Then, with a sharp breath, she grabs the phone. Her fingers move fast, and a second later, she tosses it back on the counter. The buzzing stops.
“There,” she says, her voice tight, almost defiant. “Happy?”
I grin, stepping back, letting the tension ease just a little. “Not yet. But it’s a start.”
She rolls her eyes, but I catch the small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. She’s trying to hide it, but I see it. And I know she’s feeling it too.
“You’re infuriating, you know that?” she mutters.
I chuckle, bending back down to finish the wiring. “So I’ve been told.”
The silence stretches between us, and I can feel her watching me. The air between us is still buzzing, thick with everything unsaid. But now, at least, the noise from her past is gone. For now.
“You think you’ve got all the answers, don’t you?” she asks after a moment, her voice lighter but still laced with something I can’t quite place.
I glance up at her, grinning. “I never said that. But I know how to handle guys like him. And I know what I want.”
Her lips part, like she’s about to say something, but she stops, biting her bottom lip instead. The way she’s looking at me—it’slike she’s torn between wanting to punch me and wanting to kiss me.
I straighten up, letting the wire fall from my hands. “Look, Bella, whatever you left behind, it doesn’t matter now. You’re here. He’s not. Don’t let him keep dragging you back.”
She stares at me, something shifting behind her eyes. And then she nods, just barely, but it’s there.
I lean back, giving her space to breathe, even though every instinct in me wants to pull her closer. But I don’t. Not yet.
She takes a slow breath, finally relaxing just a little. “You’re really not going to let this go, are you?”
I chuckle, shaking my head. “Not a chance.”
She smiles, a real one this time, and damn if it doesn’t do something to me. But I hold back, keeping it light.
“Good,” she says, her voice soft. “Because maybe... maybe I don’t want you to.”
A quiet groan escapes my lips before I stand, wiping my hands on my jeans and let a slow smile curl my lips. I take a few steps to her, closing the distance as her breathing quickens. I can see the effect I have on her–the way her nipples tighten and pucker under her blouse, the flush of her cheeks, and the way her top teeth sink into the pillow of her bottom lip. I raise a hand to cup her jaw, caressing her lips with the pad of my thumb. “Keep biting that lip and I can’t be held accountable for what I do next.”
“Oh?” Comes her small reply.
I smirk. “It’s taking everything in me to not kiss you right now.”
“That…doesn’t sound very professional.”
“Fuck being professional.” I growl, holding her gaze suspended with mine. Tension thrums like a heartbeat between us, her thighs shift and she sucks in a small breath of air. My grin turns up as I caress the angle of her cheek, my lips moving a few inches closer as if I’m about to kiss her, but before I do, Iclear my throat and put some distance between us. “Got to grab something at the hardware store, I’ll be back in a while. You gonna be here when I get back?”
She gulps, eyes widen before she swallows and nods. “Y-yes.”
“Good.” My eyes flick down her sweet form. “Don’t get into any trouble without me.”
Her eyes narrow but before she can reply I spin, heading out the front door, but I can feel her eyes on me with every step.
By the time I’m stepping back through the doors of the inn an hour later, the house is silent. The late autumn sun has already dipped below the horizon, splashes of pink and orange cutting through the dust motes that swirl in the house. My toolbox is sitting on the kitchen counter where I left it, and there’s no sign of Bella anywhere.
I tuck the copper wire I just bought into my back pocket and grab my toolbox, headed for the circuit box in the cellar. Before I get there, I pass a small room off of the hall that’s stacked high with boxes and Bella, standing at the light of the window in a strappy night dress, her hair falling down around her shoulders, and her curvy body outlined by the setting sunshine that’s streaming through the only window in the room. This window has a view of Copper Mountain, the snow-capped peak rising out of the sea of evergreen that hugs the base of the mountain.
My body reacts to her the moment I see her in the soft light, and before I can stop myself, the words escape me.
“You don’t know what you do to me standing there.” My voice is rough, thick with need, and I watch her spin, startled, a book falling out of her hands. It hits the floor with a clatter, but I barely notice. All I can see is her—bathed in the golden light, looking so damn beautiful it almost hurts.
She’s flustered, her breath quickening as she looks at me. “God, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were back.” Her voice isshaky, and I can feel her tension, the way her eyes dart around the room like she’s trying to find a way out.
