Читать книгу Desire Collection: January Books 1 – 4 - Maisey Yates, Joss Wood - Страница 19

Ten

Somewhere between the bathroom and the movie, Alexa had mentally and physically checked out. She’d slept in the spare bedroom, claiming she wasn’t comfortable sleeping with a man since her husband.

That was understandable. Hell, he wasn’t looking for snuggles and whispered promises in the dark so he should be relieved at her decision. But he wasn’t.

Hayes wanted her beside him so he could roll over and touch her, pleasure her when he wanted. He’d never been this way with another woman—not even his fiancée.

So why Alexa? What was it about this affair that had him craving even more?

When he’d been with Carly they just fell into everything because of timing, something he could see clearly after the fact. Hindsight and all that. They’d been stationed together, had fallen into an easy pattern of friendship, which led them straight to bed. Of course they’d snuck around, but once their relationship turned serious, with an engagement, they went to their CO and explained things.

Hayes hated how he must’ve looked like a fool from the start. All of those inclinations of marriage, family and settling down here at Pebblebrook were naive goals he’d once held close.

Between the war zones he’d jumped into and the shock from the betrayal, it was a wonder Alexa had even made it into his bed. He’d been the poster child for needing a distraction and the perfect storm literally landed her on his doorstep.

So what the hell had happened last night that had spooked her? They’d both agreed this was only temporary. She’d been even more adamant than he had.

On the flip side, Hayes should be relieved she wasn’t in his bed when the nightmares hit. She’d already witnessed his waking demons—there was no sense in her experiencing them while sleeping, as well.

The next morning, Hayes stood at the kitchen sink sipping his black coffee and staring out at the riverbank. Well, where the bank used to be. The usual cutoff from the land to the water had shifted somewhat as the flooding came up to nearly the slope that led to his porch. The rain had stopped. The storm had eased sometime during the night.

Actually, it had come to a head at eight minutes after two. He knew because he’d lain awake staring at the ceiling. After another nightmare and a clap of thunder, his sleep had been nonexistent. More than likely he’d never get a good night’s rest again, not with the demons constantly chasing him away from any type of normalcy.

The crashing overhead jerked him from his thoughts. His eyes went to the ceiling as he set his mug on the counter. Whatever Alexa had done, it sounded as though something had broke and his gut tightened at the thought of her being hurt.

Hayes raced up the stairs and down the hall leading to the room she’d chosen on the opposite end from his.

When he turned the corner, Alexa sat on the floor, his T-shirt bunched around her hips, and one of his grandmother’s antique pitchers, which had sat on the dresser, was in the floor in shards.

“Don’t come in,” she told him as she reached for the larger pieces. “Go get me something I can put all these broken pieces in. I just... I wasn’t paying attention and bumped the dresser. I’m so sorry.”

Her hands shook as she lifted another piece. Hayes carefully watched where he stepped and crossed the room.

“Put those down,” he ordered. “You’re going to cut yourself.”

She sniffed and glanced up to him, unshed tears swimming in her eyes. “Just get me the trash so I can throw these pieces away.”

Hayes took the three large chunks from her hand and set them back on the floor. Without warning, he lifted her from the floor and adjusted until one arm was beneath her knees and the other behind her back. He left the room with threatening protests from his houseguest.

“We’ll clean it up later,” he informed her as he went to his room. “Are you upset because you broke that piece? Because I don’t even go in that room and my mother wouldn’t want you to cry over broken porcelain.”

Alexa swiped a hand over her face. “I’m not crying, though I am sorry I broke that.”

“Your eyes are pretty watery. Must be allergies.” He sat her on the end of his bed and picked up one foot to assess for any cuts. Satisfied there were none, he checked her other foot. “You’re not cut anywhere. Let me see your hands.”

Like the hardheaded woman he’d come to know, she put her hands behind her back and tipped her chin. “My hands are fine. I’m going to get dressed and ride Jumper back to the main house.”

Hayes shook his head. “Not a good idea, darlin’. That low area on the property is swimming in water. Remember the spot I showed you when we rode through?”

Her chin quivered, but he had to hand it to her, she didn’t give in to the emotion. “I want to get back to my son.”

“How long were you staying at the B and B?”

“Two more days.” She narrowed her eyes. “I can’t be here that long.”

Hayes crouched down in front of her. “Listen, I don’t know what’s got you so spooked since last night, but there’s no pressure from me. If you’re worried about my expectations, I have none. Do I want you in my bed while you’re here? Hell yes, but I won’t push you.”

“That’s not...” She shook her head and looked away.

Whatever she was dealing with was none of his concern. He didn’t want to take on any more baggage from anyone. He could barely carry his own mess.

Hayes came to his feet and backed up. “Why don’t you get your clothes on, or stay in mine, I don’t care. Then meet me in the kitchen.”

She brought her focus back to him, drawing her brows in and narrowing her eyes. “Why?”

“I’ve got something planned for both of us to take our minds off everything else going on.”

When her eyes trailed over his body, he had to laugh. “As much as I’m tempted to give in to that silent invitation, I have something else in mind.”

“I wasn’t inviting,” she stated.

“You said the same thing last night after you paraded naked in front of me. We know how that ended.” He sauntered from the room and called over his shoulder, “You’ll want pants and shoes on for this. Meet me downstairs in five.”

* * *

Well, ten minutes later and she was in the kitchen, where Hayes was absent. What on earth was he doing?

Alexa went to the French press and figured she’d fire it up and have a good cup of coffee. It was so rare she managed to grab a cup at home. Mornings were usually rushed getting Mason ready for the sitter and her trying to get to school on time to be the smiling teacher ready to go when her students arrived.

“Taking your coffee break already?”

As the drip started, Alexa turned her attention from the much needed morning fuel to the man behind her clutching a sledgehammer.

“Um, what are you doing?”

“We’re going to take down the cabinets.”

Stunned at his bold statement, she leaned against the counter and crossed her arms. “Why are we busting them out? I didn’t think you’d decided what to do in here, yet.”

With a shrug, Hayes eased the sledgehammer on the floor and propped the handle against the door frame. “I know these need to come out before I can do anything else. So the first thing I’ll do is empty them. Considering nearly every room in this house is bare, it shouldn’t be difficult to find a home for the few dishes and pans I have. And my microwave can go anywhere for the time being.”

Alexa figured she had two options: she could drink her coffee and get going on this demolition or she could drink her coffee and spend the rest of the day worried about things she had no control over.

Either way, she was getting her liquid jump-start.

“Let’s get these cleaned out then,” she told him.

An hour later they had everything out of the kitchen and eating area. The counters were cleared off and Alexa was caffeinated and ready to go.

“Do you want to hit them first or should I?” he asked.

“I’ll do it.”

Hayes crossed the room and grabbed the sledgehammer. Before he handed it over, he pulled a pair of work gloves from his back pocket.

“Put these on.”

She eyed the well-worn leather. “Where are yours?”

“I have one pair and you’re wearing them. Not up for discussion.”

She wondered if he ever wore gloves. Those strong hands of his were rough, but they slid over her skin easily and sent shock waves all through her.

If she didn’t focus on the sledgehammer instead of those masterful hands, she’d knock herself out while doing this demo work. Without arguing, she slid the gloves on and adjusted the wrist strap. When she picked up the sledgehammer, she was a little surprised how heavy it was. She didn’t do too many teardowns. While she had lived alone for some time now and did most repairs herself, she’d had no reason to own such a tool.

Though she did re-screen her back door and change out the leaky pipe in her bathroom faucet. She was rather proud of herself when she managed things on her own. Considering everything was on the Internet, she would at least try once before calling in reinforcements. She didn’t always have the funds to pay someone to ride to her rescue when things went wrong.

“You got it?” Hayes asked.

Alexa nodded. “Where should I start?”

“Anywhere. As long as you don’t bust the window, feel free to smack anything. I want it all gone.”

She went to the side of the base cabinet and gave a swing. Well, in her mind it was a hefty swing, but it barely made a hole in the side of the old wood. How embarrassing considering Mr. Muscles behind her could probably take it out with one whack.

“Harder,” he demanded. “Whatever you were upset about this morning, whatever came between us last night, use that emotion and smack the hell out of that cabinet.”

Thoughts about how life wasn’t fair ought to do it. The fact her husband had been taken, her child robbed of a father, then to find the one guy she was interested in had been her husband’s friend...

The sledgehammer came around, her grip tightened as it made contact with the cabinet and busted right through.

Apparently channeling heart-clenching emotions was the perfect solution for demo work. She needed something to demo at home on those days that she struggled to get through.

“At this rate I won’t have to do anything but haul everything away,” Hayes joked. “Swing at it again.”

Alexa banged over and over. The muscles in her shoulders and arms burned, but this was the greatest therapy she’d ever had. Even if she could get over that hurdle of Hayes’s insistence about being alone, now she had the barrier of her late husband. How had she never known about Hayes?

Obviously, they’d lost touch after school when Hayes went overseas, but Alexa had never heard his name and—

Oh, no. She had. She’d heard his name several times. Well, she’d heard Scott talk about his friend “Cowboy.” Ironically the same name she’d called Hayes right before they...

“Okay,” Hayes called over the crashing sound.

Alexa took a step back. Sweat dampened her skin, causing her tank to cling. She eased the head of the sledgehammer down to the ground and rested the handle against her thigh. She was definitely going to feel that workout in the morning, or quite possibly tonight.

“Feel better?”

Alexa glanced over to see a very smiley Hayes. She hadn’t seen that much emotion from him other than when they were naked.

“I’m sweating and sore,” she told him. “That was amazing.”

Hayes chuckled and stepped forward. “Maybe I should exorcise some demons, as well.”

Alexa stepped far enough back to not get hit by the debris, but still close enough to admire that very masculine form in action. Muscles clenched and bulged as he took his own frustrations out. Before long, the entire wall with the sink was done.

Hayes stepped back and pulled in a deep breath. “Well, that didn’t take as long as I thought.”

“What about the other wall?” she asked.

“That’s a gas stove, so I’ll wait to pull that out. I think we’ve done enough for the day.”

Alexa took in the carnage and propped her hands on her hips. “So how are we going to cook?”

Hayes propped the sledgehammer against the newfound wall. “I have plenty of things. We won’t need to cook.”

Alexa narrowed her eyes. “Like what?”

“Ice cream, cereal, bread from Sweet Buns.”

“I’m here for two days and I’m going to leave fat if all you have is carbs.”

Hayes’s gaze raked over her entire body. “You’re perfect now and you’ll be just as perfect when you leave even with a buffet of carbs.”

Words every woman wanted to hear. If she was ready for something more, maybe he’d be the one who helped her get back into life as a couple, the man who fed her every fantasy, the one she told her every secret...

Except, oh, that’s right. She was now the one keeping a secret from him.

She couldn’t tell him about Scott. Something about the admission felt too emotional, too raw. She’d be gone soon and Hayes would never have to know who she was. That was for the best, considering both of them had determined this to be physical only and nothing personal.

Bringing Scott into the mix now would only make it seem like she’d been keeping something from him all along. And considering they weren’t going to see each other again, it was best she just kept her late husband to herself.

“I say we have ice cream for dinner,” he told her as he closed the distance between them.

“You don’t have to talk me into that if that’s what you’re thinking.”

A corner of his mouth tipped up as he reached her and banded his arms around her waist. “Oh, that’s not what I’m thinking.”

Alexa flattened her palms against his chest. “We’re filthy, Hayes. And I know I smell.”

His lips trailed over her jawline. “We’re definitely on the same page. You do stink.”

She swatted his shoulder with a laugh.

“Which is why I’m about to go scrub you from head to toe and work out those sore muscles in the shower.”

She squealed as he scooped her up. She started to say something about his knee, but he wouldn’t care. He’d ignore the pain and push through because once Hayes had his mind set on something, he followed through.

And apparently he had his mind set on making sure she was thoroughly clean.