Holiday Heat

Strip? Oh shit!Now I’ve got that image stuck in my head!

“I’ll get a bath run for you and take your clothes to dry. Maybe by the time they’re dry the rain will have stopped and you can head back.” Not if I can help it.

“I hope it’s soon. The girls will be pissed if I miss the barn dance tonight.” She scrunches up the cutest button nose and my heart misses a beat.

“You’re going to a dance. Do you have a date?”

“Why?” she laughs. “You know somebody that could get the matchmakers off my ass?”

“Yeah. Me.”

One dark eyebrow quirks up and she eyes me speculatively. “You? Why on earth would you want to do that for me? You don’t even know my name.”

I shrug like it’s no big deal even though it totally is. I want to drag her away to a cave and lock her up so she can’t meet any other men. And I’m guessing her girlfriends would be opposed to that. Maybe her too.

“No big deal. I don’t have anything to take care of right now. I’m just running some figures for a friend and I was out checking my land when I found you.”

“Running some figures? What do you do?”

“Accounting. Financing. That kind of stuff.” Kinda. Except on a much bigger scale than maybe she’s thinking.

“Hmmm. Sounds interesting. Maybe I could steer some clients your way. My author’s are always having issues with record-keeping. She holds out her hand. My name is Jane Harper. I run a publishing company.”

“Sounds cool. But I’m not exactly in that side of it.” At all.

“Do I know any of the companies you work for?” Yeah, she might!

“No. I doubt it. I just handle small accounts so far.”

“Well, that’s them.” She throws her head back and laughs and I can see the dark hair plastered to her head, reminding me that I need to get her warm.

“I’ll get that bath. You’ll feel a lot better after you get warmed up.”

“You’re probably right. Thank you. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”

“It’s no trouble at all. I’ll be right back.”

I run the water, getting it warmed up before I fill the tub, throwing in some bubbles that I have lying around from before my wife ditched me and left me for another man.

I wince. Why the hell am I getting so heated up over this woman? She’s exactly like my ex-wife. Go-getter businesswoman who has no intention of burying herself out in the back of beyond. Not even for her husband who had a serious medical emergency.

I sigh, watching the bubbles swirl around in the big, claw-foot tub for a minute.

“Yeah. Hopefully she makes sure and keeps you at a distance since you are too easy to distract right now.” It’s been three years since my wife left. Three very long years where I didn’t have anything to do with women.

And now my body is lit up like a firecracker every time I even hear that woman’s voice.

I groan and grab my crotch, shifting again when she starts hollering. “Is there a problem? I’d like to get out of your hair as soon as possible.”

I’m torn. I want her out of here so I can go back to my calm, peaceful existence.

And yet…my heart falls into a mine of despair when I think about never seeing her again.

Is that normal? I don’t fucking know. But what I do know is that since I ran across the little soaked dove out in the living room, I’ve never wanted to kiss a woman or bury myself in her body so much.

Please let me hold on just a little longer. Just until she’s gone.And then everything will go back to normal.

Maybe. Hopefully. Dammit!