“Not on there.”
She freezes.
“Sorry. It’s just that’s a customer’s piece.” I stalk over and take the plate and drink from her. “Thanks.” I balance the coffee on a stack of wood and tuck into my pancakes.
She watches me with a smile on her face, as if watching me eat brings her pleasure.
“Have you eaten, petal?”
“Not yet. I’ll just get some cereal. We only had one egg left.”
No wonder she’s watching me eat, probably salivating over it. “Here, share it with me.”
“It’s okay, you have it. I made it for you.”
I lift the blueberry rolled pancake in my hand and bring it to her lips. “Eat.”
She takes a bite of the syrup coated roll and drips the sugar on her chin. She moans as she chews, and I itch to lick the drip from her face. Instead, I wipe it with my thumb and bring it to her lips. Her hands clasp around mine and she licks the syrup from my pad. It takes everything I have to stop myself from crashing my mouth to hers.
I clear my throat and pull my hand away, turning to grab my coffee. Taking a sip, I burn my tongue, but anything is better than standing in front of her while I get a hard-on.
“What are you working on?” She walks around the bench, looking at the bookcase I’ve started building.
“It’s a bookcase.” I finish the pancake and place the plate on the stacked wood next to my mug, then stand next to her, admiring the piece. “It’s for you.”
Her breath catches as she turns to me. “You’re making me a bookcase?”
I shrug, wiping my hands on my t-shirt. “You sorted the box of books out. I thought you should have somewhere to put them. This desk will go in your room, too. Give you somewhere to work and write if you want.”
She throws her arms around me, pressing her body flush with my chest. My palms slip over her hips and hold her back as she tightens her grip around my neck, whispering, “Thank you.”
Damn, I want to make her happy all the time, keep her safe and give her all the things she’s never had. I’ll make her any damn thing she wants if she holds me like this. I breathe in her sweet scent, floral shampoo and syrup, burying my face in her violet hair, then step away before I get hard. Again. “You can help if you like.”
Her eyes dance with excitement.
“Grab that hammer.”
She helps tap the dowels in place. “Did you make furniture for my mum?”
“No, I wasn’t around much. I was stationed in Iran.” I take the hammer from her and give the dowel a hard tap. “Like that, see?”
“What was your role in the army?”
“I was a mechanic.” I wrap my hand around hers as she hammers in another stiff dowel, showing her how hard to hit it. “Since I was a kid, all I ever wanted to do was fix stuff. Dad and I spent hours in the garage fixing up the Jag.”
“I saw that. What happened to the wheels?”
“Dad kept the wheels off to make it difficult to nick. I just never bothered putting them back on.” I hand her the sandpaper to smooth down the joints. “We can fix it together if you like. She needs a good run out.”
Her eyes sparkle, just like mine would when I was a kid each time Dad let me work on the Jag. “Your dad sounds like a good man.”
“He was the best.” My chest caves, knowing she’s never had that. Sure, my dad tanned my hide a few times, but only when I was a little shit. Playing around the farm machinery before he sold the land wasn’t one of my finest moments. Stuff like that can get you killed, so my dad taught me to behave the only way he knew how.
Her hand absentmindedly sands the wood as she stares off at the workshop wall. “I always imagined I’d find my dad, and he’d be this amazing man that would show me how to do stuff and want to spend time with me. My whole life, all I’ve ever wanted, is a loving family. I always thought my blood relatives would love me no matter what. Blood is thicker than water, right?”
“Blood can wear thin.” I glance up, meeting her eyes as she stops her movements with the sandpaper. “There are plenty of things thicker than blood.”
“Like what?” Her beautiful face scrunches up as if trying to decipher what I’m saying. It’s not something that can be easily explained. It’s something I need to show her, that you can choose the family you want.
