Page 2 of Knight's Fall

She hated to admit that one huge reason she chose this house to rent — other than it was within her budget and her other options were limited — was the hunky man living in the house behind hers. The first time she toured her rental house, she looked out of the kitchen window to gauge the size of the back yard, and there he was. Dressed in jeans that hugged his thick thighs and firm ass, his thick mane falling in waves over his shoulders, he moved to add a pizza box to his trash can, and Courtlyn was certain it was the sexiest thing she’d ever seen. Until the next time she saw him. And the next.

But now tops the list.

And if he was to see her, or worse, smell her, he would never want anything to do with her. Not that he did now. In the months she’d been living in the house, he’d never spoken to her or even acknowledged her. He was even a regular at the diner where she worked, but since she stayed in the kitchen, her path never crossed with his. She may as well be invisible for all he cared.

She’d toyed with the idea of approaching him first when he was in his yard on the pretense that she was a new tenant wanting to get to know her neighbors, but she’d chickened out each time. Now too much time had passed for her to use the “new to the neighborhood” excuse. He was so far out of her league, she didn’t stand a chance of being anything more than a pesky nuisance to him.

She didn’t know his name. She thought she heard one of the older men who lived on his street call him by name, but it sounded like he said Winn or Finn and, for some reason, that didn’t seem right. So he remained Sexy Neighbor in her head.

Taking a peek around the side of the house, she watched him use his electric sander on the planks he secured to the back of his house. His deck was coming along, and soon he’d be finished and she would no longer have a reason to see him shirtless and sweaty. But for now, the noise from the power tool would drown out anything she would do, and his body was half-turned away from her. He wouldn’t notice her, and since her only other option was bothering her grumpy landlord, she decided to risk climbing in through the window.

She leaned forward enough to get a view of the bathroom window, a bit too high off the ground for her to reach, but she had a plan. With a quick glance back at Sexy Neighbor to make sure he was still oblivious to her presence, she scurried over to the large can required for garbage pick-up. With a slight tilt, she used the small wheels attached to the base to roll it over to the window. Positioning the garbage can where she could use the handle for leverage, she psyched herself up for what she had to do.

She hopped high enough to haul herself up to her knees on top of the can. The plastic bin rocked slightly against the uneven ground, and she held her body still until the motion stopped. Balancing on top of the garbage can, she stood, her eyes fixed on the open window. She could grasp the windowsill, but she didn’t have upper body strength to pull herself up.

She jumped, hoping to propel herself enough to climb inside. The sudden move rocked the receptacle until it tipped over. The lid flopped open from the force of hitting the ground. Courtlyn’s legs dangled in the air, a frustrated sigh escaping her lips.

Her frustration was replaced with fear as her sweaty hands slipped from the windowsill. She tried to gain a tighter grip but only succeeded in slipping. Her hands lost their hold, and she uttered a loud yelp as she started to fall.

“Ummpff!” Her drop ended abruptly as she was caught in a pair of strong arms and pulled against a sweaty muscular body. Her feet still dangled in the air, but she was wrapped in a tight embrace that made her feel safe – and embarrassed.

Because there was only one person who could have witnessed her predicament and rushed to her aid so quickly.

Sexy Neighbor.

Chapter Two

Courtlyn closed her eyes, a blush staining her skin from cheeks to toes. She was lowered to the ground as if she was a fragile statue. He withdrew his arms from around her ribs before she had the presence of mind to enjoy the feel of them.

As much as she wanted to turn around and confirm with her eyes what she knew was true, she couldn’t bring herself to face him. Not when he’d just caught her at her worst doing something incredibly silly.

“Uh, thank you. You know, for that. I, uh, I guess I should have…you know, used that non-slip chalk or something on my hands, like the stuff gymnasts use.” She released a nervous chuckle. “Or at least wait to attempt it until I had a net underneath me.”

“What the hell were you trying to do?”

The deep voice vibrated right through her, echoing through the quiet neighborhood. The booming volume and rich vibrato had her whirling around, forgetting her embarrassment. Icy blue eyes pierced hers, demanding an explanation, but her brain was too hazy to comply. Her mouth went dry as she ran her gaze over his aquiline nose, kissable lips, smooth, broad chest…

“You could have broken your damn neck!”

Her eyes snapped back up, blinking the lust-induced haze from her eyes. “You don’t have to yell. I’m standing right here.”

Her mouth popped open in an oval at her cheeky response. Not exactly the way she wanted to make a first impression on Sexy Neighbor, but his raised pitch in such a close proximity left her ears ringing.

A humid breeze rustled over her skin and stirred her ponytail, and her skunky stink wafted up in a putrid nasal assault. She took a couple of steps back, hoping he didn’t catch a whiff of her odor.

“Look, thanks for catching me and keeping me from breaking my neck. I really appreciate it. I must have looked like a lunatic, but I had a good reason for…uh, for what I was doing. See, I was running, and my hands were sweaty. I got my key, but it slipped out of my hand. It fell between the boards on my porch — well, I don’t think it’s really big enough to be a porch, but it’s that space at the front of the house. Stoop? Veranda? No. Well, anyway, I can’t exactly get to my key because it would mean crawling under the house, and the crawl space is tiny. And I really need to get inside. I—well, I just need to. So, you know, since you’ve already come to my rescue once, maybe you can do it again, and give me a boost up. I can climb through the window, and you can forget we even had this conversation.”

After the rush of words fell out of her mouth, she drew in a deep breath. Sexy Neighbor’s face showed no emotion, and Courtlyn wondered how much more embarrassment she’d have to endure in front of this man. He may not have noticed her before, but he surely would ignore her after this.

“I know it’s a strange request, but it will only take a second. Just one quick alley-oop. Easy peasy. No muss, no fuss. One, two, three, and you’re done.”

For the love, shut up,she silently chastised herself. The mindless chatter was a nervous habit of hers, and most times she could control the word vomit. But this gorgeous man —definitely the silent type, but oh, so hot —left her too flustered to stop the show of anxiety.

It really should be illegal to be so hot. I mean, how can anyone function with guys looking like him walking around all shirtless and sweaty and perfect? He’s so damn perfect, a skunk would be too infatuated to spray him. Even after working all morning on his deck, he probably doesn’t smell at all. He—

“Wait here,” he ordered, his tone lower but nonetheless devastating.

He reached down to lift up her garbage can, but instead of righting it, he dragged it behind him as he walked to his house. Depositing the can by his deck, he disappeared inside and left her gaping after him.

---