“Now, you want to swing the axe up high, keeping your arms extended like this.”
He shows me the motion, but pauses it mid-swing, keeping his arms in the air. Holy hell. His big arms are all flexed. His triceps are glorious.
“Aren’t you hot doing all that work with a flannel shirt on?” I ask, despite the chill in the air. “If you normally take it off, don’t keep it on for my account.” I try to act all casual while I say it, like I’m doing this for his benefit, but I’m probably coming across as a total horndog with my wide eyes and the fact that I’m practically drooling as I watch him.
His mouth curls up in that grin again as he lowers the axe. No way… he’s doing it! This is going to get good!
I watch with unblinking eyes as he grabs the back of his shirt and pulls it off in one perfected motion. It’s all smooth hard muscle. Everywhere. My knees go a little weak as he tosses the shirt behind him and picks up the axe.
“So, legs apart,” he says as he resumes the position, this time looking a million times hotter. I can see every muscle in his torso flexing and tightening as he brings the axe up over his head. His stomach is all abs and it doesn’t have an ounce of fat on it, which I guess can be expected when you only eat what nature provides. His chest is massive with two of the most perfect nipples ever created. His arms… I don’t have the words to explain his arms, so I’m just going to drool instead.
His triceps look enormous as he holds that axe up. “You want to slide your hand down the handle as you bring the axe down forcefully,” he says as he shows me in slow motion. “Keep your eyes locked on the wood the entire time.”
This is great. He’s staring at the wood, so my eyes are free to wander wherever they want. And they’re wandering… everywhere…
“Maybe you should do a few to show me,” I say in a cool, calm, totally unaroused voice.
He starts doing a few at full speed, slamming through the chunks of wood as I get hotter and wetter with each manly grunt he makes.
I’m beginning to really dig this whole mountain man vibe. It’s sexy knowing that this man could be dropped anywhere on the planet and figure out a way to survive. Drop him shirtless in the arctic and he’d probably wrestle a polar bear in between constructing an igloo mansion. I don’t think there’s anything this alpha male can’t do.
He’s stirring something in me. Something that isn’t often stirred.
I always thought there was something wrong with me since I wasn’t turned on by the guys in law school or by Shawn in accounting. All the other girls were, but I never was. Now, I know. I need a real man.
A manly man.
A mountain man.
The girls can keep Shawn with his overly styled hair, thousand-dollar suits, and gym body. I want Cyrus. Messy hair, faded jeans, and a body sculpted from chopping wood like a total badass. That’s what I’m into. That’s what I want.
I want him.
My body confirms it. It’s buzzing like a beehive that’s just been shaken up by Cyrus’ big sexy hands.
“Want to try?” he asks after there’s a pile of freshly chopped wood beside him. His whole body is flexed from the workout and there’s a sexy sheen of sweat on his skin. I wonder if he would mind if I licked it up…
“Maybe later,” I say, again wanting to keep all of my toes.
“What else do you want to learn?”
“Making a fire?” I say with a shrug.
I don’t really want to learn how to make a fire. How hard can it be with a lighter? I just want him to keep that shirt off and creating a lot of heat with a campfire should do it.
“Okay,” he says. “First we need to gather some kindling and tinder.”
“Tinder, like the dating app?”
“No,” he says as he shakes his head at me with a grin on his face. “Not like the dating app. You’re not on there, are you?”
His shoulders tense as he waits for my answer.
“No,” I quickly say. “I don’t date much. Like at all.”
I notice that he takes a long breath of relief before getting back to the task at hand.
“Good. Now we need kindling like dry sticks and tree bark.”
I walk along the trees and gather a bunch of it while he keeps his watchful eyes on me.
He shows me how to place it properly in a triangle and before long, he’s handing me a lighter and I’m trying to get my campfire to light. It’s harder than I thought it was. The flame keeps going out.