Off Limits Neighbor

Surprise crosses her face. “You did this?”

Taking a sip of my beer, I nod.

“That’s a hell of a hobby,” she says softly.

“Not a hobby,” I say, laughing and bowing. “I’m a carpenter, and all-around contractor.”

Her jaw drops. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Nope.”

She glares. “That might have been something you told me yesterday. Or, you know, today when you followed me around in run-down houses all day?”

I can’t help the smirk that comes to my face. “My way was more fun. Do you want a beer? Or something else?”

“A beer is fine.”

Klara follows me into the living room, shaking her head and still gazing around the big living space. “So, when you were wondering if I had the skills to do everything, you weren’t just being a patronizing asshole.”

I hand her the beer. “Just a normal asshole.”

She smiles at that and sits down on the couch.

“But I was serious, Klara. Your parents are asking a lot of you to fix those houses up in what…two weeks?”

She makes a face. “Yeah. But I can make it work.”

I look at her. Telling her the odds of doing that isn’t going to be helpful. But even with a full crew, refurbishing and decorating five houses in two weeks is a huge amount of work. I shouldn’t offer, but the words are out of my mouth before I even really think them.

“I’m between jobs right now. I can help you.”

Klara flushes bright red and takes a long sip of her beer. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I want to.”

“The budget on this project is kind of weird. I’m sure that we can’t afford you.”

“Who said anything about getting paid?”

She shakes her head again, standing and pacing like she can’t bear to stay seated anymore. “I can’t do that, Rey. It wouldn’t be right.”

As she passes me, I catch her around the waist, stilling her pacing. Klara goes entirely still, breath catching. This is a little like this afternoon. “Why don’t you let me decide what’s right for me?” I ask softly.

She looks up at me with those dark green eyes and the air between us is charged. “Why would you do that? I’m no one to you. You don’t owe me anything.”

I let one side of my mouth curl into a smile. “Not everything is about that, Klara. You need help, I have the skills. It’s not more complicated than that.”

Against my arm, Klara shudders, and her eyes close in something like relief. “Thank you.”

“I don’t mean offense, but why would you agree to something like this? You had to know that it’s an impossible ask.”

“They’re my parents,” she says quietly. “And no matter…they need help.”

There’s definitely more behind those words, but I get the feeling that right now isn’t the time to press for a better answer. We haven’t moved, my arm still across her body and hand on her hip. She turns her body toward me, and I don’t move my hand.

Just like that first time, her eyes drop to my lips, and this time I see the intent before she moves. I must be crazy, because I want her so badly that I can’t breathe, but I stop her before our lips connect. “I just need one thing, Klara.”

“What’s that?”

“I need you to tell me you’re not about to kiss me or anything else that happens after that because you think you owe me.”

A small gasp escapes her lips. “No,” she says. “No, that’s not it. I just…I want—”

That’s all I need. I close the distance and kiss her before she can explain. That’s the best description of what I feel too. I want.

Klara’s lips are sweet under mine, and the way her body softens, melts against mine, has me so hard I might as well have not even gotten myself off earlier. I reach out and place my beer on the bar, and separate from her just long enough to get rid of her drink, because I need her in my arms right the fuck now.

I lift her off the floor, and she perches on my hips, skirt riding up her legs. My hands are on her thighs, and I think that I could die happy now. The kiss has gone from zero to one hundred.

“You sure about this?” I ask, voice rough. There’s no chance in hell that I want regrets here. “’Cause I still want to help you, and if you’re going to fuck me and never want to see me again, we should stop now.”

Klara freezes, and her eyes are wide. “You don’t know?”

I raise my eyebrows in question.

She flushes, her entire body going a delectable shade of pink that flows down her chest. And suddenly, she seems shy.

Slowly, I shift my arms so she’s seated against me and there’s no way she can’t feel how hard I am. “What’s going on in there?”