It Started with a Snap by Piper James

Chapter Thirteen

Ember

Iwalked into the boutique the next morning with a sigh. I only had a few hours before the exterminators came to tent the building, so I needed to pack all the clothing in bins and bags. The inspector assured me the fumes wouldn’t damage anything, but the clothing might hold the smell for a while. I couldn’t sell stinky clothing and accessories, so here I was.

I was sullen, feeling sorry for myself as I packed up my livelihood and thought about the coming days with zero income and nothing to do but rattle around that big, empty ranch with Kane. My trip to the bar last night had not provided the respite I’d craved, and I’d left shortly after that confrontation with the asshat.

I went to bed and lay awake for hours, listening to the house settle with loud pops and creaks while Kane snored softly on the empty pillow next to me. It was after two when I finally dozed off, and my six a.m. alarm put me in an even worse mood.

I’d been at the boutique for just over an hour when the door opened. I looked up to tell whoever it was we were closed, but the words died in my throat as my eyes landed on Ethan. He nodded in greeting before heading toward the back without a word. He was carrying a couple of pieces of wood, a toolbox, and a hand saw.

I wanted to follow him to ask what he was doing, but my feet remained frozen where they were. My eyes travelled the length of his back down to his legs. I’d never seen him in shorts before.

His calves were thick and tightly muscled, tanned with a sprinkling of dark hair. The shorts ended at the knees, hiding his thighs, but the material stretched across his ass, hugging the curves of it in the most delicious way. He was wearing a white, ribbed tank that hugged his torso like a second skin, highlighting his muscled back and narrow waist.

“Hel-lo,” I mumbled, then shook off the hot-body-induced-hypnosis.

What was I doing? I didn’t know, but I did know what I wasn’t doing. I wasn’t lusting after Ethan fucking Perry. No. No way.

“I really need to get laid,” I gritted out as the sounds of a hammer on wood echoed around me.

I got back to work, and it wasn’t long before I was covered in sweat. It was so fucking hot in here. I popped the lid on the bin I was packing and straightened, rubbing the back of my arm across my brow as I arched my back to stretch it out.

Ethan emerged from the back, and I froze mid-stretch. His ribbed tank was no longer covering his body. It was balled in his fist, and he was using it to swab up the sweat between his pecs and over his abs. My mouth turned into the Sahara, and I swallowed thickly against the dryness in my throat.

My eyes followed him as he headed for the dressing room area. Setting down his tool box and dropping the sweaty tank on top of it, he grabbed the door of the left cubicle, jerking it until it popped open, despite the broken hinge. He studied it for a few seconds, fiddling with it before bending over to reach his tool box.

Halfway down, he paused, his eyes meeting mine.

“What?” he asked, straightening and turning slightly to face me.

I hoped I’d managed to erase the hunger in my expression before he caught me looking, or that the twenty-five feet between us was far enough that he wouldn’t notice. Clearing my throat, I shook my head.

“Nothing.”

I spun away, bending over and grabbing the bin before lugging it to the center of the store where I was stacking them all. I heard Ethan’s toolbox flip open, and breathed a sigh of relief. Hopefully, that meant he didn’t notice me drooling all over him.

Because I was drooling. Literally. I had to wipe it off my bottom lip. Which was weird, seeing as how my mouth had gone so dry when I first caught sight of him with no shirt. It was all so…confusing.

I forcibly kept my gaze away from him for the next hour. He moved from one section of the store to the next, fixing whatever minor problems he could before the air conditioner parts came and the termites were eradicated so he could move onto the bigger issues.

And while I didn’t look at him, I always knew exactly where he was. Like he was some kind of big, beefy magnet, I felt a pull toward him I couldn’t deny. And I didn’t fucking understand it, at all.

Sure, he was hotter than a late summer Texas afternoon, but I’d been around hot guys before. Guys that didn’t annoy the shit out of me. But I’d never felt like I did right now. Like I might explode into a billion tiny particles if I didn’t touch him. Like I might shrivel up and die if I didn’t find out what he tasted like.

It was pure insanity. Madness.

I needed to get the hell away from him so I could come back to my senses.

Keeping my eyes on the final bin I was stacking, I called out, “Ethan, I’m going to take off. Can you please lock up when you leave?”

“Sure.”

I yelped and spun around. Somehow, he’d snuck up on me and was standing far too close for comfort. I could smell his cologne. His sweat. I could feel the heat rolling off him, and my core clenched as I imagined licking the beads of perspiration sprinkled across his chest.

Taking a step backward, I forced my breathing to slow and even out. Ethan blinked a few times, then shook his head. Moving a couple of feet back, he mumbled an apology for scaring me. I fished my keys out of my pocket and took the boutique key off the ring. I held it up to him, and his fingers brushed over mine as he plucked it from my fingers. I managed to stifle my gasp, but just barely.

Jesus. What is wrong with me?

“Are you going to update your website to let people know you’ll be closed for a few days?”

“What?” I asked, pulling my attention from my tingling fingers to his face.

“Your website. Are you going to update it with the closure?”

“Oh,” I said, shrugging. “I don’t have one.”

His head reared back the tiniest bit, his eyes widening. “What about social media pages? Can you update it there?”

I was shaking my head before he even finished. “Don’t have those either. I put a sign on the door yesterday in case anyone came by.”

He nodded and tucked the key into his pocket. Turning his back on me and walking toward the project he’d been working on, he called out, “I just have a few more things to take care of, and then I’ll lock up and head out. Do you want me to bring the key by the ranch?”

“No!” burst through my lips before I could temper it, and he looked at me over his shoulder with his eyebrows hiked up. “I mean…don’t worry about it. I can get it back from you when we reopen.”

“Sounds good,” he said, nodding and turning back to the light switch plate he’d been in the process of unscrewing.

I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. My heart was racing, and there was an ache between my legs that had no business being there. Not for him.

I hauled ass back to the ranch, let Kane out into the backyard, and hopped in the shower to wash off the sweat from being in the boutique all morning. After pulling on some loose cotton shorts and a tank top, I grabbed my phone and texted Belle.

Me: Hey! You busy?

Her response was almost immediate.

Belle: Just getting some work done at the office while Ryder’s home with the baby. What’s up?

Me: Nothing. Just packed up the boutique in preparation for the termite tenting, and now I’m back at the ranch. Alone. And bored. *crying face emoji*

Belle: Sorry. I can’t get away right now, or I’d come over and hang out.

Me: That’s okay. I was just kidding. This place is great!

Belle: You’re a terrible liar. Even through texts. You could always come stay with me if you’re lonely out there.

Me: And wake up twelve times a night with a crying baby? No, thank you.

Belle: He does not wake up twelve times a night, dumbass. Only eight. *exasperated face emoji*

Belle: But he’s totally worth the sleepless nights. One baby smile, and I melt all over the place.

Me: More power to you, sista. I have to pass, but thank you for the invite. Love you.

Belle: The offer stands. Love you, too.

I dropped my phone to the couch beside me, and sighed. Picking up the remote, I clicked on the television.

“Oh, hell, no,” I muttered when that damn video popped up on the screen again.

I quickly hit the input button, changing the source back to the satellite receiver so I could find a movie to watch. Kane padded into the room and hopped up onto the couch, snuggling against my side.

“It’s just you and me, buddy. What should we watch?” I asked him, and he yawned before tucking his nose into his belly and dozing off.

Well, I guess I’m on my own. As usual.