AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She followed him up the stairs, and succeeded, barely, in not checking out his ass. But when he stepped out into the glow of a spectacular sunset and began rolling up his shirtsleeves, her mouth watered and she swallowed hard. She couldn’t look away.
The man had spectacular forearms, taut and ropy, rippling as his fingers flexed and folded. He hadn’t lied about working out, clearly. He couldn’t get those arms from texting and typing or pointing a finger and ordering minions.
Spending her days around the guys, she was immune to a lot, but talented hands and strong forearms were a particular weakness.
“I’ll go down backward," Jake offered.
Images of just how that would work flashed through her very active imagination. She blinked hard and shook her head. “Do you think I can’t handle it going down?” Frankie asked.
Why did everything suddenly seem to have an added layer of weight, deep in her belly?
“I think you could go down just fine,” he teased.
Her eyes locked on his, and they were heavy with lust, reflecting her own needs back at her. The intensity excited her in all the best ways. “Let’s just finish this thing.” She picked up one end of the bar while he climbed into the van to handle the other end.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Would you quit? I said I’ve got it. Just because I’m a woman doesn’t mean I can’t manage a heavy piece of wood.” She was deliberately poking him now.
“You are determined to make me crack, aren’t you?”
“How’m I doing?”
He kept his face carefully blank, but his lip quirked at the corner.Gotcha.
“Get a good grip, Valenti. Let’s go.”
“That’s what he said.”
He grunted out a laugh as he hopped down from the back of the van and she started to walk backward, still teasing as she went.
CHAPTER13
“What’s that saying?‘Fred Astaire was great, but don’t forget Ginger Rogers did everything he did…backward and in heels?’”
“She also survived five marriages, three to guys named Jack. But you’re no Ginger.”
“Oh really?” she huffed. The bar was fucking solid.
“No, you’re more Katharine Hepburn.”
“Excuse me?”
“Katharine Hepburn made a career of being the woman who could do anything a man could, but better and with heavy sarcasm.”
“I think I'd rather be the pretty one in heels," she muttered and sucked in a labored breath.
“All I’m trying to say is you’re strong, and everyone sees that. You don’t have to keep proving it.”
“That’s…” She grunted and shifted her grip as her fingers slipped with sweat. “…where you’re wrong. The minute I show weakness is the minute there is ammunition for Dad’s argument that I’m not ready to handle the company.”
When they reached the stairs, they carried the bar in silence. She refused to give him the satisfaction of hearing her moan and groan as they muscled the long oak plank downstairs. But words were also impossible to get out through her clenched jaw. She adjusted her grip on the rough natural edge. It would be beautiful once it was installed, but the bar was hard to get a handle on. Step by step, she proved herself capable, and when she reached the last stair, she grinned.Take that!
“Lean it here against the stairs for a minute.” Jake lowered his end to the tread where he stood.
“Why? You need a breather?”
“No. I need to attach the dash cam. The crew is gone for the day.”
