“Camilla, are you okay?”
“What?” She blinks her eyes a couple of times. “How did you carry those? That’s superhuman strength.”
“I work out. A lot.” I try to remain modest as I flash her a smile, proud that someone finally took notice of all the time and effort I put into my body.
“How? By lifting trucks?”
“Take a look at this?” I roll up my sleeve and flex my arm, showing off my extra-large bicep. To my surprise, Camilla tries to wrap her hands around my upper arm. One on top and the other below.
“My fingers don’t come close to closing.”
“Watch this, wrap your arms around it.” She follows my direction, and I pull my arm up a few inches, lifting her off the ground. I do this two more times before she removes her hands.
“As much as I’d like to stay here with you and show off, I need to get to work. Is it okay if I stop by at the end of the day?”
Her full lips part, but she doesn’t speak for a few seconds. Finally, Camilla releases my arm, steps back, and tugs her shirt back down. “Yes, of course.”
“Great.” I smile. “Pick a color so I can buy the paint. I’ll be back later.”
She nods.
“Oh,” I almost forgot. “One more thing.”
I lean in for a second, and her breath changes. That’s a good thing, right? Her arms straighten until her hands reachmy chest. She splays them over my shirt, and I freeze. Is she touching me to explore my muscles, or is she keeping me at an arm’s length? I fight my desire to kiss her.
Our eyes lock, and suddenly the air around me is thick with want and expectation, which makes no sense because I don’t even like her. Not very much. But she’s beautiful and sexy. I admire her feistiness. But then there are moments when her vulnerability shines through, when she’s not looking to pick a fight, that draw me to this softer side of her.
I let that urge hang between us. Instead, I reach for her shoulder and pull at a stray piece of material on her shirt.
Disappointment resonates in her eyes as I hold the tiny piece of fabric between us. Something akin to fear seeps from her eyes as the shape of the thong comes into view. She snatches it away as pink coloring fills her cheeks and chest.
“Static cling,” I say with a shrug, trying to play it cool. She doesn’t answer, just stares at me as if her eyes are lasers that can burn a hole through me. I didn’t mean to make her feel bad. “Bet that pale pink looks great against your caramel skin.”
“Too bad you’ll never know.”
I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face. My hard-headed gargoyle nature kicks in. By telling me I can’t, she’s made it so now I have to. Challenge accepted.
She doesn’t say anything more, and I walk out feeling light as air with a strange sensation tickling my chest. There’s a buzzing in my blood. A part of me that has remained dormant until now has awakened. I only hope I can get it back to sleep before the constriction of my jeans strangles it for good.
Chapter 10
Camilla
“Is everything okay?” My mother asks, a hint of panic sounding in her voice. “We haven’t heard from you in days.” I’m glad she can’t see my eye roll.
