasing responsibilities, and budget limits.
The general terms of agreement should be presented to her by the resort, and then the rest would be her responsibility. Shouldn’t it?
“Dammit. I should know these things.” Sitting down at the big table, she opened her laptop to do a little research and found a contract template that she could easily use and put all her numbers into once she had them all worked out.
Feeling better, she was able to get up and get to work.
They both lost track of time, and by the time Axel came downstairs for lunch, it was after two.
Luckily they were only eating sandwiches, but he was a bit filthy and sweaty.
It shouldn’t have looked sexy, but on him, it did.
His hair was messy and there was dirt on his cheek, his hands, and his jeans.
It was his hands, however, that kept her mesmerized.
She loved it when he was like this and she had no idea why.
“Tell me what you’re thinking right now,” he demanded gruffly, breaking her out of her reverie.
Her eyes went wide as they met his. “What?”
His grin was slow and sensual. “I know that look, Maisie,” he said as he moved closer. They were standing in the kitchen, and he caged her in against the workstation. “Tell me what you were thinking.”
Part of her knew she should be embarrassed, but she refused to let that stop her.
Fling. This is just a fling.
Holding his gaze, she said, “I was thinking how much I like it when you’re dirty.”
Oh my God! Did I just say that? Who am I?
“Oh yeah?” he asked, nuzzling her neck.
“Yeah,” she breathlessly replied as her head slowly lolled back.
Then he was kissing and licking and nipping at her throat, and it was so damn exciting that she wanted to strip them both down right here in the middle of the kitchen. She even tried to let him know that by running her hand down his chest to the impressive bulge in the front of his jeans.
Axel lifted his head, his grin just this side of wicked. Without a word, he took her by the hand and led her out to where their beds still were from that first night. When they were next to them, he whipped his t-shirt off.
“That first night, I wanted to crawl over and join you on that bed. All night I fantasized about it. Let me do it, Maisie. Let me live the fantasy,” he whispered as he went back to nuzzling her throat and caressing her breasts.
“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, please.”
Then, nothing else mattered—not the work, the questions, their lunch, none of it. All that mattered was getting down onto that mattress and living out the fantasy.
Both their fantasies.