4. Sawyer
4
SAWYER
G inger is the spitting image of Genevieve—petite, curvy, poised. But those green-blue eyes are all her own. They are sharp, curious, andmystifying. And that mouth, painted in red lipstick, purses and smiles at me as she flirts.
Being the center of her attention, even for a few seconds, lands a blow to my chest that I’m unprepared for. It’s struck me dumb. I can’t manage more than a few words to answer her questions, but I don’t want her to turn away from me.
However, It’s inevitable with the bustle around a construction site.
I can’t keep my attention off of her, though.
Ashley punches me in the shoulder as Ginger turns to ask Daniel what he’s working on. I grit my teeth as he raises a brow. I shrug one shoulder because, miraculously, her slender fingers stay around my arm, the chill of them breaching my work shirt.
Women didn’t usually touch me. Not without a whole lot of awkward posturing. The ease with which Ginger has wrapped her hands around me and led me into the house we’re working on dumbfounds me.
The way she so easily teases me is even more astonishing.
Those turquoise irises aim my way again, and I’m struggling to breathe. “Where to next?”
It takes everything inside of me not to reach up and cup her cheek or pull her hair between my fingers to feel its silkiness. To touch her. Everywhere.
Her finger pokes into my chest again. “What’s the first thing that gets done once the outside of the house is finished and you move your focus inside?”
“Rough plumbing, electrical, and HVAC,” I tell her.
Those teal eyes go wide, and her eyelids flutter. My muscles tighten, and the grip she has on my arm says she feels it.
“That was more than two words. Congratulations.” A slow smile crawls across her mouth, and fuck, I want her.
If no one else were here, I’d drag her to that unfinished counter and pin her against it instead of simply imagining doing so. I’d taste her and see if that mouth is as sweet as it looks.
My hand squeezes into a fist to keep myself from touching her.
Her face swings toward Ashley, turning her away from me without letting go. Thank God. Jealousy flares in his eyes, but when he looks down at her, I feel that same burn. His expression reflects the very same thoughts that are roaring through my mind.
“Then we insulate,” Ashley says, smirking down at her. “Drywall, primer, flooring. And that’s where we are now. Drywall is up. Flooring is almost finished. We’ve started putting fixtures in.”
He pats the cabinets but points up the stairs.
“Master bathroom is the closest to finished if you want to see.”
“I do.” She needs no further invitation. Ginger swings toward the stairs, taking me with her.
I can feel the surprise flash over my features before I can control myself. Ashley shoots me a challenging look with his brow lifted and gets ahead of her, showing her the way.
Ginger has to let go of me at the stairs since we can’t both fit side-by-side, even with her small size. Her hand trails down my arm as if she doesn’t want to release me.
My jaw clenches. I struggle to keep from twining our fingers together. Taking the stairs behind her gives me a better view of her ass in that tight skirt. Lust punches through me, settling below the belt.
The scent of her is amplified in the enclosed space, overcoming the smell of the dust from construction. It smells of citrus and some sweet flowers, with an undertone of musk.
I breathe in deeply, trying to hold onto it, to hold onto a part of her, because I can already tell that when she returns to the office, her absence will be equally as distracting as her presence is right now.
The master bathroom is in the front right corner with big windows that let in a lot of natural light. We painted the walls ivory to capture the warmth of the other finishes. The moldings have been installed, and the flooring is a plush neutral carpet that we’ve covered while we finish the job.
We still have to install the shelves in the walk-in closet. And the storage bench isn’t finished, but that’s on my list for the day. I’ve been working with these guys on sites long enough that I know that as long as I get the supplies in on schedule, they know what they’re doing. That means I get to do what I enjoy most—the finishing carpentry. I love the small details that make a house special and useful.
Ginger peers back at me as I pause to take in the details. I still have a lot to finish, but the list fades from my mind as I look into the blue-green of her eyes. My feet move again, pulled along behind her as she steps into the master bath. It’s bright and white with gray and black accents to match the marble tile.
The shower isn’t finished, and the free-standing tub needs to be attached to the plumbing, but the rest merely needs to be cleaned up before we put the finishing touches in—mirrors and faucets and the backsplash above the sinks.
I can do the tiling and backsplash, but we have someone who’s better at it.
Ginger runs her fingers over the tile. She looks so tiny in the big shower. And I’m imagining how small she will seem under me. Will she fit me just right?
“We don’t do the same colors each time, but we try not to stray too far from neutrals for better sales.” Ashley leans against the opening to the shower, almost cornering her with his elbow on the prepped drywall, head in his hand as it tips to take her in.
“So you never do any fun colors? I always wanted a blue bathroom. The different shades of the ocean.” Her face transforms with a youthful smile, reminding me of just how young she is. Of who she is.
It’s a bucket of cold water that barely staves off the heat that has been building from being in her presence.
“Do you like the ocean?”
Ashley doesn’t shift as she comes closer. She has to brush against him to get by.
It doesn’t seem to bother her, especially with the easy way she puts her hand on his chest as she passes. And those pretty eyes twinkle at me as she investigates the tub. Her fingers run along the curved edge of the porcelain.
I want to settle her in the bottom of it and surround her with hot water and fragrant bubbles. To rub her shoulders. To take a loofa to her creamy skin. To make her back arch and knees spread as I stroke between her thighs.
My body stirs in response, and I shake away the thoughts. I’ve got to stop. I need to lose myself in a project to distract myself from these errant thoughts.
Ginger meets my gaze again like she can read my mind. “Do you like the ocean?”
There’s not enough blood getting to my brain for me to formulate a response.
She sits on the lip of the tub and looks between us both. Her head tilts and the pins in her hair glint in the light. Her laughter echoes in the room.
“I could use one of these at home.”
“We recovered that from an estate sale. Cleaned it up, resealed it.” Ashley comes to lean next to me, crossing his arms.
“Upcycling. I like it.” She roams her gaze over us, chewing on her lip.
“You should come to one of the sales. I bet you’d have a good time. Find some gems.”
She stands again, slowly stepping closer. The way she looks up at us makes her eyes big like saucers. “Let me know next time. Could be fun.”
Swaying on her feet for a beat, she saunters out of the room, and we both watch her go.
Fuck.
I’m following her before I can think about it. Ashley isat my back. Jackson ascends the stairs with a smile that shines at the three of us. “They’re doing a great job, aren’t they?”
Ginger peeks in the other three bedrooms and the other bath before returning to us. “It’s amazing. I want to watch the whole process. There’s something about building something from nothing that I can really sink my teeth into.”
We all pull in deep breaths at her word choice.
“Does this one have the same room as your office? What is it here?”
“A flex space. Office, den, library, sunroom.” Jackson looks up at me. “Have we decided in this one?”
“Library,” I answer. My skin tingles at the delight on Ginger’s face.
“Oh, I have to see this. How much is done?” She’s already stepping around Jackson, and we’re helpless but to follow.
Daniel, Jacob, and one of the Nicks all stop to say something to Ginger in passing. I’m getting whiplash from the frenzy inside me.
She stops in the middle of the library, her hands clasped to her heart. “Oh. My. Lord. Look at those shelves.”
They’re unfinished, still drywall and rough wood until I can get the placement how I want it. I also need to pick a color scheme, which is what’s really holding me up. But now, a natural oak color with a deep teal backdrop suddenly seems fitting.
When she turns back around, she’s imagining how it will look finished. “Your handiwork?”
Jackson and Ashley turn to me. I nod.
Her mouth purses as she steps forward, grabs me by the arm again, and tugs me to the bookshelves. “Paint me a picture. How did you get them to hover on the wall like that?”
The guys laugh behind me. Paint her a picture. “There’s no insulation here. I built the shelves into the wall.”
She tugs me closer still. “Mm-hmm. And…”
“I’ll keep the wood pale and paint the wall teal.”
Those slender fingers squeeze my arm. “So, you’re the one I need to help me build my Christmas carnival.”
“Yes.” If it means getting to work with her more closely, it’s a definite yes.
Her grin is bright. “Good.”
Patting my arm, she turns to Ashley and Jackson. We’re all three out of our depth here.
“I’m bursting with ideas. Show me where I can get to work.”
Jackson escorts Ginger off the site and back to the office. She bounces away as quickly as she came crashing in, turning my life upside down. I survey the supplies outside simply to watch her go.
As I predicted, the distance between us doesn’t release the stranglehold she has on me. A new, brighter world has revealed itself, and I’m caught adrift in the wild.