Hunks, Hammers, and Happily Ever Afters (41 page)

Truth be told, he was having a difficult time of it himself. But if some downstate yuppie was eager to burn through that kinda cash, he sure as hell wasn’t going to complain. “Yup. Apparently that’s the going rate for magical trees these days.” He shrugged. “Their offer, not mine. I woulda sold it for five.”

“I-I can pay that.”

“Sorry, shoulda come to me sooner.”

A growling noise rose from the back of Tully’s throat. Thankfully there was some distance between her and the wood pile. Otherwise he might be fielding a log upside his head.

“If I’d known you’d stoop to this level, I would have.”

“Guess that’s the breaks, then.” Yeah, he was being an asshole, and only sealing his fate as the villain she no doubt saw him as. He’d be a liar if he didn’t admit to the sliver of regret that embedded in his black heart as a result. But he couldn’t afford to show her any chinks in his armor. To do so would only invite an open war against his defenses. And he was having a shit enough week without the complication of his conscience
and
the hypnotic draw of Tully to contend with on top of it all.

It made zero sense to him how she managed to drive him insane in every way possible. Even when they were kids he’d experienced this conflicting tug and retreat in regards to her. His odd friendship with Tully had always been a source of contention between him and Melanie. Not that Mel had cause to be jealous back then. He’d always been one hundred percent faithful. Too bad she hadn’t felt inclined to follow suit.

Why the fuck am I thinking about any of this shit?
Balling his fist, he sent a longing glance toward the cabin’s front door and the blessed escape it offered.

As if she’d read his mind, Tully shuffled sideways, strategically blocking the steps leading up to the porch. “Please, don’t do this.”

The soft entreaty in her eyes punched him square in the gut, but it was the sudden press of her hand on his abdomen that hit him below the belt. Roughly six inches, to be precise.

He reflexively sucked in a harsh breath, causing her fingertips to skate a fraction lower. Tully blinked, leading him to believe she’d only then registered the minimal territory separating her hand from his fly. She confirmed his suspicions by trailing her gaze to their point of contact.

A bead of sweat rolled down his neck and the already snug quarters in his briefs grew increasingly cramped. If she didn’t stop touching him soon there was a better than decent chance he’d embarrass himself.

He cleared his throat gruffly, desperately hoping that’d jog her from her fascinated trance. Before he did something stupid.

Rather than remove her hand and grant him some much needed space, she swirled her fingertips across his skin, the maddening graze of her nails triggering a flush of heat.

Maybe it was his ragged intake of breath that finally lifted her gaze to his. Regardless, it was the yearning in those hazel eyes staring back at him that drove the final nail in his coffin.

Biting back a curse, he lowered his head. Her lips parted beneath his, and he had only a moment to question the wisdom in courting this insanity before the intoxication of her invaded his senses. The first eager glide of her tongue along his hammered home one indisputable truth.

He was royally fucked.

CHAPTER THREE

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N
othing could have prepared her for the sensory overload of Huck’s kisses. Fantasizing about them didn’t hold a candle to the glorious reality.

Her shaky moan falling victim to his ravenous mouth, she leaned into him, both to steady herself and sink into the welcoming heat he radiated. Something hard and oh so inviting nudged her belly. Whimpering, she drifted her hand lower and gently squeezed the bulge tenting his cargos.  Normally she wasn’t so outrageously bold, but judging from Huck’s groan, he didn’t mind.

His arms slipped around her, one hand cupping her nape as the other trailed down her spine, trapping her snug against him. Considering the hot, thick package wedged between her fingers, not a bad place to be pinned.

Huck’s tongue delved deeper, its wet coaxing glide hardening her nipples. As if he’d received an instant status update on their perkiness, he released his hold on her neck and coasted his thumb over the hardened peak of her breast.

Oh jeez
. Knees wobbling, she clutched him tighter.

His sexy growl shooting delicious tingles across her skin, Huck slid his mouth to her jaw. Smoothing aside her hair, he sucked her earlobe before nuzzling her with his lips. “I want you naked beneath me. Hell, on top works too.”

Judging from the dampness of her panties, her body was a firm supporter of that plan. Unfortunately, her pesky brain insisted on tossing up some warning signals that she’d prefer to ignore. But couldn’t. Taking a deep, fortifying breath, she reluctantly released her grip on his erection. Having that much willpower? Shit, she should be sainted. “D-does this mean you’ve changed your mind?”

It took an endless moment for Huck to stop tormenting her with his addictive kisses. He finally met her gaze, his own distinctly aroused and more than a little distracted. “About what?”

“The tree.”

His eyebrows snapped into a low V. “No, of course not.”

Sighing, she wiggled out of his arms. He gaped at her, his expression incredulous. “You are seriously not turning your back on the hottest sex of your life because of that fucking tree.”

“Wow, aren’t we full of ourselves.”

He grunted. “No, sweetheart. I’d make damn sure of it. By the time I let you up for air, remembering your own name would be a struggle since you’d spent the last several hours screaming mine nonstop.”

Oh, how she longed to roll her eyes at that bit of arrogance. But if her response to his kisses was any indication, she had a bad feeling she’d make an honest man out of him if given the chance. “I can’t sleep with you until we resolve this.”

His scowl dropped in place. “In other words, when you get your way.”

“This isn’t about me getting my way. It’s about doing the right thing.”

“I’m not doing anything wrong, Tully. It’s business.”

“So you’re saying if the price is right, you’ll sell anything?” She threw out her arms. “If that’s the case, I wonder what the going rate is for your soul? Oh wait, apparently you don’t have one. Might have to settle for hocking your mother.”

“Now you’re being ridiculous.” Pinching the bridge of his nose, he glared at her. “You’re making way bigger of a deal out of this than it needs to be.”

“Am I? If I don’t stand up for what’s right, who will? For God’s sake, the tree deserves better than whatever despicable fate you’ve resigned it to.”

“How do you know that? Maybe it secretly wants to be a fireplace mantel.”

Her stomach pitched. “Is that what they’re going to do with it?”

“I have no damn idea, and I don’t care.”

“
That’s
your problem.” She jabbed a finger into his chest. “You could stand to care about something other than your pocket. You used to. What happened to the Huck I used to know?”

A muscle twitching in his whiskered jaw, he pried her finger from its poking station on his breastbone. “I don’t have time or patience for your nonsense. So do us both a favor and pack your cute little ass back to town before this dissolves into a yelling fest.”

Right then probably wasn’t the best time to dwell on the cute ass part of his statement. “Well, we might have a problem there. In case you didn’t notice, I didn’t exactly drive up to your cabin.”

He tore his gaze from hers and scanned the rutted lane behind her. Frown lines indented his brow. “What’d you do, park at the end of the road?”

“No. More like the giant ditch half a mile back that way.” She hitched her chin in the direction of the cross street. “The good news is my car is still in one piece.”

“You were in an accident? Goddamn it, why didn’t you say something sooner?”

“I kind of got sidetracked sometime between the bickering and tonsil hockey.”

His expression pained, he turned his gaze skyward. “What the hell am I going to do with this woman?”

If he wasn’t so insistent on this jackassery with the tree, she’d have a few suggestions for him. Most involving gratuitous nudity and copious amounts of whipped cream.

His dark glower slipping into the territory of concern, he cupped her face, scanning it for what she could only presume were nonexistent scrapes and bruises. Aw, damn. She was definitely ill equipped for resisting the gentler, non-yelling Huck. If she wasn’t careful, she might subtly inquire about any Reddi-whip stocked in his fridge. “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re a lunatic. Big difference.” He finished his cursory inspection of her undamaged extremities. Apparently satisfied she wasn’t going to keel over dead in the next two seconds, he released her and clomped up the porch steps. He hesitated at the door for half of a beat before tossing her a look over his shoulder. “Might as well wait inside while I call for a tow.”

Normally it would have taken a few minutes to get over the shock of that unexpected invitation, but she didn’t want to risk him thinking better of it and locking the screen behind him.

With that possibility swimming in her mind, she rushed after him. She’d never been inside Huck’s cabin. He’d only built it a few years ago, after finally tearing down the old hunting shack that used to stand in its place. Even back then, prior to things going rocky between them, she’d never had occasion to venture inside that ramshackle building. One glance around the new cabin’s cozy main room verified that it was likely a far cry more livable than its predecessor.

Not bothering to contain her curiosity, she scooted toward the adjacent doorway and peeked inside. A large log bed took up most of the space. She stared at the pinecone-patterned quilt, visualizing her and Huck entangled in a naked, sweaty heap of bliss on top of it. She shifted her focus to the right and noticed Huck watching her. Impossible to determine if he knew she’d just been mentally molesting him.

“I’ll, uh, wait over on the couch.” Clearing her throat awkwardly, she shuffled to the suede sectional and copped a squat. The sound of Huck pacing in the kitchen curbed her natural inclination to snoop through the magazines stacked on the coffee table. Instead she passed the time twiddling her thumbs.

“Son of a bitch.”

She jerked her focus toward Huck’s curse. “What’s wrong?”

His usual scowl was back in action. “Service is out on my cell.”

“What about your house phone?”

“It is my house phone.”

“Didn’t your mother teach you the importance of having a backup?” Tsking, she shoved up from the couch and returned to the porch. After a quick dig in her purse for her own cellphone, she crossed to the doorway. “What’s the number for Larry’s?”

Huck strode toward her, far too delectable with his shirt undone and his hair rumpled. “I’m surprised you don’t have it on speed dial.”

“Har har. For your information, I only drop my car in ditches every other month.”

His grin slid in place, a rare sight these days. Knowing she put it there probably shouldn’t make her as giddy as it did.

“I’m sure every ditch in the county is shuddering in relief.” Leaning his shoulder on the doorframe, he recited the number for Blue Moon’s service station.

The proximity of his muscled chest threatened to derail her concentration. Flustered, she punched in the digits, messing up the area code twice. Smothering an expletive, she hit send. The seconds counted down on the display, indicating that the call was placed, but the ringtone remained noticeably absent.

Frowning, she clicked to end the call and tried again. Same result. “Huh.”

“What?”

“I think my service might be down too. Only it’s weird, because all the bars are showing as lit.” Twitching her nose, she angled the device so he could see.

“That’s exactly what mine did.” He scrubbed a hand across his bristly jaw. “Guess I’ll have to drive you to the garage.”

“Gee, desperate to get rid of me?”

He offered her a droll look. “I think we both know the reason why.”

That could mean one of two things. Either he was certain they’d get into another disagreement about the tree, or her mere nearness put him at risk of morphing into a raving horn dog.

Oh wait, that last option was her fate. “Get your keys.”

CHAPTER FOUR

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F
umbling to secure the buttons on his flannel shirt one-handed, Huck wrenched open the truck’s passenger door before Tully could beat him to the punch. The sweet smile she gifted him made it damn difficult to hold firm to his determination to hustle her back to town. The fact that he was struggling with his resolve confirmed the necessity of putting some much needed space between them. He’d have to contend with the cramped quarters of his pickup, but once he dropped her off he
and
his reckless desires would be on safe ground.

She climbed in. Leaving her to get situated, he crossed to his side. Scooting behind the wheel, he leaned forward and keyed the ignition. The engine’s chugging groan as it refused to turn over was both unexpected and ill-timed as hell.

“Sounds like your battery is dead.”

“Damn well shouldn’t be.” He jumped out of the truck and propped open the hood before stalking toward the shed. He located the portable jump starter and trekked back to his vehicle. After attaching the clamps to the battery terminals, he reached inside the driver’s side window. “Stretch your leg over to the gas pedal and give it a good tap when I crank the ignition.”

Nodding, Tully flipped up the center seat divider and wiggled closer to the steering wheel. Once she had her foot in place, he twisted the key. Taking her cue, she pressed down on the pedal. He gave the charge a good minute or so to catch. No luck.

One more shitty circumstance he didn’t need to contend with.

Ducking his head beneath the hood, he yanked the cables free and glared at the unresponsive engine. “You would have to fuck with me.”

“Sorry, what did you say?” Tully called from inside the cab.

He slammed the hood shut. “Nothing.” Scratching his nape, he met her gaze through the windshield. “Might as well come out of there. Damn truck isn’t going anywhere.”