by Cathryn Fox
“It just never came up,” I say and push her hair back to look over her face. I tilt her chin.
“What are you doing?” she asks.
“Searching for stingers,” I say and inch back to look at her arms and bare legs.
“I had no idea I’d react. Thank God you had that vile-tasting stuff.”
I chuckle. “What were you doing up there?”
“I…was just looking at all the apple trees. Exploring a little. A bee started chasing me, and I ran right into the apiary.” She takes a quick breath. “When will it stop hurting?”
“I’m sorry, Alyson.” My stomach drops. “I should have mentioned the apiary.”
She gives a humorless laugh. “God, I can’t believe this is happening.”
I let loose a breath and go back on my heels. My gaze goes to her ruined shoes as I tug my wallet from my back pocket and reach for my credit card. “Yeah, I know. You’re not cut out for this. Have you called Bryce’s yet? The guy who wants to buy your orchard? He and your uncle didn’t always see eye to eye, and Jack didn’t really like him, but he’ll take this place off your hands.”
Her eyes jerk to mine. I’m not sure why she’s so upset, but if looks could kill, I’d be a goner.
“No, I haven’t had a chance. Just like I haven’t had a chance to get new shoes or clothes. I haven’t been able to take a breath since I arrived,” she blurts out, her chin trembling slightly. “I plan to head straight into town after this and find something suitable.”
“I’m sorry, Alyson. But you just said you couldn’t believe what was happening. I mean the sooner—”
“What I meant was, I thought you’d seen me at my worst, but I was wrong.” She points to her slightly puffy lips. “This might be the worst.”
I grin at her. “Nah, people pay big bucks to get sexy lips like those.” Before I can think better of it, I lightly run my thumb over her parted lips. Our eyes meet, and her fast intake of breath, along with a flicker of interest on her face, doesn’t go unnoticed. A burst of heat arcs between us, settles in my groin, and all I can think about is cupping her face and taking her mouth in a slow, deep kiss until she’s moaning my name under her breath.
What are you doing, dude?
“You think this is sexy?” She laughs, her mood lightening. “My God, what is in the well water around these parts?”
I grin. “I don’t think it’s necessary, but if you want, I can take you to the hospital.”
“No,” she says so quickly it takes me by surprise. “No hospitals.”
I note her strong reaction. Wow, did I hit a sore spot or something? “You don’t like hospitals, huh?”
“I just… I’m feeling better.” She sits up a little straighter in the chair.
“Okay, you should at least get yourself a bottle of Benadryl.” I nudge her playfully. “In case next time I’m not here to rescue you.”
“Fine, I’ll look into that.” Her brow furrows, and I’m about to make her promise she will when she changes the subject. “What is the credit card for? Payment so I don’t sue you?”
A laugh rumbles in my throat as I shake my head. “You really are a long way from home, aren’t you?” I spin the card in my fingers. “This is to take the stingers out. Once we do that, we need to wash the spots with warm soapy water. I’m going to have to look over your body. Is that okay with you? I’m not sure where or how many times you were stung, but we need to check. If the stinger is still embedded, it can release more venom, and with the way you reacted, I don’t want to take a chance.”
Dark lashes fall slowly over her blue eyes, and when they lift again, her gaze is directly on mine. “Oh, okay.”
I touch her elbow lightly to help her up, and she draws in a breath as I sweep my fingers over her flesh. “Do you think you could stand?”
She nods, and I help her to her feet. The shirt she’s wearing falls to her knees, brushing over one of the stings, and she yelps a little.
“Would you be comfortable taking off the shirt? I need to see where you’ve been stung.”
“Okay.” She toys with the top button, her fingers hesitant.
“If you want, I have a mirror, and you can check yourself,” I say. “I can teach you how to remove the stinger.”
A nervous laugh catches in her throat as she releases the first button. “You’ve already seen me in my underwear, Jay, remember?”
Oh, I remember. I remember all too well.
“It’s weird that I have to keep getting undressed in front of you.” She grins and tries to make light of it by adding, “And you didn’t even buy me dinner first.”
I shrug, equally astounded. “I don’t know what to say, Alyson, but for some strange reason, we keep finding ourselves in these weird situations.”
“Lesson or blessing,” she says under her breath as she finishes unbuttoning the long shirt, letting it fall to the floor. Heat flares through me, and a bolt of lust zaps my balls. I work to dial down my body’s reactions and try not to make a noise as I swallow. I do not want to broadcast what her near nakedness is doing to me. But there is nothing I can do to hide the truth. Nope, nothing I can do at all. Not when I have a foul-mouthed parrot who doesn’t know when to keep his trap shut.
“Alyson’s hot stuff.”
I drop my head, press my palm into my forehead. “Motherfucker.”
Chapter Seven
Alyson
“What the—”
I spin around and cover my body, expecting to find someone standing behind us. Instead I spot a great big parrot prancing around his cage like a cocky MMA fighter before a championship match. Yes, I’ve watched MMA. My ex was a big fan, although I hated the brutality of the sport.
“I… He… What…” I work to get words out through puffy lips.
“Sorry about that,” Jay says as I stumble for my next words.
I blink once, then twice as I take in the pretty bird. “Did he just say what I think he said?”
“You heard him right.” Jay sighs heavily, his frustration and embarrassment wrapping around me. “Alyson, meet Capone. Capone, keep your trap shut.”
“Jay’s an asshole.”
My mouth drops open as I turn back to Jay. “Ohmigod, did he just call you—”
“An asshole, yeah.” Jay rakes an agitated hand through his hair and shakes his head. I let my gaze drop, take in his bare chest. All the boys in the family are good-looking, but this guy… Well, he’s killing it. They clearly come from great genes, and I really shouldn’t be taking pleasure in his near nakedness. “I told you Tyler was going to be the death of me.”
A laugh bubbles out of my throat, and Jay stares at me, surprise in his eyes. “Wait, you’re not upset?” he asks.
Tension eases from my body, and my lips begin to work again, the swelling subsiding thanks to Jay’s fast thinking. “I’m not upset, and here I didn’t think anything else could surprise me. I can’t believe Tyler taught Capone all those phrases.”
“This? This you find funny?” A panty-melting grin plays with the corner of his mouth, and dammit if it doesn’t make him look sexier. “The real question is, what’s in your well water back home, Alyson?”
“We have city water,” I say and laugh again— It’s either find the humor or cry at this crazy predicament. I twist to check out the bird again, but when I move, pain erupts beneath my demi-bra, reminding me why I’m here in the first place. “Ouch.”
“Easy,” Jay says, touching my arm, his big calloused hands like a tender caress. So much for forgetting he’s half naked. “We need to get the stingers out, get you cleaned up, and get some pain meds into you. You’re probably going to feel worse later than you do right now.”
“You’re right.” I press my hand to my forehead. “I’m actually starting to feel a bit dizzy.” Although standing here half naked with Jay, my heart pounding agai
nst my ribs, could account for my light-headedness. Still, I’m not interested in going to the hospital. I don’t want any kind of paper trail leading back to my family. I’ll just avoid the damn apiary.
Capone lets loose a wolf whistle, and Cluck, who’s still standing guard at the door, squawks, or rather crows, and prances around like he’s completely agitated. Capone flutters around his cage.
“I’m pretty sure I’ve landed on the funny farm.” No wonder I’m laughing hysterically.
“Madness burrows like a tick on a deer in the burbs when you’re surrounded by nothing but land and sky.”
Yeah, yeah, I get it. He doesn’t think I’m capable of handling this place, and I pretty much confirmed it yesterday. “Is that a warning or a threat?”
“It’s the truth,” he says.
“Have you gone mad?”
“I live with a foul-mouthed parrot who has a cage as big as my place and a rooster who thinks he’s a watchdog. What do you think?” he asks with a grin.
All my girly parts tingle in awareness. “What about my uncle?” I ask, needing my thoughts on something, anything, other than the hot beekeeper. “Was he mad, too?”
“Did you not see Mr. Beaver on your back porch?” I frown, and his features soften when he continues, “He was a really nice guy, Alyson. It’s a shame you didn’t know him.”
“I agree. I wasn’t even told about him, but I’m glad he had you guys.” I lightly touch him, and his muscles flinch beneath my fingers.
Capone whistles again, and Cluck struts around, wings flapping. I shake my head.
“I take it they’re not friends,” I say as my gaze goes between Capone and Cluck.
“Mortal enemies.” Jay turns toward the door. “Take off, Cluck. I’ve got this under control. Go check on Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.”
Cluck scurries away, and Capone settles his feathers.
Jay turns his attention back to me, as I stand facing him in nothing but my underwear. “Capone is a bit of a pervert. I’m thinking we should take this up there,” he says and points to the loft.
“Okay,” I say and head toward the stairs, tension back in my body as Jay’s gaze moves over me. “How long have you had Capone?” I ask.
Jay goes quiet behind me, too quiet, and I cast a quick glance over my shoulder. The movement hurts, so I turn back around, but not before I catch the strain on his face, the tightening of his jaw. I clearly touched a nerve.
“About a year now,” he says.
“Tyler taught him all that bad language?”
“No.”
I reach the landing and find myself in Jay’s bedroom. His bed is neatly made, the gray blanket tugged tight. There’s a man’s and woman’s dressers and a swivel mirror, but there aren’t many homey touches, which lead me to believe he’s been a bachelor for a long time.
“You taught him?”
He moves past me, his body brushing mine and eliciting a shiver I’m quick to hide. I follow him into the bathroom.
“He came from a pool hall that shut down. My ex rescued him.” He scrubs his face, a new kind of tightness in his shoulders. “She thought it would be fun to have a parrot.” He scoffs.
“And you didn’t?”
“No.”
“But you kept him?”
“He was a rescue. What could I do?”
Oh, a lot of things. Take him to a shelter, rehome him, drive him a mile down the road and set him free, a cruel option but an option nonetheless. But no, he kept him. To me, that says an awful lot about this guy’s character.
“Nothing, I guess,” I say, leaving it at that. It’s not a subject he wishes to discuss, and I get that. I don’t want to talk about my ex or my past, either.
Jay pulls a cloth out from a small cabinet and tosses it into the sink. “Let me have a look at you,” he says, his voice a tad bit deeper, huskier than it was a moment ago. He perches on the edge of his bathtub, touches my hips, and gently tugs me a bit closer. Damn, I wish that didn’t feel so nice. He looks me over. Flustered and far too aroused under his quiet perusal, I shift from one foot to the other, and he glances up at me.
“You have to stay still so I can concentrate,” he says.
“Sorry.”
He leans into me, his lips so damn close to my body, they’re almost touching. The warmth of his breath races over my skin, and I try not to fidget as I swallow down the needy little sound rising in my throat. Honest to God, if I knew I was going to get this kind of attention from a few bee stings, I would have ambushed the farm earlier, although I must look like a puffed-up poodle after a bath—just not as cute.
I sigh and remind myself I’m not here to impress anyone but myself, a good thing considering how many times this man has seen me at my worst. Back home, I’d hide out in my condo until the swelling went down. My friends would die of laughter, but Jay here, well, he’s not laughing at all. In fact, his expression has turned serious, and there is a deep concentration in his eyes as they roam my body. My God, I’d probably spontaneously combust if he looked at me like that if we were naked in bed.
Dammit, I wish I hadn’t combined Jay and bed in the same thought.
His fingers follow his eyes, touching me lightly and turning me this way and that as he studies my naked flesh. I take a fast breath and try to keep my wits about me, but lust hits like a punch, and my flesh warms and tightens. Want to know what else is warming and tightening? My stupid, traitorous nipples, that’s what. I resist the urge to cover them. This man does not need to know what his touch is doing to me. He’s only helping a neighbor out, and I’d be wise to remember that.
We both go quiet, tension taking up space between us as he stares at my body and I stare at his handsome face. Even downstairs, Capone has settled, and not a cricket in the massive fields outside can be heard chirping. The only audible sound is our breathing, mine a little heavier than I’d like, although I can probably pass it off as stress from the stings. Seriously, though, never in my life have I heard anything so hushed, so still. I really am a long way from home. It’s a little less scary now, though, thanks to Jay.
“Jesus, my bees did a number on you,” he says in a soft voice. He lifts his head, and my heart stops beating when I catch real worry in his eyes.
Breathless and distracted, I blurt out, “It’s okay. I brought it on myself by swatting at them and running around like a lunatic.”
He stares at me for a long moment, like he’s carefully searching for his next words, then his face breaks out into a grin. “It was an impressive sight.” He gives me a wink. “Especially in these heels,” he says and reaches down to release the buckle. He cups my shoe, and I lift one leg so he can remove it, then the other. His hand lingers on my calf, and I pull in a deep breath as his touch stimulates other areas of my body.
“I hope I didn’t injure any of your bees.”
“I’m sure they’re perfectly fine,” he says as my feet settle on his floor. I wince as my painful blisters make contact with the wood.
“We’ll have to take care of these sores, too,” he says. “I have a salve.”
I soften my voice to match his, as every nerve in my body, from the top of my head to the tips of my toes, comes alive. “You seem to have a remedy for everything.”
Does he have a remedy for the heat between my legs?
Cut it out, Alyson.
Needing a distraction, something else to think about, my mind goes back to that old commercial, and I lower my voice to say, “I guess farmers know a thing or two because they’ve seen a thing or two.” He grins up at me, and I inwardly cringe. Why the hell did I say that? This man is really throwing me off-kilter. Cripes, if he didn’t think I was a lunatic earlier, he sure as hell will now. One day here and I’m already slipping into madness.
“I’ve been around,” he says. “Seen a thing or two.”
Before I c
an think better of it, I touch the side of his face, lightly trace the scar below his ear. “Is that how you got this?”
“Yeah,” is all he says, as he presses his credit card to a spot beneath my bra. “This might hurt.”
“It already hurts,” I say and pinch my eyes shut. He scrapes the card over my flesh, and I chew on my bottom lip to stop myself from whimpering. I might be a pampered city girl, but I’m a farmer now, so it’s time to pull on my big girl panties—figuratively speaking. I only own small lacy ones. He removes the stinger, and I have to say, it hurts just as bad coming out as it did going in.
“You’re tough,” he says, and I open my eyes to see the frank admiration in his gaze. My pulse leaps as his praise does the strangest things to me. My chest expands a bit, a reaction to the compliments. I’m about to respond, deflect because I’m not sure what to say, but he speaks first. “Tyler cried like a baby when he got stung.”
“I’m sure you never let him live that down,” I say.
He chuckles. “He was only six, so I cut him some slack.”
“You’ve been taking care of him for a long time,” I say, goose bumps breaking out on my body as he turns me until my back is to him.
“Not really. I just happened to be around when he stirred up the nest.”
He touches my back lightly and bends me forward. I gulp. Would he manipulate me like this between the sheets and caress me with calloused fingers that hold a great deal of tenderness?
“Are you cold?” he asks, his voice rough and gruff, like he’s seconds away from pinning me against the bathroom door and taking me.
Do you want that, Alyson?
Hell yeah, I want that.
Oh boy!
“I’m a little chilly,” I lie. It’s not the air conditioning giving me shivers.
“I’ll try to hurry.” He brushes the rough pad of his fingertips over the small of my back. I quiver, his touch distracting me from the pain. “But I don’t want to rush and hurt you.”
“You’re not hurting me,” I say, my voice a bit breathless. I can only hope he mistakes it for the condition I’m in and not for what his touch is doing to me.