“Can you please tell me why the hell you are here, and why you were crawling into a burning barn?” His hands lift to the sky. “Like you were crawling in - not out.” Hayden blows out a puff of air like he’s exasperated.
My stomach drops. No wait, it doesn’t just drop; it plunges to my toes. His harsh accusing tone is mortifying, and I want to scream at him, to tell him I came here to show him the truck, the vehicle I’ve worked on tirelessly, the truck I was convinced should go to scrap. Instead, I’m wobbling before him with sobs building in my throat, and a puppy trying to lick my cheek because she senses my anguish.
I can’t help but stare at Hayden’s muscular chest, all bare and streaked with ash like he’s been to war. Loose jeans drape his angular hips, and his hair is all messy without a hat on his head. He suddenly lunges forward and yanks Star from my arms. “I’m putting her in one of the trucks, so she doesn’t get hurt.”
His back turns. The weight of his anger mixed with the sight of him stomping away makes me run. I’m scared of the swell of emotions bubbling inside my chest, writhing their way around my heart and gripping it in a choke hold. I don’t want him to know I was trying to rescue him. Well, I would have tried if he had been inside. I was genuinely worried about him, more so than I’ve been for anyone else on this planet.
I see the truck at the same time as I hear a distant thud of hooves pounding the ground. Slowing to a jog, I look back over my shoulder to find Hayden on a horse, cantering up behind me. “Summer.” The black hat he now wears fits his perfectly shaped head, fixed back in place. “Wait,” he commands when I reach the hood, ignoring him.
The tawny horse breaks to a trot and then a bouncy walk. Without waiting for the steed to stop, Hayden unhooks his feet, and jumps off. “Are you okay? You breathed in a lot of smoke.”
“I’m fine.” I round my shoulders.
“Summer…” His eyes glisten when his chin lowers, and he pins me with a sultry smolder. “What were you doing? I told you I'd pick you up from your place.”
I gulp. My place. It’s not my place, even though it feels like home. “I thought you were trapped inside.” My eyes roll, trying to let on I’d been a dumb ass to think that way. “I was just trying to see in.”
His palms float to my shoulders, and he adjusts the loose straps on my top with his thumbs. “So, you were going to save me? You know, if I was inside the burning barn.” A deep chuckle echoes in his chest, and a broad smirk lifts his eyebrows. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Don’t say anything,” I murmur. My eyes flick down as I feel my own stupidity swallow me up. “I was actually really scared, Hayden.”
“You wore your hair down.” He lifts flyaway strands between his fingers and rubs it so gently that all I feel is a faint tug at the root.
“I did. And now I’ll have to wash it again because I stink.”
“I think we’re both a little dirty.” The last word rasps with husky intent.
“You need to be hosed down, Hayden.” I nod to his filthy broad chest, exhilarated by the idea of soaping up his muscles.
“Is that right?” he challenges. “Wait there just a second.”
With a casual swagger, all skin and broad shoulders and narrow hips, he makes his way to the side of the house. He’s out of sight for a brief moment, returning with a long black hose spewing water. “Well then, sexy Summer, how about we both get hosed down? You first.”
“No you don’t!” I squeal, edging to the driver’s side. “Don’t wet my hair.” If he wets my hair, it will cling to my face like a swamp monster and dry frizzy in the sun.
There’s a new playfulness to his laugh, a daring grin and an unfaltering glint to his minty colored eyes. As much as I don’t want to be doused in cold water, I love this side of him. So carefree and charming.
“Just a little bit.” He barks out a laugh as the water bends through the air, capturing the sun with a rainbow of colors. The water pressure becomes rampant when his finger covers the nozzle a fraction, only allowing a jet of water to splice free.
Icy water sprays down from above like rain. My hair, my clothes, my face, my laughter all get covered. “Hayden!” I run from the truck, making a beeline for the house. Water chases me until I reach the deck. Spinning around, I smash straight into his body. Hands dive into my hair, and our lips bruise together in a wet, tantalizing kiss. Just when I thought his kisses couldn’t get any better, he goes and sucks me into his world. A thrilling world I never want to leave. He backs me up to the door, navigating the frame and inside walls. This is it. I’m going to give myself over to the man who has captivated me from the first second our eyes met.
“I like your hair down,” he murmurs into my mouth, pulling a palm away from my scalp to open his bedroom door. “And I like it when you're wet, honey.” His teeth nibble my lower lip before freeing me. A hand floats to my spine, and he ushers me into his room. “I don’t want to hold myself back anymore.” He stands back, watching me like I’m prey. Those bulky arms of his fold, and the pad of his thumb drags across his lips like the big bad wolf is ready to eat me. A silent assessment lingers over my damp roots and straggly ends. “You’re beautiful.”
“My hair is a mess.” I scoff. “And I’ve run out of my face cream.” No amount of finger combing will tame the dripping lengths, yet for some reason, he still thinks I’m beautiful. I’d used a cotton bud to extract the very last blob of cream from the jar, that was two days ago, and now I’m standing here with messy hair and unkempt skin.
A lazy smile dances with his mouth. “There isn’t anything on this earth that could make you more beautiful than you are now.”
With slow movements, he unbuckles his belt, and pops open the button in his jeans. As I watch him undress to his tight navy boxer briefs, I’m overcome with how sculpted and handsome he is. There isn’t one thing I would change about him. My pulse sprints, and I know he’s going to be a whole new experience. We’re diving in headfirst, heading for a deeper connection.
“Perhaps there's one thing…” He strides forward, eating up the space between us with one confident step.
“I knew there was something.” A chill skitters over me, and I pat my sopping top. A sudden bashfulness rises up my neck to the same quick tempo as my wild heartbeat. My chin dips, breaking away from his silent inspection. The pale blue fabric clinging to my breasts is almost translucent, revealing the fact I’m not wearing a bra. “Hair serum?”
He shakes his head. “You need to be naked, honey. All naked and wrapped around my face.”
I suck in quickly when his short nails skim my prickled arms. The material clings and drags upwards until it whips free of my hair. It flies to the bedroom floor with a squelchy sound as it lands. “Perfect.” He inhales through his nostrils and then bends down to tease my nipples with light bites. “We’re still gonna have that date later. This is just me thanking you for the attempted rescue,” he mumbles between licks. Once his words cut off, he blows a steady stream of warm air over each breast so my nipples grow so hard they could poke out his eyes.
Date… he still wants a date after we have sex?“I’d like that.” More than anything.
