Chapter 13 #2
Sheridan’s cheeks blushed nicely each time she saw me, but I’d been so busy with normal maintenance that I hadn’t had time to pounce on her.
I wouldn’t have. I probably wouldn’t have.
She didn’t want prying eyes to see us together, so I’d respect that.
In order to do so, I had to give her space.
People would question if I lurked around her too much, so I made the sacrifice and earned the restless nights.
I finished the last strip of the lawn and angled around the edge to keep from messing up my pattern until I reached the shop. I parked it and killed the engine. Pushing my cowboy hat up, I swiped at my brow.
“Thirsty?”
I whipped my head around. Sheridan entered through the overhead door, a to-go cup of a drink in her hand. When she was all the way in, I hit the button to the automatic door. The sun was pouring in, heating it up, but the side door was cracked to give the space some ventilation.
“I am.” Not for whatever was in that. Would she let me lift her onto the workbench? She was in her normal black shorts and polo shirt. They weren’t a simple strip of fabric that was easy to move out of the way, but I could be an imaginative guy when I needed to be.
There went my dick again, growing at the thought of her.
Each time my head hit the pillow at night, I’d see her, spread for me in my pickup, her face glowing and her pussy dripping.
Then I’d have to talk myself down because I was in a guest room at my brother’s. I didn’t need a boner under his roof.
She handed me the cup, and I took a long pull from the straw. Lemonade. Cold and refreshing. “Thanks. That hit the spot.”
She beamed. “You’re welcome. I saw you baking out there and wanted to do something.”
“You were watching me, boss?”
Rolling her eyes, she couldn’t suppress her smirk. “Maybe.”
I grinned way too much for such a simple statement. The energy in my body was coiling again just having her so close to me, and we’d done nothing but greet one another. “I’ll do the trimming tomorrow.”
“It’s going to be even hotter tomorrow.”
“I’ll keep my shirt on.”
She frowned. “That’s a shame.”
Only because she wanted to see me without it. I didn’t care about anyone else, but professionalism and all that. I sucked down the lemonade until the ice clattered in the bottom.
“How are Laila and Lee?” She leaned against the workbench instead of rushing off. Had she been missing me as much as I’d missed her?
“Good. They’re worried about Daisy’s mom, but I guess she’s doing okay. Daisy just wanted to be with her for a couple of days after, and Alder wanted to be around just in case.” I tapped my chest. “Her mom has heart problems and had a GI bleed from the thinners.”
“That’s stressful.”
“Yep, but she’s on the mend. They plan to be back for the kickball grill-out this weekend.”
A brow lifted. “Kickball grill-out?”
“We wouldn’t be able to compete against Jensen and Poppy in soccer, so we play kickball. It’s fairer.”
“I didn’t know people still played kickball. I used to love that game.”
“Then you’ll have to come.” The invite was out, and I wasn’t going to take it back.
I’d been fishing for a way to bring it up without it seeming like a date.
Dating was off the table, and the messing-around aspect was still up in the air.
No matter what, I just liked spending time with her.
“It’s the whole crew, and you’ve been subjected to them already. ”
Her lips curved up. “Subjected isn’t the right word.”
“It will be if you go. They’re relentless. Laughing and joking. Excellent burgers and brats. Salads—none of them contain lettuce.”
She kept her smirk. “I wouldn’t expect them to. We’re still considered the Midwest in Coal Haven.”
“The desserts, though.” I groaned as my taste buds came alive at the options there’d be. “Those will be hard to get through.”
“Oof, are you talking like pies and cakes?”
“Worse. Cookies and bars. Fresh Rice Krispies bars.”
Her eyelids fluttered. “Mmm. Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve made fresh Rice Krispies?”
“As long as it’s been since you licked the bowl after?”
“I preferred the spoon.”
I pictured her licking the spoon, and there went any professionalism. The slow trickle of need in my veins turned into a flood. “I’m having way too much fun seeing that in my head.”
A series of emotions played over her face. Disbelief. Shyness. Then confusion. “You make me feel sexy.”
“Because you are.”
There was a sad tint to her smile. “I never thought so. I felt…convenient.”
Fuck that. “Sheridan, there’s been nothing convenient about you since I’ve met you.”
Humor played over her face before her features turned distraught.
I spun so I caged her between me and the bench.
She needed to understand that she wasn’t a bother.
Any support I offered her was my own decision and not because I thought she needed it.
“That’s not a bad thing. I mean that you were grieving when you ran into me, so I couldn’t hit on you.
I mean that you’re my boss. And I mean that you know what you want and you have no patience for a guy who just wants a good time. ”
“You work too much to have a good time.”
“I spend a lot of my days thinking about it, though. About you.” Desire continued to pool lower and lower until the pressure behind my zipper grew uncomfortable.
She was sweet and sexy, but she was kind and ambitious.
She had a zest for the area, for the resort—for me—that made her one special package.
“You do?” She feathered her fingers along my jaw. “You are so good-looking.”
“I’m average.”
“No.” Her vehement headshake punctuated the word. “Trust me, I know average.”
I gripped her wrist. Her pulse fluttered under my fingers.
“You’ve experienced average. You’re so far above it, you have no idea.
” She was the type to leave a slacker with no real job or ambition in the dust, and I supported her for it.
She’d be out of my reach soon enough. Either this place would take off thanks to her efforts, or she’d find something worth her electric energy. Who knew what I’d be doing by then.
“You say the sweetest things.” She cupped my cheek and pulled my head down.
“We’re at work.” My words were barely audible, but it was my duty to warn her.
“No one comes out here but you.”
She was right. Landon used to, but he preferred the AC he got with housekeeping, and he was almost done for the day. I did have an hour.