Page 88 of Burn for You

I’m asking you to.

Jesus, I was aching for it even more than she was, but I won’tkeep doing this to myself, or to her. I don’t want to toy with her emotions, and I don’t want her to toy with mine. Because as much as she says this is just sex for her, we both know it’s not, even if she’s not ready to admit that yet.

But until she is, we need to keep things PG.

I shake my head, ridding my mind of the thoughts and focusing on what’s in front of me. Today is about getting the walls sanded and prepped for painting next week.

While my nonna taught me to cook, my dad taught me to build when I was young, and he taught me to do everything with my own hands.Why should you pay someone else to do something you can learn to do yourself? he used to say.

When I got Nonna's house renovated, I didn’t do one bit of it myself. Builders were coming in and out for months, but this place? I wanted to do this myself.

I look over at Nico, and he’s just staring into the empty space, grieving. “Well, are you going to help, or are you just going to stand there like a stunned dog?”

…

“Boss!”

I turn off the sander and look over at Nico beside me. His eyes are wide. I yank the mask down off my face. “What now?”

His eyes just flick sideways. I follow his gaze to see May standing in the middle of the room with two coffee cups in hand.

She gives me a small smile, and she looks like an angel. Her skin is glowing against the dust that is flying around the room. I can’t help but rake my eyes down her body.

It’s getting colder here in Ruby Cove. The sun still shines bright in the sky, but the ocean breeze carries a chill at this time of year. May is wearing a plush, cream-colored sweater paired withjeans that hug her thighs like a dream. I have to hold myself back from asking her to turn around so I can see the back.

I bring my gaze back up to her face, but she’s not looking at me. Well, not my face. Her eyes are glued to my chest. I took my shirt off hours ago, and my body is now coated in a layer of dust from the sanding.

I’ve never had to wonder if May finds me attractive. It’s obvious. She’s one of those people who shows every single thought or emotion on her face, even if she doesn’t mean to. Right now, her face is saying she wants a rematch of Friday night. I smirk as I watch her clearly ogle me.

Nico clears his throat from where he stands to my left. “I somehow feel like I’m watching something I shouldn’t be.”

May’s eyes snap back up to mine, and when I expect her to blush, she just smirks at me before turning her attention to Nico. “Sorry, I don’t think we’ve met.”

I clear my throat. “May, this is Nico, my…”

“Right-hand man,” he says as he shakes her hand. I frown over at him. Not exactly what I was going to say, but alright.

“Nice to meet you, Nico. Rafael’s never mentioned you before.”

He cuts me an offended glare. “Funny that. He hasn’t mentioned you either.”

She holds one of the takeaway cups out to him. “Should we get to know each other? Fill in the blanks?”

“I would lo?—”

“Nico’s a bit busy.” I snatch the coffee out of her grasp before Nico can close his fingers around it. There’s no way I’m letting him steal the coffee that Vanessa clearly made for me.

“I’m not really. I’ve mostly been watching while you snap at me to do something,” he shrugs.

“Rafael!” May places a hand over her heart. “You really should treat your staff with more respect.”I narrow my eyes at her, and she just winks back at me, making my dick twitch.

“So, what are you doing here?” I ask cautiously. I haven’t seenher since the supply closet at Marina’s, and I don’t know what it means that she’s here now.

“I came to see if you needed any…help.”

“You help in that sweater and it’ll be gray by the time you walk out of here.”

She looks down at her outfit. “Yeah…poor planning on my part.”

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