“Do I have to take my shirt off too?”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Only if you want to. But it does help. If I didn’t show some skin, I’d have to lower my prices.”

“Imagine how much you could charge if you did this naked.”

The comment caught me completely off guard. Andy, on the other hand, burst out laughing.

“I like you, Matty,” he said, patting him on the shoulder. “I know it probably wasn’t under great circumstances, but I’m glad you’re here in Shifter Grove.”

“The donuts are almost worth it,” he replied.

“Ouch. Backhanded compliments, too? Damn.”

“You can take it,” Matt said with a grin. “I have a feeling you like the abuse.”

Andy blushed a bit. “Don’t call me out like that!”

I couldn’t help smiling as I watched the pair of them. It was nice to see Matt opening up for once. He’d been so closed off since he’d arrived. Understandably of course, but I still liked seeing that smile on his face. In fact, I couldn’t wait to see a lot more of it.

Chapter Fourteen: Ace

It had been a few days since Matt’s first farmer’s market day, and I was happy to say that he was turning into quite the little farmer. Every morning, I heard the telltale crunch of bike tires in my driveway. Usually, he was wide awake and refreshed from the ride, but I could tell there was a little bit more than that going on. He always seemed just a little too eager to talk to me. Not that I would ever turn him down. His enthusiastic chatter filled my mornings with joy. He didn’t require an answer from me very often either, which suited me just fine. I was more than happy to listen to him. It was something he’d obviously been craving for a long time.

And, with each passing day, he got a better handle on the garden. He was already starting to make decisions on his own and he had a sharp eye for weeds. When he ran into something he hadn’t seen before or didn’t understand, he called me over, and we talked through what was going on. At one point, he found a strange green caterpillar with orange horns on the front of it and called me over. After reassuring him that it was a Swallowtail Butterfly caterpillar and not something that would poison him, we relocated it to a more suitable place and went back to caring for the plants.

Even though he spent the majority of his days at my place, we hadn’t been sexual with one another again. As much as I wanted to touch him again, I was more than happy to wait until it was on his terms. I had a feeling that our tryst the night of the full moon was not only unplanned but a bit of a shocker. The sex was great, but thinking about it afterward could lead to regret. I hoped Matt didn’t regret being with me. I knew I didn’t regret what we did. But I also knew that he was still in a delicate position, and his comfort was my number one priority. Whatever he decided was fine with me.

However, that didn’t mean I wasn’t turned on by him nearly all the time. It was hard not to be with his thick cinnamon scent, which grew stronger as he worked throughout the day. More than once, I had to try to hide my excitement. But I wasn’t the only one. There were plenty of times that Matt turned away from me when I caught him looking. And I definitely saw his hard cock snaked down the leg of his shorts more than once. In fact, I was fairly certain his shorts were getting shorter.

Without telling Sam, I’d been slipping Matt a little bit of money here and there for his help, along with some vegetables. I tried my best to make sure he had enough to eat while he was at the farm, and Sam had him covered for dinner. The first thing Matt did with his cash was get a haircut and go buy himself a few essentials in the clothing department. After that rogue wolf chewed up his stuff on the beach, he was in need of some new underwear.

But that meant Matt was now wearing shorter shorts and thin tank tops that showed off the beautiful curves and ridges of his body. He had a beautiful ass that filled out those shorts quite nicely. Not to mention, I was absolutely in love with his lithe form. He wasn’t muscular and overwrought like I was, but delicate and ropey, like a dancer. It was beautiful. And I especially liked how small he was. I’d always been partial to short kings.

It was one of these moments where I’d spaced out and was staring directly at Matt’s ass when he turned around and caught me red-handed.

“There’s uh… weed by your foot,” I said, completely unprompted.

Matt glanced down. “That’s a zinnia,” he replied.

“Is it?” I tried to pretend like I didn’t know that. I’d always been a bad liar. “My bad.”

Matt gave me a soft smile and went back to what he was doing.

“You about ready for lunch?” I asked, lifting my hat and wiping the sweat from my brow. “I’m burning up out here.”

“Sure. Just let me finish this little section.”

“I’ll go get things started.”

Leaving Matt to it, I walked back up to the house, thankful I didn’t have to hide the massive boner I was sporting. I was starting to stare a little too much lately if you asked me. It was getting obvious. Matt hadn’t said anything about it, and he kept on smiling, but I wasn’t sure if that was for my benefit or his own. All I knew was that I did not want to make him feel pressured. And that meant I needed to cool off a bit and get myself under control.

Back at the house, I tossed my hat and shirt to the side before stepping up to the spigot. I gave it a twist and the hose plumped as it filled with water. Without a second thought, I lifted the nozzle, placed it over my head, and turned it on.

I hissed loudly as the cold water struck my skin then streamed through my hair and down my body. The shock drove every other thought from my mind. The freezing water seeped into my thin shorts easily, soaking me down to the skin. Thankfully the sudden burst of cold caused my cock to retreat at last.

Once I was practically shivering, I turned the water off and hung the hose back on its hook. I shook out my hair, running my fingers through it to get it out of my face. When I turned around, I saw Matt standing there, staring at me with his jaw hanging open. One quick glance down showed me that not only was my tanned skin glistening with water, but my shorts were clinging to my cock perfectly, leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination. I might as well have been naked.

“Hungry?” I asked, my voice cracking.