It’s an odd time to notice how infuriatingly flawless his skin is, how straight and perfect his nose is, how bright his eyes look underneath his brows and lashes, and how white his teeth are.
What. The. Fuck?
I need sleep. And to get laid. My brain is clearly going off the rails.
But they’ll have to carry me out of this office if they want me to leave before my shift is over.
Ripping myself out of Stone’s grasp, I force myself upright and take a step back.
“Then give me paperwork or some other menial task like filling the snowmobiles with gas, because I’m not fucking leaving until the job’s done.”
He blows out an exasperated breath.
“You’re so stubborn!” he whispers through gritted teeth.
“And you’re fucking insufferable. I thought we established these principles a long fucking time ago.”
“You really do sayfucka lot,” he says again.
“So, you’ve told me,” I reply. “Turns out, it’s my favorite wordandmy favorite activity.”
I don’t know why I say that. I think I’m so tired my brain is actually trying to sabotage me into a coma because if I’m asleep, I can’t say stupid shit.
“Go home, Hanlon,” Stone says before turning his back on me. “There’s nothing else here for you today.”
“There’s nothing here for meanyof the days,” I fire back. “At least not outside of weather patterns and snowpack.”
Jesus Christ, Hanlon. Shut the fuck up!I mentally yell at myself.
Before I can pout anymore, Stone grabs my arm in a vise grip and basically throws me into his office. Following me inside, he slams his door shut and cages me against it.
We’re breathing the same air as he seethes in my face…andoh boy,this is bad.
Really bad.
My eyes drop to his mouth without my permission.
My delirium is out of control.I need to call Micah again.Our coffee dates have been nice, but despite his level of attractiveness, there’s been no burning desire to get naked. But desperate times and all of that…and we have officially hit desperate times.
“I’m doing my best here, okay?” Stone growls at me. “I know you don’t like to admit weakness, Hanlon, but this isn’t that soft mountain range in our backyard in Vermont. This is the Wild-Fucking-West, and this mountain enjoys the kill. Do you understand? Ineedyou to get your head out of your ass and go home and get some sleep. The adrenaline crash from the helicopter ride, paired with your shitty roommates’ party schedule,is a disaster waiting to happen. AndIknow you won’t admit it, butyouknow I’m right,” he finishes, poking me in the chest.
I swallow hard before nodding.
Jerking off in the shower and then falling into bed actually sounds pretty fucking good right about now.
“Yeah, okay,” I finally relent.
A knock on the office door startles us, and Stone finally takes a step back. I move to the side, and he pulls the door open.
“Everything okay in here?” Jeremy asks.
“Yeah. We’re all good,” Stone lies.
“Okay, well, we just got a call for a backcountry rescue, so it’s time to roll.”
I swing my eyes to Stone.
“No,” he tells me. “Sleep. There will be more opportunities.”
