“And you’ve decided already I can be trusted?”
Oh yeah.
Everything about him eased her concerns. Made her excited too, although she’d just have to ignore that part if they were going to be business associates. “There are things I… Well, can we just call it woman’s intuition and leave it at that?”
He held out his hands palm up as he winked at her. “I would never presume to argue with woman’s intuition. Let’s check our calendars and arrange a meeting. I’m booked for most of this week, and I’ll need time to drive to Frazer—”
“My house is in Thompson,” she interjected.
The confusion on his face made her smile again. “Why did we meet at the Sugar Shack if you live in Thompson?”
“I’m staying temporarily with my brother and he lives in Frazer. Whenever you’re free I’ll make sure the house is open for your inspection.”
Maxine relaxed back in her chair, her heartbeat slowing to a regular tempo. A good contract for the business and a successful start to making her new home secure. Ryan’s dark eyes stayed on her and she felt a blush rise again. She certainly wasn’t going to object about getting to spend more time in his presence, either. Her gaze caught on the cookies on the table and her stomach grumbled.
Ryan smiled at her, the twinkle in his eyes sending a shiver down her spine as he offered her one of the giant treats. He tapped the edges together in a toast.
“To new beginnings.”
As the spicy flavor filled her mouth, she wondered just exactly what they were starting, because it felt very right.
Three days later Maxine smiled in admiration as she watched his long strides eat up the distance between his car and her front door. Ryan wore beige cargo pants and a dark brown T-shirt instead of a business suit. His chest and biceps muscles stretched the shirt fabric, and she enjoyed the view as she rose from her deck chair to greet him. “Thanks for coming so soon.”
“You’re not far from where I need to be by three p.m.” Ryan’s gaze swung around and he gave a low whistle. “It’s a beautiful house, and the neighborhood is fantastic. Your grandmother must have been sad to leave.”
“Yes and no.” Maxine led him inside. “Gramma said the work was too much for her to keep up with alone. She’s got a lot of friends in the seniors home and she’ll come to visit often, especially since most of the family gatherings will still be held here.”
Max stepped back and tried to see the house through new eyes but all she saw was the damage. While the hardwood floors had been refinished, the baseboards were still missing and the carpets had yet to be replaced. The usual welcoming first impression was marred by the sight of workers’ tools and piles of rubbish in bins. A gentle touch landed on her arm and she looked up into his sympathetic gaze. “Again, it’s a beautiful home and the repairs will make it as good as new,” Ryan said kindly.
She nodded. “It’s the indignity of it. Old treasures of a house like this should be treated with respect, not deliberately damaged.” She forced a faint smile. “I’m also a tad ticked I didn’t even get to hold a proper housewarming party before having to do fall cleaning. Again.”
His laughter fell soft and smooth on her ears, and a trickle of warmth raced over her body. She had to turn away to avoid staring at him. Memorizing his features.
“May I?” he asked, and when she gestured him forward, he paced carefully through the main-floor rooms, taking notes in a small leather-bound notepad. Maxine wandered behind him, attempting to not stare at his butt, nor admire the ease with which his body moved. The strength in his arms as he cranked open one of the old casement windows, muscles stretching the fabric of his T-shirt, drew her attention.
Eventually she gave up and enjoyed the view. He couldn’t see her ogle him and it was too good an opportunity to miss. Leaning on a wall, her feet resting in a pile of carpet liner, she observed him as he worked.
Damn, he was fine.
She wasn’t the kind to jump someone’s bones right after meeting them, but in Ryan’s case she’d think about making an exception.
It wasn’t just his good looks. Her conniving ex-boyfriend had been easy on the eyes as well, but his lack of direction had recently made her call their relationship off. She had more trouble convincing Jamie Daultry they were through as a couple than she’d expected from someone her twin had nicknamed Twinkle Toes. Jamie never had a firm answer, always made his decisions at the eleventh hour and expected her to fall in line with his panic-stricken requests. He’d been shocked to hear she was calling it quits.
Ryan didn’t seem to have any trouble making decisions. He approached his job in a straightforward manner, with no wasted movements, as he examined her home. The contrast between the men was very attractive, in Ryan’s favor.
The sun shone through the stained glass window above the front door and hit the wall she leaned against, the heat and color lulling her eyes closed. She was in the midst of a lovely fantasy involving Ryan and her checking out the springs on her bed when a gentle cough startled her. She jolted upright, stumbled on the tangle beneath her and fell.
Ryan caught her, lifted her away from the rubble and carefully placed her feet on the floor. Every inch of her body burned where they touched. Solid chest muscles teased her palms, the beat of his heart under her hands. He felt even better in real life than in her fantasies, and she clung to him for a moment while the blood settled in her brain.
Searing heat covered her face. Daydreams were one thing, molesting the man was another. She jerked her hands back and would have stumbled again if he hadn’t continued to support her.
“You’ve been burning the candle at both ends, haven’t you?” His voice soothed her taut nerves and Maxine fought the urge to nestle closer into his embrace. “I shouldn’t have startled you like that.” Slowly, as if making sure she would remain standing, he released her, one hand accidentally stroking the side of her body. A tingle shot straight to her core.
Oh my goodness, he was a dangerous man.
She straightened and shook her head like she was waking. His eyes shone at her and his smile rocked her.
Think, Max, you do know how to speak.
“It’s been tough between getting repairs done here and the job and there’s the new baby at my brother’s so…” She smiled ruefully. “Sorry for sleeping on the job. What do you need to look at next?”
Ryan’s gaze trickled over her and her body reacted like she’d been hit with an electric shock. She sent up a prayer of thanks for her lined bra that hid how much a simple glance from him affected her. Fortunately, he turned away to stand at the bottom of the stairs.
“Upper floor and attic. I’ll have a crew come do the detailed measurements we need, I just want to see what kind of access we’re looking at for the higher levels. Then I’d like to walk the perimeter of the building.”
She led the way up the wide, curved stairwell, pausing at the upper landing to open the doors to the side rooms. “There’s way more space in this house than one person needs. In its heyday there were twelve family members and a passel of servants under this roof.”
“There are servant quarters in the residence?”
She nodded. “The attic level has a few. There used to be a caretaker’s home on the land as well. It was rented out until someone got careless with the gas stove and burned it down a few years ago.”
He entered the first room and left her alone on the landing. Max sagged against the nearest wall and let out the breath she’d held. Holy crap, her libido was in overdrive or something because being near the man made her wet. She needed to cool off. She scooted down the hall to the bathroom to take a long drink of water and splash her face.
Lifting her gaze to the mirror, she realized it was no use. The attraction she felt and the effect on her body would be damn hard to hide from his perceptive gaze. Her pale skin was flushed red with desire.
She blew an exasperated puff of air that lifted her bangs from her forehead. Maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t a bad thing at all. He was a grown-up. She was a grown-up. Maybe he would be interested in getting to know her a little better. That is, if he felt anything like she did.
Oh hell, she hoped so.
Ryan took the corner into the room faster than he should have and clutched his papers to stop them from flying from his fingers. Climbing the stairs behind the delectable Ms. Turner and her shapely ass gave him a massive hard-on he’d hidden behind his notepad like some teenager in high school.
The scent of her perfume lingered in the air, and he fought to stop the growl of need that rose in the pit of his stomach, and lower. Watching her in the sunlight, he’d been captivated by the warmth of her skin, the expression on her face as she momentarily shed the strain of worry haunting her since the first time they’d met. He longed to pull her back into his arms and drag his fingers through her sunlit hair, cup her to his body to consume her lips at his leisure.
Fuck, forget the lips, he wanted to consume her. Every scrumptious, voluptuous inch of her.
He dropped the notepad on the wide window ledge and braced his hands on either side. Pushing aside his body’s urging to go find Ms. Turner and demand a far more personal inspection than she had requested, he stared out the window and concentrated on the job at hand.
The house was massive, and the yard on either side opened to vast wooded forest. The back faced a small lake according to the paperwork he’d checked at the surveyor’s office. Forty plus acres of land surrounded the house that was one step shy of a heritage home, luckily for Ms. Turner. Having to do the restorations to heritage-home standards could be a pocket breaker, even kicking in insurance money.
Finally distracted enough to ignore his still-throbbing cock, Ryan worked his way through the first rooms of the upper floor. It was difficult to see any signs of water damage. Max’s repair crew were fantastic, although he was surprised they weren’t hard at it this afternoon.
By the time he reconnected with Maxine, things were under control. Things that needed to stay under control, at least until he decided what to do about his attraction to the woman.
“How come there are no finishers working today?” he asked when Maxine met him in the hall outside an ornate door.
“The owner of the crew is a family friend. He got a call for an urgent fix from a regular client. Since he’s doing me a favor working me into his schedule I’m not going to complain about him pausing this job. It’s tough to get good workers. I’ll live with the mess until they find the time to come back.”
Ryan frowned. “I thought you were living at your brother’s?”
She shrugged. “Until this weekend. The house was supposed to be completed this week and I made arrangements to leave. It’s a little…awkward staying with Junior, what with the new baby and friends always visiting.”
That explained the tiredness. In spades. “You’re moving back in already?”
“Most of the house is livable again. It makes sense.” She led him into the next room and gestured. “The renovations in the master bathroom were completed before the damage occurred. In fact, the new drains they installed in there dealt with the excess water and all that had to be done was mop the floor.”
Ryan strode through the door and his limbs involuntarily froze. The largest bed he’d seen in his entire life occupied the center of the far wall. Pillows were piled high at the headboard and thick corner posts supported a heavy canopy. The curtains at the tall windows to the right hung wide open and sunbeams fell on the quilt-covered monstrosity.
All he could see was the image of Maxine Turner spread for his pleasure, light reflecting off her skin as she waited, naked, on the satin sheets. He shook his head to clear his lust-filled fantasies and followed Max’s hips into the bathroom. An antique claw-footed tub twice the size of a regular tub sat opposite a glass shower enclosure covering an entire wall. The buzzing in his ears grew loud enough to drown out whatever she continued to tell him and suddenly it was imperative he get the fuck out of the room.
Before she found herself on her bed with her legs over his shoulders.
“Where is the access to the attic rooms?” he asked abruptly, interrupting her.
Maxine jumped at his tone and drew in a quick breath. Her gaze darted past him and he knew she was looking at that bed. She immediately flushed red, swallowing hard before guiding him from the room. When she would have led him up the stairs he held up a hand.
“I’ll go look around myself. You don’t need to stick around.” God knows if he could stand watching her ass for one more second without pouncing on her.
Max nodded, stumbling backward. “I’ll go make some…ice tea. When you’re done, join me in the kitchen and we can have a drink before I show you outside.” She barely waited for his acknowledgement before fleeing.
He adjusted his raging erection before climbing to the third story. Holy fuck, the reaction between him and Ms. Turner should be classified as a dangerous weapon.
The third floor contained typical small servant rooms from the turn of the century with an additional microscopic bathroom. The only item of real interest was the attic crawlspace, filled with boxes and baskets and trunks. The usual assortment of generations of treasures and trash, all mixed together.
While he wandered, Ryan debated the wisdom of getting involved in a physical relationship with Maxine. Oh hell, his body had no qualms, it was his head that doubted the merit of the idea. Since his brother’s care had been thrust upon him, it seemed his personal time was nonexistent. Maxine didn’t seem the type for casual sex, no matter how good her legs would feel wrapped around him. By the time he approached the kitchen, he had it all figured out. The logical thing was to keep his hands off her and make sure this stayed a purely business relationship. He opened the door to the back section of the house and Maxine’s seductive perfume with its trace of apple blossoms assaulted him. His entire body tightened with need and his blood roared through him.
Fucking logic. He would kill for a taste of her right now.