Her voice slid through him like warm honey, derailing every coherent thought he’d been trying to hold onto.Her question came from directly across the table where she sat, and Nick was acutely aware of her presence.Had been acutely aware since they’d come in this morning to find Jenna making pancakes for them.
He kept his eyes glued to his plate, afraid that if he looked at her too long, every secret he carried would spill out.
He wanted her, desperately.He wanted Axel’s woman.A sharp pang of guilt twisted in his chest.Wanting her felt like crossing a line he had no right to even approach.
This frustrating longing was Axel’s fault.While the two of them were having sex last night, Axel had begun to recount, in vivid detail, how Jenna would look in the shower, naked.
The memory sent heat crawling up his neck.Axel’s voice, low and reverent, had painted images he couldn’t scrub from his mind.
Axel had recounted the sexy, mewling sounds she made when she climaxed.And Nick remembered vividly the huge erection Axel had when talking about her.
And now his tongue felt glued to the roof of his mouth, his mind a jumble of desire, nerves, and the desperate need not to make a fool of himself.
Oh man.He couldn't even come up with an answer.
“I'm guessing we'll get half the roof ripped off today.Then we can start laying down the water shield and underlayment followed by shingling,” Axel answered as he approached the table.He’d insisted Jenna sit and eat the first pancake, while he’d poured batter for Nick and then one for himself.
Relief and jealousy tangled in his chest.Axel always knew how to step in, how to sound confident, how to fill the silence when Nick couldn’t.
“We should have it half done by tomorrow night.Then start the other side,” Axel said.
“Don't forget there’s time involved for the drip edge and the ridge vent.So that might make it that much longer,” Nick found himself saying, getting swept up into the conversation wanting Jenna to know that he knew stuff about roofing too.The words came out steady, surprising him.The small spark of confidence lit in his chest when Jenna’s attention flicked to him.
“Yeah, that's right.Forgot that stuff.So yeah longer,” Axel said as he poured Brady’s homemade syrup onto his pancake.
Nick suddenly felt damned important for knowing stuff.Man he truly had reverted into a teenager.It was ridiculous how good it felt with her noticing him, even for something as simple as roofing knowledge, which he had a lot of since he’d spent a season working as a roofer out west one year.
“It will more than likely be done by Sunday afternoon.Unless it rains.Then we'll have to get those tarps up again,” Nick added.
He could feel Jenna’s hot gaze on him.Man he hadn't been with a woman since...Callie.But she was nineteen and she couldn't hold a candle to Jenna.Callie had been a distraction.Jenna was a gravitational pull.
“We also need to take into account trips to Sam's place.That will shave two to three hours off each day,” Axel said.
Nick nodded and responded.
“I did notice some damage on Sam’s barn roof over at his place too.Minor work.A couple of shingle repairs.There is a tree down on one of his corral fences.I couldn’t find a saw or chainsaw, so I was hoping you had one I could borrow?”he asked Jenna.He wanted her to see him as capable, dependable and someone worth keeping around.
Jenna nodded.
“There are a couple in the workshop in the barn,” she replied.
“I can take care of that the next time I'm out there,” Axel said.
Irritation snapped through Nick.
Were he and Axel trying to impress her with this back and forth bullshit?
Nick wanted to mention that her barn roof was also in serious need of repair.While having sex, they’d felt a few drops of rain last night.Leaks started very small, but they grew quickly if not repaired.
He was about to tell her just that when Jenna’s cell phone on the counter began to ring.
“Excuse me” she quickly said as she stood.
He exhaled quietly, grateful for the break in tension.Talking around Jenna was starting to feel like walking a tightrope.
They watched as she swept up the cell and walked down the hallway and a moment later the back door closed quietly.
“Saved by the bell,” Axel muttered and then he cut a big chunk out of his pancake, forked it, and shoved it into his mouth.
