I looked around the office. “I’ll say. Holy moly, what a mess.”
I swore his lips quirked. Then he schooled his features. “Do your job, Charly.”
“Trying.”
He turned, and I called out, “Wait.”
“What?”
“No breakfast, but I assume you want lunch and dinner?”
“Yes. I have a job I’m working on. So just a sandwich at some point. Dinner…” His voice trailed off, and a real, honest smile lit his face. “Whatever that was you made last night, I approve.”
“You liked it?” I asked, suddenly feeling shy.
“I polished it off. All of it.”
“Oh. Okay. I’m glad you liked it.”
“I did.”
For a moment, something warm and real passed between us. I caught a glimpse of the man from Friday night, and it made my heart jump in my chest.
“Thank you for the lock.”
He lifted a shoulder, then paused, as if wanting to say something.
“Yes?” I asked
“Nothing. I have work to do. Since I’m paying you, I suggest you get back to yours.”
I sniffed. “Been at it since six, so you know. And as you pointed out, it is my day off.”
“Nice to see some initiative,” he shot back, heading to the coffeemaker. “Stop brownnosing the boss.” He poured a cup of coffee and took a long sip. “Just because you’re working today, don’t be late tomorrow. I will drag you out of bed and kick your ass to get you to work.”
“I’d like to kick your ass,” I muttered.
He appeared by my elbow. “What was that?”
“I said I have gas,” I deadpanned. “You might want to leave the room.”
He blinked, stepped back, then walked away.
But I heard him laughing, and I hugged myself. Another small victory.Midafternoon, I stood and stretched. The desk was now organized and tidy. Tomorrow, I planned on tackling the huge pile of outstanding payments. That would take me a while, but it needed to be done.
I walked through the garage, Maxx busy under the hood of a car. I couldn’t help staring at his ass as I walked. Bent over, his jeans pulled tight, it was spectacular. Sculpted, round, and I recalled, firm. Not looking where I was going, I tripped over a piece of equipment, ending up on the hard cement floor, muttering in pain and exasperation.
“Holy moly, crap on a cracker…” I cursed, holding my hand.
Maxx pulled himself up, hurrying over. “What happened?” Concern colored his voice. “Are you hurt?”
Up close, under the bright lights, his dark eyes had flecks of gold and green, and they were mesmerizing, rendering me unable to speak.
He grabbed my shoulders, shaking me a little. “Charly!”
I blinked and flushed, realizing how silly I must look. “I’m fine.”
He tugged on my hand. “Let me see.”
I uncurled my fist, and he cursed. The skin was torn and bleeding, having taken the brunt of my weight as I fell. He stood, taking me with him. I yelped in shock, pushing on his shoulder.
“What are you doing?”
“I need to bandage your hand.”
“I can walk.”
“Apparently not well. How the hell did you trip over a creeper? It was right there!”
My cheeks became hotter. “Um, I was distracted.” I wiggled a little. “Let me down.”
“No.”
He headed down the hall and into the small bathroom off the office. He held my hand under the water, ignoring my gasp of pain as the water hit the torn flesh.
“We need to make sure it’s clean.”
He opened the small cupboard and took out a first aid box.
“I can do that.”
He shook his head, looking around. “Where’s a towel?”
“I don’t think there is one. You didn’t give me one either. Good thing I had my own soap. Otherwise, the shower would have been a total wash.” I waggled my eyebrows, trying to get him to lighten up. He looked far too serious.
He ignored my humor. “I forgot. Sorry.”
Before I could recover from his apology, he whipped his shirt over his head, standing in front of me bare-chested. He wrapped my hand in the shirt, still warm from his body, then rummaged in the first aid box. I tried not to gape. I had seen him naked in the motel room, but the lights were low. That view hadn’t done him justice. He was sculpted and firm, his muscles rippling as he moved. He had a six-pack, maybe even an eight-pack. I couldn’t count, my head was so muddled. He crouched in front of me, saying something, and I blinked.
“What?”
“I said, this is going to sting.” Then he dabbed at the torn skin with alcohol, and I yelped.
He blew on my hand, and my breath caught. It was highly erotic watching his mouth work to cool my skin. His closeness was having the opposite effect on the rest of me. My body felt heavy and warm. The desire to drape my arms over his shoulders and have him lift and carry me to the small bed down the hall was prevalent. He bent his head as he added some ointment, then covered the skin with a large bandage.