Decker's Wood (3 page)

“Not bad,” mumbled Decker from beside me as we approached the front door to my shop. A faint aura of excitement radiated from him, confusing me. Why the heck was he excited? This was my buzz. “You got the key?” he asked as he peered through the window with his hands cupped around his eyes.

I pulled a set of keys from the bag slung over my shoulder, and with a little forceful coercion and a heavy clunk, the lock gave and I pushed the door open. I was greeted with the smell of musty air and old books, my favorite scent in the whole world. I moved to take a step over the threshold, my heart beating hard and furious with excitement, when a hand on my arm stopped me.

“Hold up a sec,” murmured Decker. Suddenly my legs were swept out from under me, and I couldn’t contain the squeal that left my lips. I was drawn up against Decker’s firm chest as he carried me into the store. Oh my, he was so…hard and warm and did I mention hard? And he smelled good, like a mixture of musk and soap. I had the overpowering urge to nuzzle my nose into the crook of his neck and breathe him in. Before I had a chance to become the kooky, man sniffing screwball, Decker dropped me to my feet.

“What the heck was that?” I exclaimed, embarrassed by the breathlessness in my voice. Decker was grinning at me like he had just performed an outstanding trick that warranted a treat.

“Dunno, just seemed like the right thing to do, you know. Carry you over the threshold,” he explained.

I tried really hard not to laugh, failing miserably when something between a snort and a cough fell from my lips. “That’s when you get married, you big goober,” I said, giving that hard sculpted chest a quick smack. My gaze lingered on that wide expanse of Decker territory a little too long, and when I finally returned my eyes to his, satisfied male pride was etched into his features. With a not so subtle roll of my eyes, I turned away to inspect my new home. It was dark inside, the only light filtering through the grimy front window. The area was big and dusty. It needed a fresh coat of paint, but the bookshelves looked sturdy and were still full of books, just as the real estate agent had promised. I had not only purchased the building, but everything that came with it. This was all mine, all those lovely old books. I sighed. “Damn, I love that smell.”

“Seriously? It smells a little like wet socks and a lot like my grandma’s shitty old apartment, and she’s a hoarder with a house full of rats.” My heart skipped a beat, and I instinctively took a step away from the darkness before me and back towards Decker. I hated rats. No, hate wasn’t enough. Loathed, spurned, detested, revolted, my list of synonyms could go on all day. Me and rats, we had issues.

“You think there are rats in here?” I whispered.

“Without a doubt. You should get an exterminator in here, pronto.” Decker moved forward, and I quickly scampered after him, my senses on high rat alert. When he
stopped abruptly, I ran right into his back. I put my hands up to break my fall and encountered, yet again, hard, firm muscled body. He had to work out, nobody accumulated that much deliciously rigid territory on their body without the help of a gym. Decker glanced over his shoulder with an arched brow and I took a quick step back, removing my pervy hands from his body.

“Sorry,” I murmured.

He grinned. “Not a problem, I’m used to women wanting to touch all this.”

“Uh
huh. I’m sure you are.”

I turned away to do a visual sweep of something other than the conceited male perfection
in front of me. To the left was a small counter with an old fashioned till sitting behind it. The kind with big noisy push buttons and a drawer that pops open with a loud ding. Behind the counter was a closed door, which I assumed led to the apartment upstairs. Beside the door was a light switch, and when Decker reached over and flicked it, nothing happened.

“I’ll go check the fuse box.”

“I’m coming with you,” I said quickly, following hot on his heels as he made tracks for a dark hallway at the back of the store.

“Scared of the dark, Country?” Decker chuckled.

“No, but I hate rats, and I’m not ready to deal with them right now.”

Decker used the light from his cell phones screen to lead the way.

“How exactly would one be ready to deal with rats?” he asked.

“I dunno, a gun at the very least,” I whispered.

He turned and looked at me, I guess to see if I was joking. He wouldn’t find any. I was dead serious. A gun would be the perfect way to get rid of rats.

“You would shoot a little rat?” he asked a little shocked.

“Hell, yes. I hate rats!”

“It’s just like a little cute furry rodent. What about Mickey Mouse?”

I rolled my eyes, unable to believe we were debating rodents and animated cartoon characters in the middle of a dark hallway.

“Ummm, hello. He’s a mouse, not a rat.”

Decker snorted and continued down the hallway, me still glued to his back. He pushed open a door that led into a small storage room. It was filled with boxes, some that appeared empty, some full of books, and on the far wall sat a large metal cabinet.

“There we go,” murmured Decker, edging around the cardboard boxes while I shuffled nervously behind him, my eyes dancing over the shadows around us. I was so anxious about stumbling across a rat that I
couldn’t care less that I was standing so close to him that my breasts brushed across Decker’s back. The phone that he had been using to light our way went out. Under the sudden darkness, I thought I saw something horrifyingly furry, and I screamed. Not a little sophisticated scream, nor a quick short yelp. No, my scream was long, loud, and earsplitting. If there were dead buried under this concrete floor, they would surely rise. As Decker spun around to face me, I launched myself in his direction, scaling his hard, firm body like it was nothing more than a tree made for my escape.

“What the fuck?” Decker shouted as his hands automatically grabbed under my ass, holding me in place.

“R…r…rat,” I stammered, my heart beating so damn hard I thought it might beat itself right up my throat and out of my mouth.

Holding me with one arm, Decker reached for his phone and used it to light up the room again. After a quick sweep of our immediate area, he chuckled before turning back to the fuse box with me still attached to him like a clingy bear. After a minute of fumbling with the fuse box, I heard a switch flick, and the room flooded with light. I immediately scanned the boxes around us in search of the devious rodent who had destroyed my almost fearless composure. Okay, I hadn’t been all that fearless, but I had managed to keep my feet on the ground for the most part. Decker turned around, both hands once again under my ass as he took a few steps forward and kicked the boxes in an attempt to unearth the ungodly creatures. It only made me cling to him tighter.

“Air, Country,” he gasped out.

“Oh cheese and rice, I’m sorry.” I tried to convince my body to let him go, and my tight hold relaxed ever so slightly.

“What the hell does cheese and rice got to do with anything?” Decker asked as he kicked a couple more boxes.

“My daddy had a pet peeve about using the Lord’s name in vain, cheese and rice sounds like—”

“Jesus Christ, got it. Alright, Andi, no rats. If there were, your scream scared the little fuckers away.”

“You sure?” I asked, trying to check the ground before my feet were placed down on the floor. As my body shifted, I noticed Decker’s rigid length pressed firmly against my most intimate of parts. Holy shit, Decker Steele was hard as steel. What was I supposed to do in this situation? It’s not like I could pretend it wasn’t there! He was huge, like a heavy, hot piece of
wood shoved right up against my pinky pie! I pulled back and took in Decker’s face, hoping for some clue as to how this moment of considerable awkwardness should play out. The look on his face was indiscernible. Surprise? Awe? Confusion? When the corner of his mouth lifted into the cocky grin that I was familiar with, I gave him my best impression of nonchalance.

“You get turned on by rats
?” I asked with feigned shock.

Decker snorted before letting me go. “It’s a normal male response. Pussy gets close, dick gets hard.
It’s how we keep you women happy and satisfied.”

I followed Decker as he made his way back to the store front, still close, but not close enough to touch. Touching was bad in a very good way.

“If you think a hard whistle is all it takes to keep a woman happy and satisfied you, my friend, are sorely lacking.”

Decker smirked but didn’t say anything as he switched on the lights in the store. Pulling the door open behind the counter, Decker took the stairs behind
it two at a time. I followed closely behind the rat seeking destroyer.

The upstairs studio was large; the bedroom, living room, and kitchen were all in one wide open space. I smiled at the simplicity and run-down beauty of this old building. At the far end of the room, an enormous arched window stretched from floor to ceiling. I peered through the window to take in the street down below. It was perfect. I could just see myself sitting here, a book in my lap, the light from the windows spilling over me, warming me in the winter. I turned around to look over my new home. Light spilled in from the enormous window at my back, illuminating the dust motes floating lazily through the air. Simply stunning, it was perfect. Decker’s grunt from the kitchen at the opposite end of the room broke my moment of awe.

“I could fix this for you.” I walked toward the small kitchen to find Decker kneeling in front of the cupboards. “I could build you a pantry over there,” he pointed to the other side of the kitchen, “and a fridge could sit beside it. I might even be able to find you a secondhand stove to replace this one. I think this baby’s seen better days.” He opened the oven door and I grimaced. Burnt food was stuck to the inside and it smelled like ass.

“I don’t have much cash left over, so I need to be careful with expenses. There is a lot of work to do here and my priority is downstairs. I need to get that set up so I can start making some money.” I stood and wiped my hands on the back of my dress. When I looked down at Decker, who was still kneeling, I caught his gaze sliding over my ass. He glanced up and had the good sense to blush, trying and failing miserably to hide it behind a lazy smirk.

“Well, you are but a mere male,” I said sarcastically.

He grinned and stood up. “And you are but a mere woman. What can I say? Your ass was level with my eyes and your hands were all over it, that’s a recipe for male perversion.”

I snorted. “Male perversion, I like that.”

“My old man owns a building restoration business here in Manhattan. I can pick up a few bits and pieces from him to fix up the cupboards and I’m sure he can find me a second hand stove.”

Excited by the prospect of a little help to get this place up to date, I followed Decker to the bathroom. It was a large space with an old fashioned combined bath and shower to one side and a tidy vanity in the corner. The toilet sat on the wall opposite the bath/shower.

“You could use a set of shelves in here,” he murmured. “Leave it to me, I’ll see what I can come up with, and I’m sure I’ll be able to put most of this together without any cost to you.”

I didn’t like the idea of not covering costs. I was all for a little help, but I paid my own way. I always had right up until I used my inheritance to help me acquire this dream.

“I don’t need handouts, Decker, and I don’t want to inconvenience your father. If you could help me buy some paint for downstairs and fix that sign out front, it would be a great start.”

Decker shrugged. “What about food? You want me to drive you somewhere to get some groceries?”

“My furniture is supposed to arrive sometime this afternoon. I might just have takeout tonight and worry about groceries tomorrow.” I really couldn’t do anything with food until I had this kitchen cleaned and my fridge anyway.

“Okay, well, I guess I’m going to get out of here.” Decker said, running a hand over the back of his neck.

“No worries, I know you’ve got shit to do today,” I said with a smile, reminding him of his words back at the airport.

Decker looked a little chagrined. “Yeah, sorry for being an ass. I guess I had a bad morning.”

I shrugged. Decker had always been somewhat of an ass as far as I was concerned. Appropriate since he had one perfectly taut ass that I had a hard time keeping my eyes off.

“Got your phone handy?”

I reached into my back pocket and pulled out my iPhone. Decker snatched it from my fingers.

“Rude much,” I said, stomping my feet. His fingers were quick and dexterous across the screen before he handed it back to me.

“My number is in there now. If you need anything, just call. I’ll get back here when I can with some supplies and help you out with this.” He waved a hand over my kitchen.

To be honest, I liked the old rustic look. I liked old things in general and would happily use the kitchen as it was. Maybe doors on the cupboards would be nice though. And a pantry would be helpful. Not to mention a new stove.

After Decker hauled my suitcase upstairs, I was left with the silence of my own thoughts. I leaned against the wall of my studio apartment and grinned. Mine. For the first time in as long as I could remember, I had something that was mine. A place I could call home, my home. I grinned. Yep, this city could try to chew me up and spit me out, but it wouldn’t like the taste of stoic determination. This little duck was going to be just fine.