I groaned, but before I could argue, I was back in Jack’s arms.
“What’s next? You gonna cop a feel?” I joked.
“Something like that.” I felt Jack shrug his shoulders behind me.
Instantly, Jack wrapped a hand around my lower thigh and separated my legs in a swift motion. I yelped at the unexpected movement. He ran his hands back down my arms, repositioning my hand placement to separate one at what he called theshaftand the other dominant hand closer to the head of the axe.
“Really got me gripping the shaft tightly there, don’t ya, Jack?” I mumbled nervously.
“You betcha, Elle.” Jack chuckled and grabbed my hipbone with a hand. “Straighten your back.”
“Okay,” I said.
“Practice bending with me...” Jack made me push out my butt and bring it back in again. “Back and forth. Get all loosened up.”
“Am I holding the axe right?” I questioned.
“Perfectly.” Jack held onto the axe handle with me. “Now straighten and we are going to lift the axe head up.”
I had trouble, but once Jack helped guide me, the process was effortless. Easy enough for me to focus on his chest tensing up against me while we lifted the blade high above our heads and time slowed down to a sluggish snail’s speed where I could see everything happening.
Jack had me snugly squeezed against him, and the proximity had me flushed. Heat rose to my cheeks as I admired the way his muscles flexed in his arms and the veins popped freely. Beads of perspiration glistened in the sun’s rays, and I couldn’t stop ogling him.
Jack was gorgeous in a way I had never considered before until I got a glimpse of him up close—pressed up against his chiseled abs, making me want to turn around while I slid my face up against him. Sweat be damned. I’d roll down his skin as the slickness dripped and get completely caught up in his manliness. Christ. I had never realized how damn good he smelled. The woodsy scent of sticky sap, bark, and earthy tones wafted up my nose.
As flabbergasted as I was by how attractive Jack had become, I was also petrified. I had a blade the size of Jack’s hand above my head, and the sharpness of it barreled down at full speed. A squeal escaped me as we slammed the axe head into the wood with a loud thud, but the stump didn’t break.
“Again!” Jack shouted, and we lifted the handle together with all the strength we had. “Push your tight ass up against me, Elle, and slam the head into the wood harder for me.”
I did as instructed. I bent right over and swung the axe down fast. The chunk of timber split into two pieces.
“Yes!” I cried out.
Letting go of the axe handle, I spun around and leaped into Jack’s arms. I hugged him while my legs wrapped around his waist, and I clung to him, full of excitement over what I had achieved. I’d chopped a stump in half like a champ!
“That’s my girl,” Jack whispered in my ear.
Jack held me securely under my buttocks as I pulled back, and my hands framed his face. He grinned at me, but I got lost in his stare while my gaze wandered to his full mouth, and I licked my lips. Instantly, I was famished for a kiss as his face came closer, and I was enamored, consumed to the point I forgot all the mistrust, all the hatred, and every bitter moment between us.
I saw the real Jack Timber. A man who cradled me delicately and peered at me with a ton of passion, and enough lust to steal my breath away, leaving my heart racing and wanting much more of him than I ever thought I’d need. The glimmer in his deep eyes faded and coated over with an edge of darkness. A black place I couldn’t reach as Jack released me, and I slid down his body.
Once my boots met the snowy ground, Jack closed up. He stepped back, and the warmth he once left was gone. I was no longer sizzling with heat but chilled down to the bone.
Jack cleared his throat. He snapped his fingers nervously and clapped his hands together. Clearly, stopping himself from touching me because I was off-limits.
Right. We were at odds. Unfriendly. Hated each other’s guts, but had ended up entangled together. Again.
I blurted out, “I need a tree.”
What the fuck, Elle? You need a tree?
Jack stopped.
He narrowed his eyes. “You don’t have a damn Christmas tree yet?”
Right! A Christmas tree.
“Yeah. I don’t.” Awkwardly, I shuffled my boots and shook my head.
