Page 59 of Instinct & New Identity

“I’d like to get a few emails sent, butIcan do that while you take care of the firewood.I’dlike to walk the trails and see the property.Maybelook for some of those wildebeests this area is known for.”Iraised my brow knowingly at him.

He chuckled as he brought me some slices of bacon and plain toast.Weate in companionable silence.

An hour later, groceries were taken care of, andIwas sitting on one of the kitchen stools, sending emails to clients and getting my calendar squared away for the next month.

AsItyped, a loud cracking noise made me snap my head toward the window.Outside,IsawVincechopping wood, his movements effortlessly stealing my focus.BeforeIknew it,Iwas up and moving closer, unable to resist the scene unfolding before me and needing to get a better view.

He was bent over a large stump, positioning a chunk of wood on top.Thesun shone brightly, and though the day was mild compared to the recent cold, it couldn’t have been warmer than fifty degrees.Still,Vinceclearly felt the heat.Hewore cargo pants and an unbuttoned red-and-black flannel shirt, revealing his bare chest—broad, muscular, and utterly captivating.

AsIstood there, staring at the supreme display of masculinity,Iwas pretty sureIfelt my ovaries spontaneously combust.

Just then, his eyes found mine through the window.Aprovocative grin overtook his face as if he knew my impure thoughts.Ishook myself out of my stupor and returned to my seat.Ineeded to focus—on work, not onVince’sGreekgod statuesque body.

* * *

After his foray into lumberjack mode, we decided to walk the property soVincecould show me around.

“I know you were looking forward to hiking withRuthieandEllie, but hopefully this makes up for it a little,”Vincehad said.

It did.Mostlybecause the landscape was stunning.Therewere two narrow gravel trails that led through some beautiful forested areas full of pine trees.Thecreek was not very big, but it ran the entire length of the property.Ithad a rock and pebbled bottom, so it was crystal clear water, and the sound it made as we walked by was so peaceful.

We came back to have some dinner and had planned to just relax for the remainder of the evening.

I’d settled onto the couch with a book in my hands andHarryin my lap whenVincecame into the room saying goodbye to someone on the phone.

I looked up to see him wearing nothing but swim trunks.Hisglorious chest and arms were on full display.

“Your phone call go okay?”Iasked.

Parker had called him twice while we were out on the trail, soVincecalled him back since he assumed it was important.

“Yeah, they moved the court date up for one of my skips, and he wanted to go over a few things.Itold him we were up here andI’llmeet with him when we got back.”

I nodded, almost relieved that it wasn’t more bad news.

“Join me in the hot tub,” he suggested.

“I don’t have a bathing suit,”Icountered.

“Technically, you don’t need one since it’s just you and me up here, butIknew you’d say that, soIgrabbed the spare one my sister keeps up here,” he said, tossing small items of clothing in my lap.

I looked down at them, realizing it was a skimpy string bikini.Practicallyspeaking, the strings could be adjusted to accommodate different sizes, but the suit itself would not cover much.Thiswas two sizes too small—and that was being generous.Thisdefinitelywasn’t going to cover much up top, not to mention the bottoms would be like a perpetual wedgie every timeImoved.

“Vince, your sister is a few sizes smaller than me,”Ipointed out. “Thistriangle top would look like a single tortilla chip covering me.”

He snorted then grinned lasciviously at me. “Thendon’t wear it.Here’sa towel for you.Meetme outside.”Hetossed a towel in my direction and walked over to the door that led to the deck.

Normally,Iwould have just worn a sports bra and maybe some underwear, butIdidn’t bring the former, so it would be weird to wear my underwear with nothing on top.Igrappled with what to do but ultimately decidedIwanted to use the hot tub, soIput on the minuscule bikini, because it was better than nothing.Igrabbed a second towel from the hallway closet for good measure and tried to cover myself up as bestIcould.

I pulled my hair up into a high bun so it wouldn’t get wet, grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, and made my way to the door.

I finally walked over to the hot tub,Vincewas already sitting in it.Fullycovered up with a towel draped over my shoulders and another wrapped around my waist,Iset the water down on the table beside the hot tub.Iclimbed the few stairs up to the water then quickly removed the bottom towel and threw it on the table asIstepped into the water.

“What are you doing?”Vinceasked, likely curious about my weird behavior.

I didn’t respond right away but instead lowered myself into the hot tub with my towel still wrapped around my top half as long as possible untilIslowly sank into the water.ThenIset the top towel down on the table next to the other.

I looked atVinceto see him grinning at me as though he thoughtIwas cute but ridiculous.

---