Need You for Mine (Heroes of St. Helena)(90)
Something she needed a shot of right then. Fully embracing her new mantra, live like you aren’t afraid, she said, “So as you can imagine, this is nothing I can’t handle.”
She lay flat on her belly and held on to the windshield wiper, annoyed that she was going to have to scoot to the end, since her legs were too short to reach the ground. Something he seemed to notice because before she’d even reached the grille, one big hand closed around her waist, the other on the back of the harness, and suddenly she was airborne.
“Put me down,” she ordered, her legs flailing as she tried to spin herself to face him. It didn’t work. “What part of I got this did you not understand?”
“The part where you got it.” He placed her on the ground, and she spun to look at him and felt her heart stutter. The man was bigger than she’d originally thought, so tall in fact that she had to take a step back just to glare up at him. He was grinning, the big jerk.
“Yes, well, I would have had it.” At least she hoped that she would have, but she wasn’t entirely sure. That little flight had her a bit off-kilter.
That he was staring at her made it even worse, so she channeled her inner awesomeness, the same way Brie had taught her to do when facing down unexpected outcomes, and stared back, not noticing how well he filled out his fitted tee or how her belly quivered when he smiled. Hard to do when her body revved every time he so much as breathed.
“Interesting,” he finally said. “Your eyes are dilated and you’re breathing hard. Admit it, you like me.”
“Not possible.” Only it was. Go figure that the first time she had a reaction to a man in three years, and it had to a lodge guest. Which meant that it was time for her to leave.
“Then you’re apologize again. Even better. Does this mean I’m on your IOU list?”
She rolled her eyes, not amused.
“No?” He studied her for a long minute, then leaned in and whispered, “How about now?”
Both of those big hands, strong enough to break granite, wrapped around the front of her safety harness—bringing his fingers right within grazing range of her nipples, and they noticed—then tugged her close. So close she could feel the afternoon’s heat roll off his skin. He smelled like fresh mountain air, pine trees, and sex—not the kind of sex that could be penciled in between meetings, but the kind that lasted for days on end with only body heat for sustenance.
And if that thought wasn’t enough to get her moving, then the reminder that she’d lost her best shot at happily ever after when Carson decided his love only covered the “in health” part of the deal.
He’d not only hesitated when she’d explained her kidney was slowly dying, but he’d walked out when she’d needed him most.
Turned out the only dead weight Avery lost in the surgery was Carson, and even though it had been a rough time in her life, she was a stronger person for it. Now she was a pain free, Carson free, and ready to move forward.
In theory, she was making progress. Her feet were moving in the forward direction. Only Ty’s hands were still on her harness and—oh my God—he was staring at her lips. Like a wild bear settling on his prey, and she was pretty sure he was either going to throw her over his shoulder and take her back to his cave or kiss her. Either way she couldn’t seem to get traction. Unless she counted shuffling closer.
Page six in her memory book flashed in her mind and her belly heated. She hadn’t kissed anyone since Carson, and she’d never kissed a stranger—and this stranger looked as if he were about to kiss her.
His grin went full watt and her breath caught as he closed the last shred of distance and whispered, “You’re welcome, Avery Morgan.”
Avery felt the pressure in her chest release on one big whoosh as the harness slid down her legs, the straps clanking against the concrete. She was free. “How did you do that?”
“Extremely talented fingers.”