Chapter 17 #2
What did being a couple entail? What would Summer want out of me?
Dating, for one.
How could I date her? She would return to Bozeman for work. Would I have to travel?
A date in Bozeman would be easier and less intrusive than going out in Bourbon Canyon, where we’d ignite the gossip tree.
The rumors would flame through town. People would bring up memories of Eli dating her.
Their words would make it seem like she and Eli had been a couple last year instead of over fifteen years ago.
What did people do for dates these days?
“Do you have work to catch up on?” She turned, her fingers stroking over another plank of walnut my supplier had claimed was unusable due to cracks and holes. Those were my favorite challenges.
“What you’re touching, actually.”
She snatched her hand away.
I chuckled. “Don’t worry. I haven’t started. It’ll be one of the in-between pieces that I do before I start on a table order. Here.”
I went to the slab, bark still on its edges. I took it from where it leaned against the wall and went to an empty shop table. I had a few. With drying times for sealant and epoxy, I had wanted a shop with enough space for me to use my time efficiently. I didn’t like having nothing to do.
I laid the slab on one side and traced the long edge. “I’ll have to take all this off so the epoxy doesn’t only bond to the bark.”
“Because then if the bark peels, the table falls apart?”
I nodded and outlined the knots. “Then I’m going to fill these, but can you see the pattern they make?”
She frowned and tilted her head one way and then the other. “Oh my god, it looks like a Labrador’s face.”
Grinning, I nodded. “Exactly. Can you imagine how much a custom bar-height table will go for when it looks like it has the image of a dog branded into it?”
“How much?” Her wide amber eyes were on me and so damn curious.
She used to roll her eyes when Teller and I would nerd out over camping gear and hunting equipment.
But this she was into. I had her attention and I liked it.
“I’ll fill in the cracks and holes and it’ll really bring the picture to life.
Usually. Sometimes a project goes sideways. ”
“That’s art, I suppose.”
No one had ever called my work “art” before.
I was a self-taught woodworker. If the YouTube guys I followed ever learned about how much I’d gotten from them, they’d charge me tuition.
“If the image doesn’t turn out, I’ll charge nine hundred.
” Her eyes flared and my pulse pumped. I hadn’t gotten to the good part.
“If there’s a dog face at the end of all this, then I’ll charge twenty-six hundred. ”
“How many days of work?”
I lifted a shoulder. “Another week. Carving the leg out of a scrap of four-by-four will take a while, but like I said, I’ll be working on other projects during that week.”
“Jonah. That’s over five hundred dollars a day.”
My chest threatened to puff out at her awe. “I work seven days a week, not five, and it might not turn out,” I warned.
She rolled her eyes. “Plus the other projects you’re working on and selling. That’s impressive.”
Now I had the strongest urge to pack the wood away and not touch it until she was gone. I was boasting. That never turned out well. “Minus cost of equipment.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You’re using scrap. How much was the wood?” She tapped her finger where the dog’s nose would be.
“This was, uh, free. But I do buy scraps, or the buyer supplies their own.”
Her head fell back and she laughed. “Can’t I tell you that your work is pretty impressive?”
I swallowed hard. “Sure.”
“Your products are as impressive as your dick.”
I coughed. “Jesus, Summer.”
“Your work ethic gets me hot.”
My cheeks were flaming. She was making a point, but I was swimming in her compliments and happy to drown. “You don’t need to—”
She yanked her sweater over her head and stuck her chest out as she undid her bra. “I think we need to do some exposure therapy.” Her tits fell free and her bra hit the floor in my peripheral vision. “I like your wood, Jonah.”
The good news was that I couldn’t feel foolish from how easily she made me blush. My erection was dominating my blood supply. “Summer, what are you doing?”
“Telling you good things about yourself.” She shoved down the black sweats she’d borrowed from me. “Oh, look at that? My underwear is in the wash.”
I got a full view of her bare pussy. “Fuck.”
She propped her hands behind her on the workbench and widened her stance. “You’re an amazing artist.”
My mouth went dry. Dimly, I worried about sawdust getting on her clothing from being on the floor, but mostly, I couldn’t take my gaze off her body.
“Your work is the most impressive I’ve seen. Nothing compares to Dunn’s Wood Creations.”
My gaze snapped to hers. She’d said she snooped on my website, but my company’s name on her lips was a new desire unlocked. I liked her saying that almost as much as the way my name spilled off her lips when I was buried deep inside her.
“I think you’re dedicated and hard-working and—”
“You make me sound like a Boy Scout.”
“You don’t need to be a Boy Scout. You’ve been living those skills all your life.”
“I don’t tie knots.” I prowled closer. Her nude body glowing under the shop lights was erotic, but it didn’t compare to touching her. The shop was on the cool side and her nipples were tight and begging for attention.
“In here, you do.” She trailed her fingers over her belly.
I could set her on the bench and spread her legs and devour her, but I claimed her mouth for a kiss instead. Against her lips, I murmured, “I got your point. Thank you.” The last part came reluctantly. I could take compliments. I just didn’t need them.
“I’m not done yet. I’d like you to use your magnificent tongue or your fantastic dick to turn me into a pile of Jell-O.”
I kissed her again, plundering the hot depths of her mouth before pulling back. “It’ll have to be my tongue. I don’t keep condoms out here.” I was cursing myself for not carrying one on me at all times. I should know after the last few days that a simple conversation could turn into sex.
Weren’t all our conversations simple? Didn’t I intentionally keep them that way?
I pushed the thought away. We were still stranded. I wasn’t letting reality settle in.