“Lead on,” he said, flipping the lock and following her.
Even in the dim light he could see some of the house’s details, as well as the stack of original baseboard waiting to go back on the wall after the sheetrock, floors and painting were done. She was doing a good job. The changes she’d made to the layout made the first floor feel modern but protected the integrity of the house. He’d like to see it in the daylight, but he didn’t think she’d have any trouble selling this one. Whether she made a profit or not depended on how extended she was and any additional problems that popped up, but her choice of property showed a good eye and keen judgment.
They made their way down the hall to the lit bedroom. A roll of tape sat next to a pan of joint compound and trowel. Finishing drywall at eleven o’clock at night. She’d worked a full day and now she was finishing drywall. He almost asked her what she thought she was doing, but he knew.
He’d done the same thing when he started flipping properties. She was trying to make up some of the cost overruns by doing more of the work herself. He also knew that when he’d been in the middle of struggling projects, the last thing he needed was a lecture. He’d needed an extra set of hands.
“Come on, sit down,” he said, deliberately softening his voice and dropping to sit cross legged in the center of the room. “Let me show you what I brought.”
She met his gentler tone with a cautious smile. “Thanks for this. You didn’t have to do it but I appreciate it. By the time I thought to stop to eat, the only place that delivered was closed. I’m starving.”
“I’m not sure what it is,” he said, handing her what looked like some kind of bento box and a bottle of sparkling water. “I told Eric to send something he thought you’d like.”
Her eyes went round. “You brought me takeout from Comme Ci?”
“You liked his food,” he said with a shrug.
“But that’s…never mind.”
She raised her hands in surrender and then pried the lid off the box. She breathed in the rich scent of garlic and roasted pepper and let out a groan of pleasure that made Luke’s cock swell.Fuck.He was getting hard watching her eat.
The morning couldn’t come fast enough. He had to get her away from all of the distractions – take her somewhere where he could get his fill of her. Quench this overwhelming hunger for sweet Claire.
“Do you have another pan and trowel?”
She set her dinner aside and started to rise. Luke put a hand on her shoulder, letting his fingers stray under her ponytail to rub the base of her skull.
“Don’t get up. Just tell me where it is.”
“Downstairs in the kitchen with the other buckets of joint compound. They should be sitting next to the sanding stuff, but what do you want with a trowel?”
“Please, for the love God, correct me if I’m wrong, but I assumed you wouldn’t leave here until you either finished mudding the upstairs or ran out of time.”
She at least had the decency to look sheepish, and he couldn’t hide his smile.
“Thought so. I’m going to help you finish so I can take you home and put you in my bed where you will sleep.” He paused to give the word extra emphasis. “Until it’s time to leave for New York in the morning.”
“New York? That’s where we’re going? I’ve never been there before.”
Her face lit in anticipation, and she looked bright and pretty. An innocent sitting on the floor in her T-shirt and jeans with a smear of joint compound on her cheek, and knowing she wasn’t innocent only made him want her more. He had to kiss her. He stooped down so he could look her in the eyes. Cupping her face in his hands, he slanted his mouth over hers, brushing her lips with his. She melted into him, resting her cheek against his palm as he teased her lips with his teeth and tongue.
He nipped her bottom lip, dragging the plump flesh between his teeth. Catching her gasp with his mouth, he deepened the kiss, tasting and stroking her tongue with his. Her taste intoxicated him and for a moment he lost himself, drowning in the feel of her.
“I’ll be right back,” he said, when he finally managed to break the kiss. “The sooner we finish, the sooner I can get you home and into my bed.” For now, he shoved aside the fact that when he thought of home he thought of her.
