“Pretty sure you were checking something else,” he teased, running a hand through his mess of dark hair. “I guess I went into a deep sleep, huh? Deep enough to have some pretty sweet dreams.” His grin softened as his eyes lingered on me. “How wasyournap?”
“Considering the circumstances, it was almost… pleasant.”
“Almost?”
I floundered. “I meant—given the storm. Not the company.”
He smirked, clearly savoring my discomfort, then leaned closer, his voice dropping. “You know, you look good like this.”
“Like what?” I demanded, though my heart tripped over itself.
“Messy. Bedraggled. A complete fucking shambles.”
“Thanks for the compliment.” I frowned.
“I’m serious. Look at you. Hair all out of place. Bow tie gone. Like the storm finally knocked the starch out of you.”
I bristled, though weakly. “I am not… starched.”
He laughed, low and warm, and for a moment I forgot the ruined mill, the storm, even the fact we were still damp anddisheveled. There was only him, golden in the light, looking at me as if he’d already decided to stay.
“You look sexy, that’s all I’m sayin’. It’s kind of a total turn on.”
“I do? It is?”
He reached for the button on his shorts and smirked. “Need me to prove it?”
I quickly grabbed him by one wrist to stop him. “Actually, it’s getting kind of late. Maybe we should head back before it gets dark. The trail will be slippery and there’s probably branches down everywhere and—”
“And there he is. Sensible Brooks. Like he never even left the room. Well, it’s a good thing I likebothsides of you… Mr. Hyde doesn’t exist without Dr. Jekyll, right?”
“I’m not sure I like that analogy.”
He simply laughed, jumped to his feet, reached for my hand, and hoisted me up too. “Come on, handsome. Let’s get you back to your tower before you turn into a pumpkin. I mean, if I really had to, I could totally fuck a pumpkin… but they’re terrible at conversation.”
I glared at him in horror.
He laughed even louder. “What… you never stuck your dick in a—”
“Oh my god, go!” I pointed to the stairs. “We’re leaving! Put a shirt on! And rescue my bow tie on the way down the stairs!”
He grinned over his shoulder. “You should give it a whirl sometime.”
“Stairs! Bow tie! Now!”
As we left the mill, Cody’s laughter still echoed through the rafters.
By the time we got back to town, the sun was setting.
He walked me to door of the Book Nook, and we stopped under the awning, both of us damp, our shoes still muddy, his ridiculous, contagious laugh still ringing in my ears. For a moment neither of us spoke.
“Well,” I said finally, staring much too hard at the brass handle on my own front door. Desperately I wanted to haul it open and pull him inside. Instead, I said, “That was… an experience.”
“The mill? Or the storm sex?”
My ears burned so hot I was sure steam was about to rise off me. “Both. I guess.”
He only grinned. “Yeah. It was a hell of a day.”
