Scowling at the scrap of paper with Jax’s name, she said, “I do not want to call you.” She felt Snickers pawing at her leg and she winced, easing her bare leg away from his claws. “Well, I don’t. The last thing I want to do is call that dickhead.”
Her dog just cocked his head at her. Shoulders slumping in defeat, she exhaled as she grabbed her cell and entered the number on the paper.
“Jax St. James.”
Shivering as his smoky voice crept down her spine, she felt herself get pissed off at herself. She was reacting to him, and he wasn’t even here in person. Mother trucker. How she could get turned on just by hearing him say his name on the phone, she’d never know.
“Hey. It’s Piper.”
“Piper?” he asked, voice losing its neutrality. “Is something wrong?”
“There’s something wrong with the water heater. I was taking a shower and it suddenly turned icy.” She paused and gritted her teeth before reluctantly saying, “I need help. I don’t know what’s wrong with it.”
“Of course,” he said instantly. “I’ll come over right away, if you’re planning on staying home.”
“That works. And… ah… thanks.”
“That was painful for you to say, wasn’t it?” he asked, and she could hear the grin in his voice.
“Just come over here and fix it,” she replied, ending the call.
Putting her phone on the counter and running her hand through her hair, she glanced down to see Snickers still staring at her.
“What? He doesn’t deserve for me to be nice.”
Rolling her eyes at herself, she went back to the bathroom to put her makeup on. She absolutely was not primping because Jax was coming over. She was just getting ready for the day. She had a grocery store run planned for later on, and she would have put makeup on after her shower for that anyway. None of this was for Jax.
Groaning when she saw her hair in the mirror, she grabbed her brush and ran it through the mostly dried strands, futilely trying to smooth out some of the waves that formed from letting it air dry. She wished she’d taken the time to blow dry it after her shower, because—
Enough. Who cared if her hair had some curl to it? She didn’t, and there was no one else in Eagle Creek who mattered. Her thoughts turned to a tall, dark, and muscled behemoth, and she groaned. This was not happening. She refused to care what he thought about her, and that was that.
Thirty minutes later, the faint sound of the doorbell echoed through the house just as she was slicking lip gloss on her lips. Taking a moment to check out her reflection in the mirror, she examined her shorts, her thigh tattoo peeking out from under the hem, and the snug grey t-shirt she was wearing. All good. Glancing up in the mirror one last time, she watched as she rolled her eyes at herself.
She wasn’t primping. Not at all. She just wanted to show Jax what he was missing, was all.
Nodding her head firmly, and ignoring the voice snickering inside her, she lightly ran down the stairs and peeked through the curtain covering the long window beside the door, making sure it was Jax. Her heart raced when she saw him, and cursing herself for a fool over her reaction, she opened it to let him in.
“Thanks for coming,” she said, gesturing him inside.
“Any time you need me, Piper, just say the word. I’ll be here. For anything,” he replied, voice husky and eyes burning into her.
Suppressing the images her mind supplied of the many ways he could be there for her, she shut the door behind him and turned, leading the way to the kitchen. Rubbing her hands over the goosebumps on her arms, she said, “The water heater is in the basement. It’s this way.”
“I know where it is. I’ve been fixing stuff in this house for three years, remember?” he replied, amused.
“Right,” she said, stopping in the kitchen. “I won’t go down, since you know where it is. Do you need any tools or anything?”
“There’s a tool box down there.”
Duh. She knew that. Avoiding looking at him again, she said, “All right then. Holler if you need anything.”
He hesitated, and she knew he wanted to say something more, but he finally made his way to the basement stairs with nothing more than a nod. Breathing out a sigh of relief, she opened the back door to let Snickers out, then grabbed a pen and paper to write down a grocery list. The only food in the house were a few dry goods, and while she knew how to bake, she never learned how to cook more than a few dishes, especially not on so little supplies.
After making out a fairly large list, she cast a look toward the basement stairwell, wondering at the curses and bangs she heard floating up. It didn’t sound good, but as much as she wanted to investigate, she decided to stay put. She hated to admit it, and she’d deny it to the death if asked, but she knew there was a large part of her that didn’t care about finding out what was wrong with the water heater. She just wanted to ogle Jax while he worked.
Since the last thing she needed was to give herself more material to fantasize about—not that she ever fantasized about Jax, of course—she let Snickers back in. Getting out his kibble, she poured him a bowl and gave him fresh water, watching as he dug in. The sound of boots climbing the stairs hit her ears, and she turned to call out a warning, but she was too late.
Not looking down, Jax was wiping his hands on a rag as his eyes sought her out. He was opening his mouth to say something when his boot knocked into Snickers’ food dish. She winced, expecting her dog to go after his boot, thankful it seemed sturdy and Jax wouldn’t feel the inevitable bite. But Snickers had other plans.