“Alright. Let’s give this a go then.”
I close the door and pull a small backpack over my shoulder and then squeal when I find myself being whipped around in a circle. Narrowing my eyes, I stare him down, hating that that little smirk of his didn’t make my pussy clench. I don’t need those kinds of feelings.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m going to carry your backpack.”
“You have a backpack. You don’t need to try and carry mine.”
“I’ve got it, Red. Stop being so stubborn all the time.”
“I am not stubborn.”
“You are. But for the most part I like it. Unless it might get you hurt. That I won’t tolerate. So I’ll carry your backpack. You focus on keeping those pretty feet on the trail.”
My heart flutters when he says I have pretty feet. Which is about the least romantic thing I’ve ever heard. But I’m obviously off my rocker and I need to get my head on straight.
His big hand reaches back and he shakes it at me. “What are you doing?”
“Gimme your hand. I’ll help you up into my truck so we can drive to the trail.”
“I can get up in a truck,” I huff. If he touches me, I might spontaneously combust. Or jump him.
I can’t do either of those. No, no, no!
He steps back and holds the door of his big, black truck open for me. Eyeing the seat, I sigh. It’s about at my eye level, I swear.
“Why do men love big tires and big trucks?”
He chokes and then grins wickedly. “Why do you think?”
My cheeks go hot and I glare at him. “You’re rude, Jaxon.”
His eyes dance as he reaches out for my hand. “Let me help you. Unless you want me to push your ass up when you get stuck.”
“If you touch my ass, I may pepper spray you,” I grouse.
“You know that when you say stuff like that, I want to kiss those gorgeous lips of yours.”
My mouth drops open. “Y-you can’t say stuff like that. Jeez! There’s something wrong with you!”
“Nope. I’m a complicated guy, though.”
“Hormones aren’t that complicated.”
“I’m more than hormones.”
He laughs out loud and grabs me around the waist, grinning like a loon when I squawk and swat at him. I land in the seat and glare at him, my hair falling into my face.
“I cannot believe you.”
But…my whole body feels flushed and tingling with awareness. I can’t stop thinking about the warmth of his fingers which I can still feel incinerating my clothes like they’re nothing.
The smirk on his face just gets bigger when he looks over at me and growls, “Put your seatbelt on, Red. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“Nothing’s going to happen to me. Unless I let you have your wish, I bet.”
He starts the truck and puts it in gear, his face turning more serious than I’ve ever seen. “Oh, I have a lot of wishes, Red. We’ll see how well this goes and then go from there.”
