Not this.
Not her.
Still, I want to test the theory before I can stop myself.
Want to know how she’d feel under my palms.
If the softness I see is real.
If she’d fill my hands the way my body suddenly insists she would.
She licks her bottom lip—nervous, quick—and the motion sends a jolt straight to my dick.
Heat flares low and fast. Sharp. Immediate.
Unwanted.
Unexpected.
Violent in its intensity.
It’s been years since my body reacted like this—since attraction hit me this hard, this suddenly.
No warm-up.
No logic.
Just instinct roaring to life like it’s been waiting.
The mill fades away.
The saws.
The shouts.
The machinery that’s been my whole world.
All of it narrows down to her and the heavy thud of my heartbeat in my ears.
She looks at me like I’m the dangerous one.
And for the first time in a long damn while—I feel like she might be right.
“Don’t just stand there, Thatcher,” Kelly says, amusement threaded through her voice. “Come meet our new employee.”
I drag my gaze away from her with effort. Actual effort.
“H-hello,” the stranger says softly.
Her voice is quieter than Kelly’s.
Lower, steadier than she probably feels.
“You are?” I ask, my voice rougher than I intend.
“I-I’m Willow.”
The name settles into me like it belongs there.
