Page 7 of His Tempting Angel

Lexi

Ilean against the door and suck in a deep breath. What the hell happened down there?

I touch my cheek and I swear I still feel his rough fingers touching my skin, warming me up.

I can’t breathe and I drop my hand to my chest, feeling my heart racing out of control.

The last couple of weeks have shown me what kind of man that Max is. He’s a soft-spoken man that seems as hard as granite but he’s a marshmallow underneath.

He loves his employees and he does treat everyone like family. I knew some of the stuff that he told me. I didn’t know about Sasha but it doesn’t surprise me in the slightest.

He’s a good man and every time he’s near me, my body pulses with need. If he wants me, I’m not sure that I’ll be able to say no.

But I don’t want to have to leave and if things don’t work out, what then?

I love this bar. Love the people I work with. Bryce is the daytime bartender and he’s a sweetheart. A twenty-one year old who’s barely old enough to drink but he has a smile a mile wide. People come in and talk to him and he just listens.

He’s an amazing listener. Then there’s Sasha and Mel. And the cook, Henry. The older guy is married to the love of his life for the last forty years and he’s always talking about his girl. It’s so damn sweet that it makes my teeth hurt.

I can only dream of having a man who loves me so much forty years from now.

My mind immediately jumps to Max. The big man makes me feel small and safe. At the same time my body heats every time he’s near me.

I’ve never been with a man but I know what it feels like to want one. And I want Max badly.

I step back when the wood door thumps under me. “Lexi? It’s me. Max.”

I huff out a laugh and open the door. “Max. I know what your voice sounds like. You don’t need to tell me it’s you.”

He grins and the smile pulls at the scars bracketing his cheeks. I can see them underneath his beard and I’m curious. I know that he was a firefighter and that a large fire caught him. He was burned. The whole town talks about how he was trapped trying to save a little boy. He got the boy out and then went back for the puppy he was crying about. That puppy didn’t make it.

They found the body of the puppy with Max when they pulled him out of the wreckage where the ceiling collapsed on him. It was a miracle that the guys managed to find him and pull him out.

I thank god every day that those guys found him because if they hadn’t? There are a lot of people that would regret that but none more than me.

He gave me a shot. A chance to find my own happiness in this town.

“I’ll just head on back and take a look at the hot water heater. It’s cranky and sometimes it just needs a little adjustment. Shouldn’t take me long.”

I follow him back and stand at the door of the utility room, leaning on the jamb. He looks up at me as he fiddles with something and digs in his toolbox.

“Did you need something, Lexi?”

Jesus, that’s a loaded question. But I just shrug.

He eyes me and then pulls a wrench out and starts tugging at something I can’t quite see. His teeth grind and he growls under his breath.

“Fucker.”

I grin.

“I’m glad you’re finding this funny, angel.”

“Nope. Just funny that you’re pissed at a little piece of metal but last Friday night when Clyde got drunk and broke up two chairs you didn’t say shit to him. Just sent him home in a car.”

He shrugs his broad shoulders and the flannel he’s wearing stretches over his broad shoulders until it looks like the seams are stretched to the max.

“Why would I? The guy just lost his daughter. If he wants to break up a few chairs? I understand. Hell, I want to break a few for him.”

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