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“Be gentle with me.”
“Oh, I intend to. Very gentle. To start.”
A fire flares in his gaze as I hold it. First gauntlet down.
CHAPTER 10
Micha
Is she flirting with me? Am I projecting my desire on her? What the fuck am I doing? I can’t give in. I can’t cross the line. I...
“I should move some more wood closer to the house. The snow has let up but you never know what’s coming next. I remember other years when the snow hit this early and never let up till spring.”
She nods. “I’ll clean up the kitchen. I also want to start a grocery list. Now that I’ve been here a few days, I’ve got a better idea of what we might want and need. I saw you have a plow for your truck so we aren’t necessarily stuck here. But being prepared and having stocked cupboards is always safest. You might want to think about a freezer.”
“There’s a shed behind the trailer that has power. I’ve got someone hauling the trailer away next week. Could put a freezer in that shed for this winter and then move it closer to the cabin next summer. Maybe even extend the deck and have it off the back door.”
What the hell am I saying? She won’t be here next spring. Why would she care?
“That would be perfect. We could also put a covered wood box closer for convenience. You’re maximizing the southern exposure with the house facing south. Storage to the north if covered would be okay.”
We. There can’t be a ‘we’. She’s my best friend’s daughter.
I turn to head outside.
“Chickens. We could have some chickens just for the eggs. Some of those cute ones you see on videos.”
That word again. We.
I nod and practically run from the cabin. God, she’s tearing me apart. Everything I want. Everything I crave.
JB would kill me if he knew the thoughts I’ve been having about his little girl.
I stack enough wood on the porch to last a month. Then reorganize the wood pile, before spending another almost hour chopping more until it’s getting too dark to be safe.
At the door I take a deep breath before entering. She’s at the table, her hair up in some kind of knot on her head with a pencil speared through it. She looks up and smiles.
“Oh, good, you’re back. Take your clothes off.”
“What?” I stare at her open mouthed.
“Take your clothes off. I want to do laundry and there isn’t enough without yours.”
She stands and crosses toward me, holding out her hand. Removing my boots, I pull off my socks, then my flannel shirt and T-shirt. She raises her eyebrow.
Shaking my head, I cross to the dresser, grab clean clothes and walk into the bathroom. Stripping the rest, I crack the door open. She’s waiting, hand outstretched.
Shutting the door, I climb in the shower and adjust the flow. When in the hell did she become a tyrant? I think back and smile. It was somewhere around her third birthday. I hadn’t seen JB and the family in a while.
JB and Clair had been together for a little over ten years. Clair had several miscarriages before their miracle baby appeared. JB and Clair where ecstatic when Juni came along. But the delivery was hard and they were warned to have no more children.
I’d served with JB and we’d become fast friends over the years. Clair always welcomed me to stay with them. Seven months after Juni arrived, I came for a long weekend. After the first thirty minutes of intense scrutiny, Juni held her arms out for me. JB handed her off and I was hooked. From that time until today she’s had me wrapped around her little finger.
He and I did a lot of missions together the first few years. Once he retired. I still visited every chance I could as honorary uncle. Until the day I saw Juni as a woman and not the child. It scared the shit out of me.
When she looked at me with those woman’s eyes, and her woman’s body would brush past me, my body had an instant reaction of its own. It was then I knew I had to leave and stay away.
And I have, until she showed up on my doorstep. Once again making demands to get her own way. Does the little minx know what she does to me?
