Stroke Of Fear (6 page)

  “Stop. Turn your ass around and go fondle the girl over there. I’m not in the
damn mood. Fuck off.”

   Jake stops, shoves his hands in his jeans pocket and turns back toward the other dock.

   Thank God.

  
I talk underneath my breath as I try to get myself together. I’m reaching out to grab the rope that ties the canoes to the dock, when I hear a deep laugh. It sounds like caramel drizzling down a poisoned apple. Deadly delicious. I turn on my heel. Tanner is sitting off to the side of the dock, fishing pole in hand.
Holy fuck
. He’s out of his camp uniform. A red plaid shirt, unbuttoned, is hanging loose on him.
Christ, he doesn’t have an undershirt.
And those holey jeans are so…God, they’re so hot.

   “I can take my shirt all the way off if ya want me to, darlin’.”

   All the blood in my body rushes toward my cheeks. “That full of yourself, are we?”

   He cast
s his line back out, and lifts an eyebrow. “No. I just happen to know when a hot girl is checking me out. It’s kind of like a
gaydar
. But for women.”

  
I’m sure I’m as red as a tomato. “Why aren’t you with your group?”

   He cracks h
is neck and pulls his pole in. “I have a free morning. I don’t have any activities until tonight.”

   Oh.
Biting my lip, I turn and start to reel in the canoes. My fingers are trembling being so close to the water, but I keep my eyes locked on the ropes.

“You need some help with those?”

   “No,” I pull, trying to make it look easy. “I got it.”

   A throaty laugh
floats from behind me, closer than I had imagined. “Move over, I’ll help.”

   “I got it,” I snap.

   A low grumble sounds from his lips, and he scoots me out of the way. I turn around, and my breath catches in my chest. Tanner is close, too close. His tanned chest is glistening from sweat in the morning sun. “I want to help,” he whispers.

   “I don’t need it,” I say, still focused on the hard pla
nes of his abs. My mind urges me to reach out and touch, but I don’t dare move. “Is this a southern thing? You try to be all macho and stuff? It’s annoying.” I snap out of it, crossing my arms over my chest.

   The blue specks in Tanner’s eyes are vibrant against the gray. “It’s called being a gentlem
an. Obviously you aren’t accustomed to that.”

   “And how in the hell would you know what I’m accustomed to? You just met me two days ago.”

   “Good to know you’re countin’.” He winks.

   Grinding my teeth, I try to snatch the rope
, but he retracts his hands. “I’m helpin’ out a lady in need. Obviously”—his eyes dart toward Jake—“you’re not used to it. That guy is flirting with another girl in front of you. He’s fuckin’ trash, Aubrey.”

  
Aubrey.
God, I’ve never heard my name sound so…sexy. No sane girl could turn a cheek to that. I’m sure that deep southern drawl will drop any pair of panties, which is probably what he’s trying to do now.
Not. Going. To. Happen.

  
“Thanks for the help and advice but I can handle myself.”

   “
I’ll say. That was sure some language comin’ out of that pretty little mouth of yours. Good girl. Don’t take any shit from anyone.”

   “Well, in that case,” I say, snatching the
end of the rope. He pulls his end back, so I yank as hard as I can. I know this is stupid. I’m twenty-two years old.
Damn it, give me the rope!

   Tanner jerks back
, and I go flying forward, knocking him on his ass. My elbows hit the ground on each side of his head, then my face smacks right into his.

   I look down at Tanne
r, gasping for breath. A huge smile is crawling up his face. It’s breath-taking. I’ve yet to see him smile—well,
really
smile—and I think I just melted on the inside. My panties are soaking wet.
Can I even move if I wanted to?
His white teeth are shining, straight besides a small turn of the fourth one from the right.
What. The. Hell.
I’m staring at his mouth, which draws attention to his lips.
Holy Hell his lips.

   Embarrassment floods to
my cheeks. “You can get up anytime now, darlin’. Unless you want to stay like this. I won’t object.”

   Pressing my lips together, I push myself up. My body is still shaking from the closeness
, from the heat of his body. It felt so…safe.

   “Now,” he says, dusting off his jeans. “We both know you can take care of yourself.
Can I please finish brining in the canoes for you?”

   Licking my lips, I nod. “
Fine.”

   I watch as Tanner pull
s each canoe onto the shore. He’s lost his shirt, and the muscles in his back are thick, long and tanned. I want to run my tongue over every square inch of his body. And for some reason I don’t think he would tell me to stop.

   Tanner pulls the last canoe up
to the bank, and he wipes his forehead with the back of his hand. Turning, he smiles over at me. “Need anything else?”

   I shake my head. “No, but thank you.”

   He tries not to smile. “It’s no problem. If you ever need help you know where to find me.” He points toward a bucket he was fishing off of.

   “You’re not leaving?”

   He sits down and picks up his pole. “Why not?”

  
Because it’s going to make me nervous as hell
. Tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, I shrug. “Just asking. Thanks again.”

   I make my way back to the other dock where the kids are lining up. Jake’s whore isn’t here anymore, which I’m not complaining about. He’s checking the names off the clipboard when I walk up. Stopping, he glances down at me. “We need to talk.”

   “We need to work. Is everyone here?”

   He nods. “We’re ready when you are.”

   I clasp my hands together. “Okay, campers. Follow Jake. You guys are going to do a few laps around the lake.”

***

   “So, how did canoeing go today?” Cassie asks, slipping out of her camp uniform and into some jeans and a T-shirt.

  
I let out an exasperated sigh. “God-awful. First I see Jake and some girl rubbing on each other and cuss them out. Then Tanner sees the entire thing, and I fall on him while he’s trying to help me get the canoes ready. I would rather do anything other than this campfire right now.”

  
Cassie lets out a loud laugh and falls back onto her bed. “You
fell
on him? How freaking classic is that?”

  
After sliding out of my khakis, I shrug into a pair of yoga pants and a thin T-shirt. “It was horrible that’s for sure.”

  
Cassie stands up, and pulls her hair into a high ponytail. “Oh come on, just admit it. He is smoking hot and you love it.”

   My heart thumps an extra beat thinking of the warmth of his skin, the closeness
, the long muscles hiding underneath that tanned skin. “He is pretty cute, but…he’s an ass.”

   “Really? An ass
who saved your life and helped you get the canoes ready? Yeah, doesn’t really seem like an ass to me.”

   “It’s not that.
I mean he’s a gentleman, but he has this look on his face.”

   “
What kind of look, Aubrey?”

   “Like
… ‘I know I’m hot.’”

   “Well,”
Cassie says, placing her hands on her hips, “he has every right to think that. He
is
hot. And that’s confidence. It’s sexy. Plus, Jake has that same attitude, but he’s not a gentleman.”

  
That’s so true.
Instead of responding, I slip into my flip-flops and grab Cassie’s hand. “Let’s get this over with.”

   The
smoke is heavy in the air the closer we get to the campfire. Most of the camp counselors are already there, too. Mrs. Jones is passing out marshmallows and chocolate for the s’mores. She has that crazy Energizer bunny smile on her face. She just keeps going.

   The fire is hot, cozy
, and logs are set up around it in a circle. Some of the campers are whispering, hiding their jokes behind their hands. Cassie drags me, and I look up just in time to see Tanner. He’s leaning against a tree close by, eyes locked on mine. I try to wriggle from Cassie’s grasp, but she pulls me harder.

   “What’s up, ladies?” Eric asks, wrapping an arm around
Cassie’s shoulder.

   Giving him a small wave, I
fold my arms around my stomach. I’m nervous.
How long has it been since I’ve been really nervous around a guy? Or wanted to…flirt?
I can see Tanner from the corner of my eye but I can’t get the nerve to look at him. “You gonna stand over there by yourself all night? Or does the thought of talkin’ to me repulse you that much?”

   Unable to stop
them, my lips turn up at the corners.

“Ah, she smiles,” Tanner says,
a hint of laughter lacing his voice.

   “Hi, Tanner
.” His name coming off my lips sounds right. Like it was always meant to be said from my throat—that one day I’d say it over and over again. Maybe scream it. Moan it.

   Cracking a smile, he pushes off the tree. “Good evenin’, Aubrey.”

   I try not to snicker, but I do. His voice is so slow…so fucking sexy. Cassie is one-hundred percent right.
He’s sexy. As Hell
.

“What’s so funny
?” he asks.

   I shake my head. “Your accent. It’s
so…” I trail off. I’m so not going there with him. I can’t. I bite my tongue to keep from saying it
—screaming
it.

  
His breath is on the back of my neck, hot and heavy. A shiver grabs a hold of my spine and trails a line down my back. “So, what?”

   A breathy sigh escapes my lips.
Did I just really sigh? Fuck. My. Life.

   He chuckles, it’s small, but I hear it. Feel it against me. “It’s
so what, Aubrey?”

   God, don’t make me say it. I so don’t even have to say it. But, I want to.
I screw my eyes shut and tighten my fists. “Sexy.”

  
Not a sound comes from his mouth. Or maybe it does, my entire vision is blackening out, slowly. I’m sure my face is red. I hope no one can tell I’m completely turned on and the boy hasn’t even put his hands on me…yet.

   “Counselors, it’s time to eat s
’mores and tell spooky stories.”

   My eyes start to focus again, and I feel myself pressed against Tanner.
Oh, shit?
Why am I leaning against him? How long had I been doing that? Please, God tell me I’m dreaming.

   I take two large steps forward, trying my best to get the hell away from him. I can’t even look at him. Maybe I’ll fake sick.
Yeah, just start dry heaving and then excuse yourself.

  
I feel Cassie tug on my arm, and I sit down beside her. “Aubrey, here.” The campfire cracks and a few sparks flutter down like fireworks.

  
Cassie wraps her arm through mine. “I totally saw you with Tanner. I almost pissed myself. Did you see Jake’s face?”

   Jake? Had Jake saw?
“I have no idea what happened. It was like I blacked out but not really. I felt relaxed. It was so fucking weird.”

  
Cassie squeals—lightly—in my ear. “You wanna fuck hi—”

   “Aubrey or
Cassie? Either one of you have a spooky story to tell?” Mrs. Jones keeps her voice friendly, but she is giving us a
pay attention
glare.

   I nudge
Cassie and she nods. “Yeah, of course, I do.”

  
Of course she does.
Cassie starts talking, I have no idea what’s she saying, because I catch Tanner’s gaze from across the fire.

  
A young girl, probably around ten, is hanging on his arm, in mock terror. Her small glasses cover huge blue eyes. She’s adorable. She keeps pulling his arm down, but he doesn’t take his eyes off me. It’s the first time I’ve had a chance to look at his clothes since we got here. They’re easy to ignore with that face to compete with. A long-sleeved gray T-shirt is hugging his chest. He has on the same holey jeans from this morning, with work boots on. It’s the hottest fucking thing I’ve ever seen. The moonbeams, rooting for me tonight, shine down, giving me a view of his face. The line in his jaw is hard, strong. A shadow of thin facial hair scatters along his cheek. My thighs warm at the site.

   A small smile moves up his jaw, showing a dimple on his right cheek. As if he couldn’t get any hotter. Cue the
fucking dimple.

   He lifts an eyebrow and tilts his head toward the right.
What?
“Aubrey! Can you hear us?”