Page 6 of Swooned By the Lumberjack
If I just knew how he felt about me ... no. That wouldn’t matter unless he wanted to act on it too. So I suck my bottom lip and smile gently, trying to hide all my other comments, all the ways I want to push his buttons until he snaps and gives us both what we want.
“I’ll spare you lunch,” I promise. “I think I’ve gotten enough sun today.”
“Yes, your ... You’re looking a little red,” he comments. “There are aloe leaves inside.”
When I head inside, I strip down and look at myself in the mirror. A little strip on my lower back is red. And the idea of that being Wade’s focus has me spiraling into plenty of naughty thoughts. I split the aloe leaf in half and rub the gooey side all over my red skin.
Since the aloe is too much for just that spot, I decide to give my legs some extra attention, even though I wore jeans today. I tell myself it’s for my skin, but deep down, I know it’s not. Not when I’m pretty sure Wade can see me layering it on as I sit on the couch, right in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows. Ioccasionally catch glimpses of him shirtless from my room, so it feels only fair that he gets a guilt-free view too.
If neither of us are ready to pull the trigger, we can at least enjoy some teasing with whatever plausible deniability Wade thinks he’ll need with my dad.
Chapter 6 - Wade
I’m hanging on by a thread. The two reasons I’ve been ignoring Eleanor’s flirting barely seem enough to keep my hands tied any longer. Not when I’d rather be all over her. I want to kiss her every time she teases me. When she gets that worried little questioning look on her face after saying something, I want to sooth her by saying something bolder that proves I like her sass.
But there is still a small part of me thinking she means things innocently. She’s always been a bright, sunshiny person. After being in college and surrounded by people it’s natural for someone like her to become flirtatious, or at least come off that way. And I know the feelings I have for her are wrong. They’re too messy compared to how we met.
Two weeks is a miracle, considering how she’s been teasing me in ways I should be strong enough to resist. I don’t know what it is about watching her get her hands dirty in the garden, laughing when she finds caterpillars, or gently talking to bees, but it ensnares me every time. I can’t drag my gaze away when she goes for her near-daily swims.
The last few days, she’s taken to tanning after swimming, laying on her belly and undoing her top so her back is bare,beautiful, and I’m so damn tempted to get a better view that I pre-emptively banish myself to other places in the back yard.
Which works until a sweltering day rolls in. I take refuge from the unrelenting sun while Eleanor swims. She does laps, pushing herself and showing off exactly how toned she is. When she comes up for air and sees me in the shade, watching her, she swims to the edge of the pool and props herself up just enough that her perfect, full breasts are on the deck.
She’s down to a string bikini today. Thin material, fucking perfect to show off her body in a way that is more intense than the oppressive sun.
“You’re going to burn. Take a break in the shade,” I order.
“Since you got all that aloe, I think I need to make the most of it,” she says. “Unless you can think of some incentive for me.”
She smirks and pushes herself up out of the water. Her belly tightens and watching her gracefully pull herself out of the water, just to adjust her suit and compliment her curves as she wrings out her long hair, has me half-hard.
I clear my throat and look to the side. “A glass of water?”
“Oh my god, you really don’t know how to convince people,” she tuts. “But at least you have hands, so I think you can still help me.”
Fuck, she’s working my last nerve. My brain wants to turn off. I want her. I’m so tired of second guessing every word leaving her lips. So tired of jerking off while thinking about her just to feel guilty after. I’m so tired of feeling like I’m doing something wrong when Eleanore teases me.
“There are spots on my back I can’t reach with sunscreen. I can’t reach them with aloe either,” she says innocently. “I’m sureyour big hands can make short work of it. I’ll be the easiest thing you do today.”
I close my eyes a moment. She has to know how that sounds. She has to know how hard I’m trying. Every conversation, every half-flirting comment, all of it has me so …
“Please?” She asks, her voice so soft and breathy that I can’t ignore her.
I look over and she’s sitting on a lounge chair in the shade, looking back at me. Her bikini top is tied, her eyes hopeful. “Just a few spots and I’ll stretch to get the rest. Promise.”
I lick my bottom lip, bite my tongue and walk over. “Because you said please.”
“It must really be a magic word. I thought I’d have to beg,” she sighs.
I slowly spread the lotion over her back, lift the ties on her bathing suit and realize how quickly this is backfiring. Her skin is like hot silk. I can’t get enough. She’s so soft, feels so right. When she sighs and shivers, then leans back into my hand, my belly tightens.
Eleanor hums. “You’d give amazing massages, you know?”
My hands move up to her shoulders and I massage her. My hands continue to her neck and she leans back. I can see her perfect cleavage, her nipples pressing against the fabric of her top and nearly groan. I clear my throat when I look down and realize I’mobviouslyhard, despite my jeans.
I stand up and clear my throat. “Margaritas. We need margaritas.”
She lays back on her belly to start rubbing sunscreen between her breasts, but her eyes dip to my erection and she shudders, trying to hide her smile. But she doesn’t look awayanymore as she keeps rubbing lotion into her breasts and her collarbones.
