Chapter 34
Hayes
My knuckles rap against the wood grain of MJ’s front door.
It’s been a few hours since I sat staring at her through Lily’s window. I went home afterward with every intent of staying in and getting some much-needed rest, but there was a pull toward MJ that I couldn’t deny anymore.
She moved into her rental house a few nights ago, not that she told me. I only found out because I drove by there while on patrol and saw her packing in boxes. It’s not like I didn’t know she would be moving in, but knowing she is moving in and actually having her right down the street from me are two different stories.
I’ve had to resist the urge to seek her out every night since then.
But tonight, the pull was too strong. It’s been five days since I felt her lips on mine, and if I don’t find a way to win her over soon, I might go insane.
Music thrums inside the house, and I knock harder for MJ to hear me.
After a few seconds, the door creaks open, and music floats onto the porch.
MJ stands in front of me, her hair in a messy bun on top of her head and her hip propped against the door. There’s paint-splattered in her hair. Her face is free of makeup, letting her natural freckles show through, and I can’t think of a time I’ve ever seen her look more beautiful than she does right now.
“Hi.”
It’s awkward and nowhere near what I want to say to her, but my tongue is having trouble functioning.
I’ve dreamed of her just like this every day for six years, dressed down and putting a home together. Only in my dream, it was our home, the one I bought because it was her dream.
Her teeth sink into her bottom lip, and I follow the motion, the movement driving me even further to distraction.
Then she opens her mouth to speak, and I watch the movement without hearing the sound.
Fingers snap in front of my face, jerking my attention back to MJ.
“Did you even hear what I said?” MJ sasses, her hands flying to her hips.
I shake my head, pulling myself out of the daze MJ puts me in.
Smiling, I try not to look so guilty. “I—uh— wasn’t listening.”
“Really? MJ deadpans. “I hadn’t noticed.”
“Ha ha, very funny. Are you going to invite me in or what?”
She looks behind her and then back at me. “I’m kind of busy right now.”
“That’s okay,” I say, stepping close to her. Now that my mind has had a chance to adjust to the sight, I’m even more determined to spend time with her. “I don’t mind.”
Sighing, she pushes the door open wider for me to step through.
“Fine. But if you are going to stay, you have to help.”
From the glimmer in her eyes, I suspect she thinks it will make me turn around and run out the door, but she underestimates my need to just be near her. I’ll take anything she’s willing to give me.
“Put me to work, boss. Where do I start?”
My smile is innocent as I give a subtle flex of my biceps, and as much as MJ might want to pretend that I don’t affect her, her eyes tell a different story. They’re heated, just like they were on the first day of practice with Tanner when she saw my tattoo.
I never planned to tell her that I have her initials engraved into my skin, but if I had known the heat that would flame into her eyes when she saw it, I would’ve shown her on her first day back in town. That look was like pulling on a string. One slight tug, and I started to unravel.
Her lips lift at the corners, turning a little sinister as she shuts the door behind her.
“Since you like games, how about we play one while you’re here?”
She steps closer to me, tracing the muscle on my arm. Her eyes follow the movement, sliding past my elbow until she reaches my fingers. She laces her hand in mine, and I nearly come undone.
I swallow hard, trying to control my breathing. “What game?”
With a flash of her teeth, that smile turns secretive, devilish, almost as if she knows how hard she’s making my heart beat.
She steps back, leaving my heated skin to cool in the places she touched.
“Not a game—more like a bet.” She winks.
It’s an echo of words from the past, a dare if I’ve ever heard one, but she’s not the only one who knows how to play this game—I invented it.
So I step up, following as she retreats until her back hits a wall, and our bodies are inches apart.
I smirk, running my tongue over my lips. She zeros in on it. We’re circling each other, waiting for the other to strike.
Her breaths are hitched as I lean down, letting my words brush against her neck. “What’s the bet, MJ?”
She swallows, and the muscles on her neck bunch, tensing against my lips before relaxing again.
“I—I can’t think.”
A chuckle blooms deep in my chest. “That sounds like a problem. Maybe you should see a doctor about that?”
With each word, I pepper her skin with a kiss, relishing in the sharp intake of her breath each time I do.
“This is torture.” She means it to be a whisper, but it comes out as a plea instead.
“We can play a different game if you can’t think of your bet. The rules of this one would be simple—admit you want me to kiss you. Well, actually, that’s the whole game, but the prize is pretty great.”
I pull back, giving her a wicked smirk. Her eyes are unfocused. Smug satisfaction prickles at my skin, turning my smirk into a genuine smile.
The fog clears from her eyes to my misfortune.
MJ flicks my chin, and I wince, rubbing at the spot.
“Focus, Hayes.”
“I don’t think I was the one having trouble focusing.” She flicks me again, and I stick my tongue in my cheek to prevent myself from laughing.
“Painting. That’s the bet. You take a wall, and I’ll take one. Whoever finishes their wall first wins.”
“Are you just trying to get free labor out of me?”
“I’ll pay up if you win.” She shrugs, slipping out of my arms and walking away, but she doesn’t make it far. I grab her wrist, pulling her back to me.
“And what do you get if you win?” I ask, leaning down so my cheek is pressed against hers, my question a whisper in her ear.
She leans back, winks, and says, “I’ll tell you after I win.”
Then she’s sashaying away, leaving me watching like a fool.
______________________
“You’re painting it wrong,” MJ hollers from her side of the room.
There’s plastic on the floor, and we are each on our respective sides. MJ chose to start by trimming out the ceiling and windows, while I’m more of a wing it and go kind of guy.
I don’t care which way is right or wrong as long as I win.
“I am not. I saw someone do it this way on the internet.”
MJ snorts, and I keep my back to her to hide my smile.
“I’m surprised you even know how to use the internet.”
“You know,” I say, stepping away from my wall and toward hers. Her back is to me, and I stay light on my feet so she doesn’t hear me coming. When I’m standing right behind her, I grip her waist, spinning her so she’s facing me. She lets out a squeak of surprise. “I think you enjoy driving me crazy.”
Her chest is pressed against me, and I can feel each breath she takes. They’re erratic, each one fanning against the base of my neck. It doesn’t take away her sass, though.
“And I think you are trying to distract me to put off losing.”
Raising her arm, she wraps it around my neck and skims her fingers against my skin.
I wink and lean down, kissing her cheek, the whiskers on my beard prickling her skin.
“I never lose,” I say, pulling out of her hold and walking back to my wall. Looking over my shoulder, I chuckle because MJ still stands right where I left her, looking a little dazed. It’s the second time I’ve gotten to her today, and it feels good because I’m not the only one off-kilter.
Dipping my roller back into my paint, I feign innocence. “You can’t win by just standing there, MJ.”
I can feel the daggers she’s throwing at my back without even looking.
“Cheater,” she mumbles, going back to her wall.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Sure, you don’t.”
We spend the next half hour painting our assigned walls, each watching the other closely to see who will win. I know exactly what I will ask for if I win, but I’m almost tempted to lose to see what she will ask for.
“Done.”
I’m bending down to dip my brush in paint when MJ’s yell startles me.
“My goodness, woman. We are in the same room.”
Picking up the paintbrush off the plastic where I dropped it, I lay it on the paint bucket and stand back up. My heart nearly comes to a complete stop when I look at MJ. Her smile is radiant, lighting up her face and wrinkling her nose.
“But I won—for the first time, I won. So, ha—” she sticks her tongue out and scrunches her eyes.
I’m a goner—so, so far gone.
Crossing my arms, I lean my shoulder on one of the walls we haven’t painted and take her in. She’s my favorite thing to look at—no sunset, sunrise, or mountain view could ever compare.
“I think you cheated, but I won’t challenge it. What is it you win, MJ?”
Her smile brightens, showing all her teeth, and she repeats words I said to her years ago. “You, Hayes. I win you. Go on a date with me.”
And for the first time in six years, I finally have some sunshine back in my life.