Page 42 of Housebroke

She took a few sips of water, then set the glass down on the nightstand. “Good point. We can shower later.”

She pushed him on the bed and climbed on top of him.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Linc was covered in sweat. The problem with working in Florida, especially a high-humidity environment like Orlando, was that even in the fall, it was still fucking hot. But he had work to do today, and despite the sweat pouring like a river down his back, he still had to lay flooring.

It didn’t help that every time he took a break to rest his back and knees and sat down, Gordon came over and plopped himself in Linc’s lap, his furry little body pressing against Linc’s sweaty jeans. But the dog went to sleep and started to snore, and Linc’s bottle of water was nearby, so whatever. He leaned against the wall and pulled out his phone to check in on what was going on.

There were a few emails from his investment company, so he answered those first. He was lucky to be able to work remotely, and he had a great staff who handled everything so he could be out here doing what he loved. He only occasionally had to be in the office to handle in-person business, which suited him just fine. He’d spent the first five years building his company up and hiring all the right people who could do the job without him looking overtheir shoulders. He trusted every single one of them to get it done, and so far it had worked out perfectly.

He frowned when he saw a group email from his two brothers and some lame suggestion about fixing Mom up on a date.

Warren seemed to think Mom was lonely and it was high time she started dating again. Eugene thought it was a good idea and made some suggestions for dating sites.

“Good God,” he whispered, shaking his head. He quickly answered with:No. Bad idea. Hopefully, that would put an end to it. If Mom wanted to start dating, he was certain she could find her own man without help from those two idiots Warren and Eugene.

“Comfy?”

He looked up to see Hazel standing there wearing her swimsuit cover-up. “As comfy as Gordon’s going to let me get. Taking a dip?”

“I thought I might. I was scrubbing bathrooms and got hot, so I thought I’d cool off in the pool. Care to join me?”

What he should do was finish this section of flooring in the living room. But what harm would it do to take a break? He was sweaty, after all. Maybe a cooldown would help motivate him.

You want to hang out with Hazel, don’t you? Maybe do a little kissing.

Hell yeah, he did. He got up and stretched. “I’ll meet you outside.”

Her lips curved. “Okay. I’ll make us some lemonade.”

“Sounds great.”

He went upstairs to wash off the sweat and changed into his board shorts, happy to be out of those jeans. He could wear shortsto work, but being on bare knees to lay flooring? Not his idea of a good time. He’d rather sweat.

He went outside and was immediately bombarded by the dogs, so he squatted down to give them all some love. He saw that Hazel had left a glass of lemonade on the table and smiled. He took a couple of swallows of the icy, sweet drink before heading over to the pool. Hazel was already in the water just floating around.

It actually felt better outside than it did in the house, even though the air-conditioning was in working order. Out here there was a nice breeze. Add in the water and this was going to be great. He dived right into the deep end, the cold water immediately refreshing him. He swam underneath the water toward the shallow end, surfacing alongside Hazel. He smoothed his hands over his hair and smiled at her.

“Better?” she asked.

“Much.”

“You were looking a little hot in there.”

“Just a little?”

She laughed. “Correction. You’re always hot. I meant you were sweating.”

“Yeah, I was putting in the work today, for sure. This break is nice. Even better is spending it with you.”

He put his arm around her and pulled her toward him. She immediately wrapped her legs around him and held on to him while he walked them around the water toward the shaded part of the pool. He quickly checked the dogs. Gordon and Lilith were underneath the palm tree curled up together, while Penny was asleep under the table on the porch. Freddie was digging upsomething in the far part of the yard. He made a mental note to fix the hole later. Right now he was more interested in the beautiful woman in his arms. He pressed her against the side of the pool, and she wrapped a cool, wet hand around the back of his neck, bringing her mouth to his.

Despite the coolness of the water, that kiss fired up every part of him to overheated levels. They’d only had that one night together a few days ago—so far. Then Hazel had seemed content to stay in her own room, which was fine. He didn’t want to pressure her for more, but the long, hot looks they shared every day were driving him mad.

And now, with her lips moving under his and her body undulating against him, all he could think about was touching her, getting her naked, and putting his mouth all over her.

He scooped her up in his arms and started to slide his fingers into the cup of her bikini top when he heard a distinct cough above them.

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