Page 3 of Oops I Fell For The Electrician Next Door

"Your dignity?" I ask, laughing still.

"I met you ten minutes ago and threw you into a lake. I don't think dignity is coming back from that."

His wet shirt is plastered to his chest. My body is plastered to the rest of him, one of his thighs wedged between mine while his hand spans the curve of my waist beneath the water. The laughter fades slowly as I become aware of every hard inch bracing me against him.

Marc feels it too. His gaze drops to my mouth, and the arm around me tightens before he deliberately loosens it.

"Kelsey." My name sounds different in that rough voice.

"Marc."

I have no idea what I intend to say after that. A warning would be appropriate. A reminder that he is a guest would be smarter. Instead, I stay in his arms while lake water drips from his dark hair and a slow heat spreads through me that has nothing to do with the late-summer sun.

The cabin lights along the shore flicker. All of them.

Marc looks past me, turning serious again. "We need to get out of the water."

This time, I do exactly what he says.

Chapter Two

Marc

There are easier ways to introduce myself to a beautiful woman than knocking her into a lake. I cannot think of any that would have shown me how Kelsey Matlock feels in my arms, though, so the accident is not without one significant benefit. I keep that observation to myself while I haul us onto the dock. She is my landlord, possibly my client, and currently standing barefoot on wet boards while her soaked shirt clings to a body lush enough to empty every sensible thought from my head.

Looking is unavoidable. Staring would make me an asshole, so I look at the electrical cabinet instead.

"You have towels in Cabin Seven," Kelsey says as she wrings lake water from the end of her ponytail. "I'll get you one."

"You stay here. I'll get both of us one."

Her eyebrows lift. I hear the command in my own voice a second too late, but I do not take it back. The lights flickered while we were standing in the lake beside an electrical service. The equipment should be properly bonded and grounded. Should does not mean I am leaving her barefoot on a wet dock while I assume it is. Still, I can tell she’s surprised at me giving her direction.

"Please," I add.

Kelsey's mouth twitches. "That word might save you around here."

"I'll try to remember it."

I retrieve two towels from the cabin, along with the dry work pants and shirt I packed where I could reach them. My duffel, two tool cases, and a cooler constitute most of what I brought for six weeks in Cady Springs. Kelsey might have opinions about that if she saw it. Based on the careful welcome basket on the counter and the fresh flowers beside the window, she believes people deserve to feel at home even when they are only passing through. I have never needed much help passing through.

When I return, she has removed her boots and socks and placed them where the afternoon sun can reach them. Her wet jeans mold to the generous curves of her hips, and the pale blue shirt clinging to her breasts is making a determined effort to end my career before I begin the inspection.

I hand her the larger towel and keep my gaze on her face. "Cabin Four is empty?"

"The Lawsons are in Two. No one is staying in Five or Six tonight, and you're the only guest assigned to Seven."

"Then I want the breakers to Cabins Four, Five, and Six off until I inspect the main service. I want to test Seven before I decide about it."

"Want or recommend?"

The question is not subtle. It tells me more about her than the efficient office system and immaculate cabin did. Kelsey is accustomed to men stating their preferences as if they are laws of nature. She may have learned to push back because of this property, or she may have bought this property because she was already good at it. Either way, I admire the hell out of her.

"I strongly recommend it," I say. "I also recommend we stay away from the water until I confirm there isn't a grounding problem. You make the decision."

She studies me for a moment before nodding. "Do it."

Kelsey goes to Cabin Eight to change while I pull on dry work clothes in Seven. Ten minutes later, we meet beside the cedar screen, both of us dry and wearing boots again.