"And what if I have been?" My voice cracks, breathless. "What if I am? What then?"
He steps forward again, and I back into the bench. His hands cage me in on either side, sawdust sticking to his skin as heat rolls off him in waves. He wraps a dusty hand around the back of my neck, and pulls me into a kiss that’s fierce, claiming, desperate.
I melt. Again.
My body remembers every inch of him. My heart does too.
Chapter Eight
Jack
The moonlight spills through the open barn windows, silver and clean. I’m standing beneath it, holding a beam steady while Holly climbs the ladder to drill the brace in. She’s balanced, focused, frustratingly good at everything. And barefoot.
Of course she is.
“You know,” I mutter, staring up at her legs, “OSHA would have a field day with you right now.”
She glances down, drill in hand, ponytail swinging. “You quoting OSHA now, Jack? Didn’t peg you for a rule-follower.”
“I’m not. But Idolike keeping people in one piece.”
She smirks. “You’re just mad you can’t handle me up here in your man space.”
I step in closer, hands gripping the base of the ladder. “Holly, you’re in my space every damn day. And I haven’t killed you yet. That’s progress.”
“Admit it,” she says as she drills, hips swaying slightly. “You like me here.”
I grunt.
“That’s not a no,” she teases.
I open my mouth to snap back when her foot slips.
Everything slows.
She yelps, the drill clatters, and I catch her—full body, full weight—right against my chest.
My hands lock around her waist. Her legs tangle in mine. And her breath ghosts over my throat as she gasps.
“Nice catch,” she whispers, breathless.
I hold her tighter, every muscle locked down, jaw clenched. “Don’t move.”
“Jack…”
“I said—don’t move.”
She freezes, wide eyes finding mine.
Because I can’t hide it now.
She’s pressed against me, and she feelsexactlywhat she does to me. My pulse hammers as I walk us slowly backward, pinning her against the barn wall.
My voice drops, rough. “You keep pushing me.”
“You keep letting me.”
My hands brace on either side of her head. Her fingers twitch at my chest like she’s fighting herself. I dust my nose along the soft angle of her neck. Her big round eyes hang on mine, begging for me to do something, anything. “Tell me what you want.”
