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Still, Charlie didn't want to simply jump into bed with him. Not until she knew for sure that he wouldn't expect her to change who she was. Because it felt like he already meant too much to her to be just a fling...and it would break her heart into a million pieces if she let herself fall, only to end up shattered if he didn't actually want her.
She finished the cut, shut off the plasma arc, and studied the work after pushing up the shield and goggles. Again it occurred to her that it would be really fun to bring her students into this workshop to see firsthand what it was like to build such a big piece from the ground up.
"Looks like a perfect job to me," he commented as he rose from his seat to check it out.
She'd done better. But she hadn't had him for a distraction either. "I need a Dumpster." At home, she had a small one behind the garage.
"Don't you use every piece for something or other?" He was close enough by then for his breath to whisper over her cheek, his body heat arcing over her like the electrical current of the plasma cutter.
She almost shivered. "Not every piece. I have enough of a junkyard as it is."
"Then a Dumpster you shall have." She wasn't sure how he made it sound as though he were giving her jewels. And when he traced a finger over the metal, she felt as if he were running his hands over her body. "Is this the front of the chariot?"
"Yes." Her answer came out husky. He pushed aside a few wisps of hair that had escaped her knot, and when he dropped a kiss on her throat, it was the hardest thing she'd ever done to force herself to tell him, "It's time for you to go now."
"Already?"
"You're too distracting."
He was grinning as he removed his goggles and headed out of the workshop, clearly pleased that he had such a strong effect on her. But around noon, he reappeared with a picnic basket laden with gourmet cheeses, fruit, and a variety of crackers. He'd spread a blanket on the grass outside the bungalow.
"You don't have to keep feeding me," she said as she took a cracker spread with warmed Brie from his fingers. "Especially when I know you couldn't possibly have time for all this."
"You wouldn't stop to eat if I didn't. And I need to eat too."
"I eat." Except that he was right--she often became so involved she didn't notice her hunger until her stomach rumbled as loudly as the compressor. Just the way it had when he'd tempted her with the picnic treats.
He smiled, reading her mind. "Knew it." He gave her another cracker, this one with a mouthwatering Cambozola cheese.
God, she could get used to this treatment. Did he sweep all his women away like this?
As soon as it hit her, she hated the thought of his women. It wasn't fair to him, her being judgmental like that. As if she were saying that because he was rich, he must use his wealth to make his conquests. Especially when she didn't feel like a conquest.
She felt treasured.
After the scrumptious lunch, they sat side by side at the workbench, her iPad propped up, the chariot drawing on the screen, his hip pressing lightly against hers. It was so familiar, so sweet.
So intimate.
"Have you decided what you want to use as the floor of the chariot? Another car door?"
She breathed in, out. Tried to calm her racing heart--and ever-growing desire. "No. Not a door. Something else..." The words trailed off as she traced the lines with her finger.
"What if you used a tile mosaic for the base?"
She tipped her head one way, then the other, picturing a mosaic before saying, "What if we accented with some of the tiles you used on the fountain?" Her mind began to sprint at the same speed her heart was from his nearness. "When the sun hits, the tiles will sparkle like rainbows. We'll have to make sure the angle is right so it gets enough light. We can set the mosaic in a metal form so I can weld the body of the chariot to it."
"The design could be free-form. The tiles can be chipped so they're not square."
Their ideas built on each other. "We could even add other irregular fragments, like broken crockery. I've seen garden stepping stones made from bits of china plates." Her excitement rose, not just for the chariot they were creating together as though they were a team, but for him--his body so close, his thigh taut against hers, his male scent all over her.
"That's brilliant."
She scanned him again, right into him, past his good looks. "You're brilliant. I would never have thought of mixing the two mediums, metalwork and tile work." She thought of the anger he must still feel over his parents destroying themselves with alcohol and partying, especially when he'd needed so badly for them to be there for him. And she couldn't help adding, "It's going to be amazing fun to break plates against the wall, venting all our frustrations in a good cause."
"I like it. And you." He reached for her, brushed his fingertips over her lower lip. "I like you too, Charlie. So very much."
Her heart stilled for a moment as she basked in the way his eyes mapped the lines of her face. This time when they kissed, she wouldn't be able to stop at that. Not with this reckless need pounding through her veins. Just as she was about to put her hands on both sides of his gorgeous face, a horn honked, startling her and breaking the moment.
