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“But… You must have something I can wear, up at the house.” She didn’t want him to feel self-conscious, losing his button-down.
He grunted. “I only keep one spare set of clothes here, and I used them the other night. I haven’t had a chance to bring new ones.”
Okay then. What choice did she have? Her teeth were already chattering out of her skull. She reached for the front zipper to her dress. Luckily, she always wore things she could put on and take off with a single hand.
“How are you doing?”
Pixie couldn’t answer because…Damn. She was too busy ogling the enormous muscles flexing across Doug’s back as he drew his arms from the crisp, white material.The man’s body rivaled any she’d ever seen, in person or on TV.
He thrust a hand back, holding the shirt out to her without turning. “Tell me when you’re decent,” he reminded.
“Just a minute,” she managed breathlessly, still struggling. Was her sluggishness water-induced, or had her lady-bits suddenly gotten heavier, swollen with unaccustomed interest? Was that even possible?
Pixie forced her inappropriate thoughts away, and with difficulty, scraped the soggy material of her dress off her shoulders. She lifted her butt and stripped the material down her legs. Tossing it onto the ground, she removed her bra next, but left her panties on because… Well, she wasn’t quite ready to go commando in front of a man who had…issues.
Once she was nearly naked, she leaned forward and took Doug’s shirt from his fingers, draping it around her shoulders. The material was a little damp after his contact with her, but damn…
It smelled like him. How was a girl supposed to function, surrounded by all that…manliness?
But Doug was waiting. She needed to finish up… Her eyes returned to the glorious sight in front of her. Not only was the man’s back magnificent, but his black jeans rode low on lean hips giving her just a hint at the swell of his ass, and…
Stop it already, Pix, she admonished herself. Doug’s patience would eventually run out.
Lifting her lifeless arm into the first sleeve hole, she thrust her other into its opening, Pixie then buttoned up as swiftly as the cold, stiff fingers on one hand would allow, and once she was sure all her bits were adequately covered, she let Doug know.
“Okay. You can turn around now.”
The hem of his shirt landed several inches below her thighs, but by the look on Doug’s face when he caught his first look at her new attire, one would have thought she was naked. Was that…lust she was witnessing?
Doug’s mouth had opened slightly, and now his tongue was peeking out to run over his bottom lip.
Pixie really liked this new look.
He took a tentative step forward and his arms raised toward her. Then…
What Pixie could only describe as horror, engulfed Doug. He shook his head abruptly and with a guttural sound of distress emanating from his throat, he stumbled.
Two steps forward, one step back. He’d hugged her in the conference room, and carried her from the lake, but those instances of closeness were for comfort. This…wanting, must have struck him as something entirely different and freaked him out.
Pixie’s heart took a dive.This isn’t good.She needed to take control of the situation, immediately.
“Listen. Everything’s okay, Doug. You stay here. I’ll head back to the truck,” she assured him quickly, scrambling to get her feet to the ground. Swallowing a gasp at the pain in her hip, she got one foot down, but Doug, even in his panicked state, managed to stop her.
He laid a trembling hand on her forearm.
“No. Don’t go,” he rasped. “I…” He took a deep, unstable breath, and… “I was sexually abused as a child.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
Doug spewed out the words like they were venom, but they did the trick. Pixie stopped trying to get down, and eased herself squarely up onto the picnic table once again. Her large blue eyes were glued onto his as she settled.
Now that he had her attention, he had to form his next words.
Maybe it would be best to begin with a fond memory.
“I don’t recall a time when my family was together,” he started. “By my father’s account, we left my mother when I was barely two.” He thought of his dad and smiled. How could he not? The man had been his idol.
“The next eight years were great. It was just the two of us. He was a commercial fisherman, and when I wasn’t in school, I was out on his boat with him. He showed me everything about fishing, but he also taught me to cook, clean, do basic carpentry, and most importantly, how to be a good person. When I couldn’t be with him because work and school overlapped, I stayed at my aunt and uncle’s house. Which was good. Because later on, after…all the crap that happened, I became leery of everybody. But I knew I could trust them.”
