His long, thick fingers wrapped around my wrist causing me to become temporarily mute and paralyzed. My steps were halted and I stood frozen, speechless.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw, in a barely perceptible move, he dipped his chin, his voice was low and gravelly as he spoke, “For the record Princess, when I compliment you, you’ll know.”
Maybe it was the power of his touch, or maybe it was the fact that he was only inches away from me, or the heat, or the hunger, or maybe it was just him, but his simple statement hit me like a Cupid’s arrow dosed with sensual fire that shot straight to my heart, causing my head to spin as a tingle of awareness spread through me like an electric charge.
Before I could process the sensory overload currently happening in my body, Hud dropped his hand and turned. I watched his wide shoulders and broad back as he stalked in long strides towards the main house.
Damn. If this was how I felt when he didn’t compliment me, how in the hell was I going to be able to handle it if he ever did?
I didn’t know the answer to that, but I was sure hoping I’d get to find out.
Chapter 8
Hudson
“She could charm the dew off of a honeysuckle.”
~ Loretta Reed
Harmony took a significant swig out of the second water bottle that she’d pulled from the cooler. I watched, captivated, as she downed the entire contents in about the same amount of time it had taken her to finish off the first—less than thirty seconds. Over thirty ounces of water in under a minute.
“Thirsty?” I observed more than asked as I reached in to pull out bottle number three.
A loud smack sounded as she finished the contents. She set the empty container beside her before grabbing the one I’d just retrieved out of my hand. My eyes locked on the area where the smacking had originated. Her full, cherry red lips were wet, drawing me in like a magnet. They were always enticing, inviting and enchanting…but the glossy sheen that covered them now was so damn tantalizing I wasn’t sure how I was possibly going to get through the next thirty seconds, much less the next thirty minutes, without tasting them.
“Apparently I am.” Her words came out in a breathless pant as her slim fingers turned the cap. “I didn’t think I was, but that does seem to be the case.”
After a small sip from the third bottle she turned her attention to the food in front of her. I watched, unable to tear my gaze from her succulent mouth, wishing that I could shove aside the small cooler that sat between us and devour her. I was hungry, ravenous actually, and it wasn’t for the sandwich I’d made for myself.
She took a bite of the PB&J and then opened the bread and placed several chips in the center before eating the rest of it in four bites. Then, she alternated eating handfuls of chips and red grapes like she was in a speed-eating contest.
I ate at a normal pace, hoping that the hunger my lunch-mate inspired in me wasn’t written all over my face, because I sure as hell knew it was evident below the belt. Even as distracted as my hulked out hormones were, I couldn’t help but appreciate the amount of food Harmony was putting down and the unapologetic enthusiasm she was doing it with. She’d never been one of those girls that was embarrassed to eat in front of guys. I’d seen her eat more than men twice her size on more than one occasion.
I’d barely put the last bite of my sandwich in my mouth when she reached across the cooler and pointed at the second sandwich in front of me. “Are you going to eat that?”
Yeah. I was.
“It’s all yours.” I started to hand it to her, but she snatched it up before I had the chance.
“Thanks,” she mumbled, only after she’d taken a healthy sized bite.
People speaking with their mouth full had always been a pet peeve of my mom’s and I’d never thought it was a particularly attractive trait. But, seeing Harmony’s cheeks puffed out like a squirrel storing nuts for the winter as she thanked me might just go down in my books as the most adorable thing in the world.
My plan to keep my distance had been the right one. Now that I was spending time with her, I was discovering Harmony was more than what I’d already known, and, believe me, I’d been paying attention. In addition to being beautiful, smart, sexy, and funny, she was also nurturing, insightful and a hard worker. She was my ultimate fantasy come to life. I just had to remember that fantasies didn’t have a habit of becoming reality, and this one sure as hell wouldn’t.