A prickling sensation rippled over my upper arm and shoulder where the tattoo was located. It was kinda itchy, but I couldn’t scratch it ‘cause my hands were full.
The guy was staring at me, and his intense gaze had my belly doing flip-flops.
I gulped. His dark hair needed a trim. Weird that was the first thing I noticed. But he was so handsome it was distracting, and those piercing green eyes had my skin heating up even more, and my pulse quickened.
And I couldn’t look away. I was mesmerized and wanted his stubble scraping over my skin and his tongue shoved down my throat. Whoa. Where did that come from?
He pushed himself off the truck, and two thoughts competed for my attention. I both wanted this alpha to speak to me, but also, I needed him to walk past. He was so dazzlingly beautiful I wished I was wearing sunglasses, but I didn’t need him distracting me while I settled into my new life.
“You’re June’s nephew.”
Damn, he was just curious like everyone else in town. I almost wanted to say “Try that again.”
Instead I put down the bags and held out a hand. “Pax.” He grasped my fingers, and they tingled. “And you are?”
“Dray.”
His hand was rough, maybe with calluses, which wasn’t surprising if the truck was his and he was in the construction business. But as he gripped my hand, a jolt of something surged up my arm, and I yanked my hand back. Dray raised a brow but said nothing. I should have made an excuse, like I’d sprained a finger, but I just kept staring from him to my hand and back to his face.
“I did some work for your aunt last year. The stairs up to the turret needed fixing and a porch railing had to be reinforced.” He paused and glanced at something over my shoulder. “She was very kind, and I’m sorry for your loss.
I thanked him and agreed she was special.
“How’s the house holding up?”
“I have no idea. I only arrived late yesterday.”
Dray did something with his mouth. Not quite a smile and not a smirk.
“I can take a look if you like. There’ll be no charge for the assessment.”
Of course I should have said thank you and I’d get back to him. I’d need to get quotes from multiple contractors. That was what adults did.
But I blurted out, “That’d be great.”
“I’m free now.” He jerked his head toward the truck. “I could swing by and take a look.”
I gulped and nodded, and on the drive back to the house, I kept glancing in the rearview mirror to make sure he was following. Not that he was going to get lost, and he knew the house intimately.
But what did I know about Dray? Nothing, though he’d worked for Aunt June, and she had a canny ability to size people up.
When he emerged from the truck, he studied the overgrown roses and vines, saying my aunt loved her garden. “She used to tell me which plants had good energy.”
He offered to cut the grass, as he had a riding mower in the truck. I protested, but he shrugged off my concerns. I had to look away as he maneuvered it down the ramp. Despite his long sleeves, the muscles bulged underneath.
Inside the house, I stood at the window as he whizzed past through the overgrown grass. He took off his jacket, and I peered from behind a curtain, telling myself I was making sure he didn’t run over any rose bushes. I wanted him to roll up his shirt sleeves, but he didn’t oblige.
When he was done, he wiped sweat from his brow and strode toward the coiled hose. I met him outside because when a gorgeous man was doing you a favor, you had to thank him. I could think of many ways of showing my gratitude, but none of them were appropriate for almost strangers.
He lifted the hose to his mouth. The water spurted, but the hose kinked and water exploded and sprayed my face and chest. I yelped as my favorite sweater was soaked.
“I’m so sorry. That wasn’t on purpose.”
The sweater clung to my chest and drooped toward my thighs. Why would he assume I thought he’d done it on purpose? Dray lowered his eyes to my crotch before jerking them back to my face, and my tattoo heated up again. That had to be my imagination because could an image of a fire generate heat?
“You should change your clothes.”
I froze but not from the cold, as a vision of me getting naked on the lawn popped into my head. But I was convinced the heat from the tattoo was keeping me warm.
