“That’s the only one you’re getting,” Ian said. “Thirty-two cookies to start. Three were eaten by me. One by Orion.”
“Thanks for keeping score, Dad.” Orion finished the cookie in two bites, which had Sage wondering how many bites it would take him to consume her.
Most likely none. She’d surely melt at his feet before he could bite anything.
****
So, yeah. The cookies were good, but Orion was more interested in what Sage tasted like. After he’d gone to bed he’d thought of Sage all night long, despite Adriana’s voice message that had turned his mood sour. He’d barely made it through the morning waiting for Sage to arrive. He’d almost slipped back into his foul mood, but she was here now and stunning in a tie-dyed tank top, denim shorts, and…
And work boots?
Jesus. His body almost couldn’t take the hormonal rush of seeing those amazing legs of hers support themselves in a pair of scuffed-up, broken-in, brown work boots. He had a sudden urge to strip her down to nothing but those boots.
“What?”
Her voice snapped him out of the fantasy, and he met her deep green gaze.
“Huh?”
“What are you staring at? Did you have a seizure or something?” She grinned as if she knew exactly what had happened.
“Maybe. I love the work boots.” He glanced toward his father who was still engrossed by the cookies and now wandering around the shop humming as he nibbled.
“An afternoon in the workshop calls for work boots, does it not?” Sage peeked at Ian too.
“We don’t exist to him right now.” Orion slid his hands around Sage’s waist and pulled her closer.
“Excellent.” Her smile grew to full strength and a weak-kneed feeling spread through Orion’s legs.
“Good diversionary tactic with the cookies.” He lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers, but that wasn’t nearly enough. Not by a fucking long shot.
As he parted his lips and she readily accepted his advance, Orion wanted nothing more than to abandon any intentions to carve wood. He wanted only to scoop this beautiful woman into his arms, haul her into the house, and make love to her until they’d both be ruined for anyone else but each other.
Where did that thought come from?
He didn’t care where it had come from. He’d had it and it was truly what he wanted. When Sage made a tiny pleading noise while they kissed, the world around him sloughed away. Nothing else existed right then but the two of them and the sparks they were lighting.
“How long are you going to do that?” Ian asked.
Sage ended the kiss, and Orion groaned.
“I was planning to do that for at least three days straight,” he said to his father.
Ian put on his contemplative face. “You couldn’t do that for three days straight. Not really.”
Sage giggled. “I wouldn’t be so sure, Ian. He’s pretty good at it.” She swiped one of her own cookies and bit into it.
“Hey!” Ian said. “These are mine.”
“They were mine first,” Sage said with a wink. God, the way she toyed with Ian was priceless.
Ian stared into the basket. “I guess you’re right. They didn’t exist before you made them.” He held the basket out to her.
Orion stuck his hand in and stole another cookie for himself.
“They were never yours.” Ian brought the basket close to his chest again. “Were they, Sage?”
“Nope. Made them special just for you.” She rubbed his forearm and shot a playful glance to Orion.
“Real neighborly, Miss Stannard.” Orion swatted her fine ass.
“Maybe I have something else for you, Mr. Finley.” Her blonde eyebrow rose over an eye so green it made Orion think of the Vermont summer woods. Vibrant and alive.
“What do you have for him?” Ian asked.
Sage’s cheeks pinked and Orion couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled out of him. She shoved him square in the chest and he stumbled back a few steps, still laughing.
“Yeah, Sage,” he said. “What do you have for me?”
“You’d better stop or I’ll give it to someone else.” She pointed an accusing finger at him.
In three steps he was directly in front of her. “Don’t you dare.”
“Possessive much?” She traced the lettering on his T-shirt with her index finger.
“It’s a quirk of mine, yes.” He grabbed her finger then held her whole hand.
“Good to know.”
She didn’t appear to mind that perhaps he was the possessive type. Not that he was the possessive type. He wasn’t any type at all. Well, maybe the avoiding type.
But Sage is changing that.
He wasn’t sure how, but he felt it. Inside him. Deep down. She was transforming the way he thought, the way he responded, the way he breathed. Being around Sage loosened the tight knots that had been in his shoulders since Adriana had divorced him and taken Myah away. She made his chest ache less. She gave him hope that things would turn out fine in the end.
Be careful.
He heard the warning in his head, acknowledged it, and filed it under Too Late in his brain. He was in deep and without an urge to climb out of whatever it was. In fact, going deeper sounded perfect to him.
“Dad, you probably need some milk for those, don’t you?” he suggested.
“Milk! Yes!” Ian put the basket down, a new task filling his brain now. Orion watched to make sure he went into the house. He could see his father through the kitchen window and knew they had at least five minutes before Ian reappeared.
“Tell me you have no other plans for today,” he whispered while corralling Sage back into his arms.
“None that I can think of.” She backed them up to the workbench.
“Good.”
He changed places with her and in one swift move, he lifted her to sit on the workbench.
Oh, yeah. This is a great idea.
Sage immediately opened her legs so he could step between her knees. She locked her ankles behind him and drew him closer. Her hands ran along his shoulders, up his neck, into his hair. If she kept touching him like that, looking at him as if he were the last cookie in the basket, he was pretty sure he’d lock the workshop doors and let Ian fend for himself on the outside.
“My meeting this morning took forever,” she said. “Usually I enjoy meeting with catering clients, but today,” she stopped to press a kiss to his lips, “I just wanted to get here. To you.”
Those words shouldn’t have meant anything to him. They were just words and he knew how quickly words could change meaning and hurt like hell. Sage’s sounded genuine though. As if they came from her heart, not from some deep, soulless dungeon.
“I’m glad you’re here now.” He rested his hands on her thighs, loving the muscles he felt there as if she’d spent years hiking in the woods, which she probably had.
“Me too.”
“I brought milk for all of us.” Ian entered the workshop, carrying a tray with three half-full glasses. His blue eyes focused on the glasses as if his gaze was the only thing keeping them from dumping all over the place. With shaky hands he set the tray down on the workbench. He spent a moment looking at his hands as if he weren’t in control of them.
“The medication he takes makes his hands shake sometimes,” Orion said. “And that makes him nervous.” He stepped away from Sage, hoping to head off an episode. “Thanks for the milk, Dad.” He passed a glass to Sage and took Ian’s hands in his own, steadying the older man. “Look at me.”
Ian raised his head, but his eyes showed signs of panic.
Uh-oh.
Taking a breath, Orion was about to go into rescue mode, but Sage beat him to it.
“Milk is one of my favorite drinks, Ian.” She took a long swig then hopped off the workbench, her boots making a solid pop on the wood floor of the shop. Hooking her hand around Ian’s elbow, she guided him to the two stools they had been sitting on earlier. “Let’s sit and watch Orio
n. All this cookies and milk silliness is keeping him from his work.”
Ian paused for a moment as if maybe he wasn’t going to sit, and Orion held his breath. If this blew up, he’d have to ask Sage to go home. Getting Ian over an episode—though he didn’t have them often—could take a while.
Sage sat on one stool and patted the one next to her. “Come on.”
Ian shuffled toward her and slid onto the stool. He bent his legs to rest his feet on the bottom rung and placed his hands on his thighs. When he looked at Sage and a huge smile stretched across his face, Orion wanted to fall at Sage’s feet and worship her.
Later. Definitely.
“You are a goddess,” he whispered, dropping a kiss on her temple.
“This is true.” She pushed him toward the waiting stumps. “Now get to work.”
“Yeah, get to work.” Ian chuckled beside her.
“You heard the man,” Sage said. “Off you go.”
“You guys are tough.” Orion saluted them both and grabbed his earplugs and safety glasses while Ian and Sage plugged their ears.
Feeling a little on display as he reached for the chainsaw, he glanced back. Ian had moved his stool closer to Sage and they were giggling over something.
Probably have sawdust on my ass.
He swiped his hand across his backside just in case, which made Sage and his father laugh even harder. Deciding that his father laughing was a good thing no matter the reason, Orion pulled the cord on the chainsaw and pressed the trigger until the blade whirred angrily.
Focus on the bears.
He had to get his head off the smoking hot woman who had expertly charmed his father—and him—and pay attention to what he was doing. No worse pairing than a distracted mind and power tools with blades. That was how a guy lost fingers.
Concentrating, he visualized the bears in his mind. He’d made sketches when he’d first been contracted for the job, but in typical fashion for him, he hadn’t consulted them since doing the drawings. He could merely conjure what the finished product should be and go at it.
Go at it.
Three words he rather liked at the moment. Only the it he wanted to go at had nothing to do with pine or chainsaws or carved bears. The it had more to do with feelings and physical responses and one sexy chick currently sitting on a stool watching his every move.
Time to give her a show.
Revving the chainsaw, he held it above his head like Jason in the Friday the 13th movies and attacked the stump. Big chunks fell to the floor as the second bear took shape. He switched saws twice to get into the smaller and smaller details of the bear. Soon, he was consumed with creating this bear. All his attention was zeroed in on his work.
Well, almost all his attention.
Chapter Fourteen
Sage looked up when Orion came into the living room. “Is your father asleep?”
“Yes. Though he did want to know what we were going to do while he was asleep.” He sat beside her on his couch and rested his right leg on the coffee table. A crease formed between his dark brows for the briefest of moments, but when he looked at her, it was gone.
“What did you tell him?”
“I said we were going to play Scrabble.”
Sage clamped her hand over her mouth to stifle her laugh. “Is that what you want to do?”
“N-O.” He spelled the word out. “I’m a much better kisser than I am a speller.” He leaned forward and caught her bottom lip between his teeth. Nipping playfully, he pulled her hair free from the loose ponytail she’d put it in while they’d eaten a quick dinner of grilled cheese sandwiches and potato chips. Ian had insisted on pickles as well.
“You are a pretty good kisser,” Sage said as she climbed onto his lap, straddling his waist and being careful of his bullet wound. “Besides, I would have kicked your fine A-S-S at Scrabble. I’m an excellent speller.”
“I’m sure you’re excellent at a lot of things.”
“Wanna find out?” Without thinking too hard so she wouldn’t talk herself out of this, she pulled her tank top off.
Orion’s pupils doubled in size, only a thin rim of blue showing. He made a move to touch her, but hesitated, an internal conversation evident on his face.
“Orion.”
He met her gaze, uncertainty in those gorgeous eyes.
“I’m scared too, you know. I choose terribly when it comes to men. Ask Rick. He’s got a list of my past failures. Only he titles the list Men I Will Kill If They Show Their Faces Anywhere Near Sage.” She smiled thinking about the actual file her cousin had on his computer with names and addresses should he need them. “Probability would suggest that you’re going to turn out to be a jerk.”
Orion chuckled softly at that. “I’m not a jerk.”
“Good. And I won’t hurt you. I promised.” She cupped his cheek and ran her thumb over his bottom lip.
Nodding, he traced a finger along the tops of her breasts peeking out from her bra—the forest green bra with the lace trim she’d bought as a holiday gift to one of those previous failures. He’d said the bra was an “Erection Guaranteed” bra, and they’d had a successful romp between the sheets, but Sage had only classified the encounter as mediocre. When there was no spark, there was no spark. You couldn’t force it, but she hoped the bra did spark something now with Orion.
“You are so beautiful, Sage.” He buried his face in her hair and wrapped his arms around her. “And you smell like pine from being in the shop all day.”
“Tell me you adore that smell.”
“I do, but you could smell like burned broccoli and I’d still want you.”
“My, my. The things you say.” She started with a kiss to his left eyebrow, then his nose, then his right cheek, ending finally at his mouth. His glorious, delicious mouth. The stubble around his lips and on his chin scratched against her skin, and she felt as if she were a match being lit with a slow, steady stroke.
Orion pulled his legs off the coffee table, put his hands on Sage’s bottom, and stood in one fluid motion that got her super turned on in an instant.
“You opposed to going outside to the workshop?” His voice was a husky whisper that stroked her most female of parts.
“I’ll go anywhere with you.”
What? Anywhere? It sounded nuts, but at the same time it made sense to her. Watching him carve for most of the day had been like watching porn. Fantastically sexy, lumberjack porn. When three life-sized bears emerged from those massive stumps, she’d been overwhelmed by Orion’s talent. Of course, she’d seen his work before. The moose she and her mother loved at the rest stop had always been a marvel to them.
Seeing the creator in action though? Well, that had been an exceptional treat. One she wanted to enjoy again. Soon.
He’d gone on to paint one of the bears and again, she had been blown away by his skill. Mixing colors, layering them, creating texture and shadow and dimension. He was a master.
When he’d let her help him paint the second bear, being in that workshop with him shot to the top of her Favorite Things to Do for an Afternoon list.
She had a feeling what was to come next might knock that to a close second.
Orion set her down so he could open the back door, but he backtracked into the kitchen and grabbed what looked like a small white walkie-talkie.
“Baby monitor.” He wiggled it as he grabbed her tank top and handed it to her. “So I can hear my dad.”
Had she ever been in the presence of a sweeter man?
Not even close.
After she slid back into her tank top, he ushered her out the door and onto the porch. The night was warm and fragrant.
“Is that roses?” she asked as she paused on the back steps to sniff the air.
“Yeah. Dad likes to garden. It keeps him calm. He actually won a prize once for the roses growing along the porch there.” Orion pointed into the darkness.
“Well, you Finley men have many layers, don’t you?” She followed him down the steps.
>
“Nah. We just like to be busy.” He pulled open the workshop door, turned on the overhead fluorescent lights, then closed the door quickly after Sage scooted in. “Don’t want to let the mosquitoes in. In about two minutes, you’re going to have quite a bit of flesh exposed.” He grinned and Sage was completely ready to shed everything she wore.
After setting the baby monitor on the workbench, he pulled down three small lantern-style flashlights and turned them on to a dim setting. He flicked off the overhead lights and the soft glow that came from the lanterns was perfect.
“I’d light candles, but there’s a ton of wood in here,” he said.
“Understood. This is perfect.” She could hardly believe how perfect. She’d been on many dates and had a good amount of sex. Not once would she have predicted that a workshop would be the setting for her next… her next… what should she call this? It was definitely more than a romp. More than scratching an itch.
Deciding not to puzzle over this and what it all meant, she watched as Orion opened a chest and pulled out two sleeping bags. He spread them out on the wood floor, layering them so as to provide ample cushioning.
“Awfully Boy Scout-ish of you,” Sage said.
“Be prepared.” He gave her a smile that curled her toes. “Myah, Ranger, and I used to camp out in here sometimes to get away from…” His voice trailed off and he shook his head. “Anyway. I hope these accommodations are acceptable or do you want your money back?”
“No refunds needed.” She eased down onto the sleeping bags and leaned back on her elbows. “Now where were we?”
“You were half naked. That much I remember.” He kneeled beside her and tugged on the bottom hem of her tank top.
“Right.” She peeled the shirt away. “Now you?”
“Only seems fair.” He shed his T-shirt, and Sage sat up.
“Chainsawing apparently provides a healthy workout.” She glided a finger along the exposed bicep of his left arm, loving the feel of the firm muscle.
“And for a woman who cooks for a living and eats like you do, you don’t appear to have an ounce of extra fat on you.” He unbuttoned her shorts, but splayed his other hand on her stomach. His shortened pinkie finger circled around her belly button causing her to arch closer. “What’s your workout routine?”
More Than Cookies (The Maple Leaf Series) Page 13