“Poppy? Get out of here. Some of the other panels may go.”
“I’m helping.” I ignored him and started moving the seedling trays to the other side of the room.
As I hurried to move them before they got soaked beyond repair, my boots slipped on the wet concrete. I slid into the edge of one the tables, pain exploding in my leg as I instinctively reached for the rack. It started tilting toward me.
“Watch out.” Cord lunged, pulling me away with one hand and holding the rack upright with the other. He caught me against his solid chest, his arm a steel bar around my waist.
“Damnit, Poppy.” Cord dropped to his knees, his calloused hands moving over my calf carefully. The rack was secure, but he didn’t seem to care about the plants anymore.
“I’m okay,” I said even thought my shin felt like it had been hit with a sledgehammer. “I just slipped.”
“Yeah. Almost causing another seedling apocalypse.” His smile was thin, but it was there. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
He didn’t let go. His gaze traveled over me, lingering on the way the damp hoodie clung to my curves, his eyes darkening as he noticed how the cold had made my nipples hardened. “Come on, we’ve done the best we can.”
I looked around in dismay. The rain was pouring in like a waterfall. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’m sure, Poppy. They’re only plants.”
“But they’re your plants, Cord. I know what they mean to you.”
He let out a jagged breath that was half-growl. Without a word, he slid one arm under my knees and the other behind my back. He picked me up with ease. I wasn’t surprised. I’d seen him throw around fifty pounds of topsoil like five-pound bags of sugar.
“Cord, I can walk—”
“Shut up, Poppy.” He tucked my head into the crook of his neck and I stopped protesting. Sometimes, a girl just had to do that. If he wanted to carry me, I wasn’t going to try and stop him. It felt too damn good.
He carried me out of the greenhouse and into the storm. The rain was punishing, but I felt nothing but the furnace-blast of heat coming off his body. His arms were strong and steady, wound my hips and back. His possessive grip told me he wasn’t letting go. I wasn’t totally surprised when he took me to his cabin and not mine.
Just like the storm, this thing between us was finally going to break.
He kicked the door shut behind us, the silence of the cabin settling over us like a shroud. He didn’t set me down. Not at first. He stood in the entryway, holding me, his chest heaving as he stared at me.
“You’re shivering,” he muttered.
He finally sat me on the kitchen counter. My legs dangled, my wet leggings sticking to my skin. Cord moved between my knees, his huge frame a physical wall of heat that made my head spin. “Get out of the wet clothes,” he ordered, his voice sounding like gravel. “Now.”
I reached for the hem of my hoodie, my fingers shaking. He watched me, his gaze fixed on me. I saw his jaw tick. I saw the way his eyes tracked the movement of my hands.
“I can’t… my hands are too cold.”
It was a lie. Or maybe it wasn’t. Either way, it was the invitation he needed.
Cord reached out. He didn’t just help. He took over. “Lift your arms,” he commanded in that voice that made me shiver more than the cold.
I did. He thrust his hands under the hem of my hoodie and the shirt I wore underneath. In once swift move, he pulled it overmy head. I wasn’t wearing a bra, and as the cold air hit my skin, I could feel my nipples harden instantly.
Cord went perfectly still. He looked at me—really looked at me. Not as an employee. Not as a klutzy city girl. But as a man who wants what’s in front of him.
Me. I was the woman in front of him.
“You’re so beautiful.” His voice was thick with a mix of awe and hunger. “I’ve spent every night since you got here wondering if you were this soft everywhere.”
He didn’t wait for an answer. He leaned in, his mouth finding the sensitive spot just below my ear. His beard was rough against my skin, making me shiver.
“I told myself I’d be a decent man,” he groaned against my throat, his hands sliding down to grip my hips. “I told myself I’d let you be. But then I saw you… I saw you almost get hurt…”
