Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 85565 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85565 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Here it was just me and the ocean and the sky stretching overhead, peppered with stars. I chuckled to myself: stars. Something else you didn’t see much of in the city. Even with the ambient light in the parking lot, constellations shimmered overhead.
Of course, that’s when the banging started up again. So much for the quiet peace of the night. I noticed an open door several rooms down from mine, light spilling out into the parking lot. As I made my way closer I could hear music playing, accompanied by the occasional soft mutter.
I peeked my head around the corner to get a glimpse inside.
Sawyer.
He stood with his back to me, dressed only in running shorts and work boots. As I watched, a bead of sweat made a wet trail down the center of his back. I wanted to lick it, to slide my hands over that beautiful expanse of slick flesh.
My dick stirred, memories of my earlier dream bombarding me, but I ground my teeth against the intrusive thoughts. Now wasn’t the time to remind myself about the recent sexual fantasy.
But it was impossible not to. Sawyer’s arm and back muscles shifted and bunched as he swung a sledgehammer at a wall that already looked plenty destroyed. He let out a grunt as his swing collided, crunching through old wallpaper and drywall. I glanced around. Construction debris littered the empty floor, and dust floated in the air. I wondered idly if there was any asbestos to worry about, but my brain immediately dismissed the concern the moment Sawyer turned in my direction, revealing damp chest hair and a treasure trail leading to shorts so low, I thought I could see the top of his pubic hair. My thoughts skittered to a stop, and my mouth went dry.
“Shit, did I wake you?” He actually sounded genuinely concerned.
I blinked, forcing my gaze from his crotch up to his face. From his knowing smirk, I’d been caught red-handed looking at his junk. “Um, what? No. I mean…” Well, he had woken me; whether it was the dreams of him or the noise didn’t make much difference. I shook my head. “It’s fine. What are you doing? It’s like three in the morning.”
He shrugged. “It’s the only time I have to get work done. The bar didn’t close until after one, and I have desk duty tomorrow at seven since it’s Ana Lucia’s day off.”
I stepped carefully inside and took a closer look at the gutted room. Wires hung from massive gaps in the ceiling. Old, yellowed wallpaper clung to bits of broken drywall on the ground. And now there was a fairly new hole offering a view into the room next door. It looked like there were stacks of construction materials in that room, lumber and boxes of new fixtures.
“No offense, man, but this room looks too far gone for cosmetic repairs. You might be better off—”
He interrupted me. “I’m renovating it.” His tone was defensive but firm.
I looked around again, trying to make sense of what he was saying. Even if his family had the money to refurbish the inn, it was a complete teardown. It wasn’t the kind of project where single-room renovations would do the job.
I wanted to ask him why even bother, that it was a fool’s errand, but then I noticed the hard set of his jaw. Instead, I said, “How can I help?” The words were out of my mouth before I’d even considered them.
His eyes went wide with surprise, then narrowed with suspicion. “Don’t you want to go back to sleep?”
“Not likely with the racket you’re making,” I said, gesturing toward the sledgehammer.
A muscle twitched along his jaw. “If you prefer I can wait until morning,” he said through ground teeth. “You are a paying guest after all.”
I waved a hand. “I’m already awake, and I’m not much of a sleeper anyway. It’s how I made it to the top of my class in law school. Much easier to best your opponents when you’ve got extra hours in your day.”
His eyes dropped to my bare chest and seemed to linger for a moment. Was he checking me out? I felt my shoulders straighten at the attention. They deflated seconds later when he said, “You sure you’re up for it, old man?”
“I’ll show you who’s old,” I growled, stepping forward and grabbing the first tool I could find. It was a wooden ruler. Not exactly the best tool to prove my point.
A smile played around the edges of his mouth, and I realized he’d been joking with me. I didn’t know why it suddenly mattered to me that he allow me to help. It wasn’t like I had to prove anything to him. And it certainly wasn’t necessarily in the best interests of my client. Not that it hurt my client either—whatever Sawyer was working on wouldn’t change things. There was too much money at stake for his uncles to reject the deal.