Hunks, Hammers, and Happily Ever Afters (55 page)

"Alex, you okay?" Junior Dolan appeared at my other side, his forehead creased into a frown of concern.

I nodded and gave him a grateful smile as Wade pulled me close enough to him that the heat of his body seared me through my jeans.

"Be right back," Dolan murmured.

With a grateful nod, I eased myself out of Wade’s arms and gave both my ankles a test drive. But for a small twinge in one, they were fine.

"You sure you’re okay?" Wade gave my arm a gentle squeeze and in return, I gave him a reassuring smile and another nod.

"I’m fine. Thanks! Now, for the last time, how’s that kid doing?"

Wade slowly shook his head. "I don’t know who was more scared, me or him. He was just lying on the ground squalling like a baby. I know he took at least ten years off my life. I’m real sorry I ruined your evening, Lexi."

Wincing at the reference to Lexi, I eased myself down into a chair. "Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you called."

I’d no sooner gotten comfortable when an angry redhead came flying out of the cubicle, her tall and tanned counterpart hard on her heels.

"What’s the kid’s name?" I hissed.

"Jeremy."

Nodding, I stood up and crossed the small space, reaching them about the same time Junior did.

"How’s your son?"

"How’s Jeremy?" we asked, stumbling over each other.

"How’s your insurance?" the obviously fuming redhead countered. Hell, she was practically foaming at the mouth. "First thing tomorrow morning we’re calling our lawyers!"

"I can assure you, that won’t be necessary," Junior said, "We’ll cover his medical bills."

"From where I’m standing, it
is
necessary," tall and tanned countered. "Our son could have died on that construction site!"

"We understand that, sir, and we understand you have every right to be upset."

"Damned right we do!"

"But consider this." I forced myself to speak up despite worry for Jeremy, which they’d never addressed, and my boiling anger. "Your son and his friends were warned more than once to stay out of our construction site."

"So now it’s our fault?" Jeremy’s mother’s face almost matched her hair.

"Of course she’s not saying it’s your fault." Junior rested a calming hand on my shoulder as if he knew just how angry I was.

"Of course it’s not
your
fault! Though I do wonder where you were the four times I warned your son and his friends to leave. All documented, I might add, and with witnesses."

"Are you threatening us?" the father demanded.

"No sir. We’ll be happy to cover your son’s medical expenses, but if you sue Dolan Industries, those four warnings and the flooding the site experienced last weekend, that I
did
report to the police, will all come into play. Your son and his two friends will be required to testify, and if it comes out that those boys are responsible for causing
thousands
of dollars in damages, there could be criminal charges filed against him." I smiled serenely and let my words hang in the air between all of us, pleased when the redhead deflated and her husband followed suit.

Finally, the doctor emerged, announcing that someone from orthopedics would be down to take Jeremy upstairs and cast his leg. Dr. Reaves left to attend other patients, leaving Jeremy in the care of a nurse—and his parents, who disappeared back inside the cubicle with tails tucked between their legs.

Turning, I smiled at Junior and held out my arms. "Anything else?"

"I am so glad you were here," he said softly.

"You can go on home, Junior." I felt funny calling him Junior when he was at least ten years older than me. "I’ll stay and take care of the hospital paperwork."

Junior turned to Wade. "You’ll stay with her and do a report on what happened, and then follow her home in case Hal shows up. I don’t think he will, but I fired him and he’s liable to try and take it out on you."

"I will
definitely
see her home and make sure everything’s okay." Wade draped an arm around my waist and gave me a squeeze.

While I walked down to the cafeteria for coffee, Wade called his guys to make sure they’d secured the site. They’d come in early and we’d do their reports on the accident. Which meant I’d end up working tomorrow whether I wanted to or not. By the time I got back, Wade had found a seat and stolen a pad of legal paper from somewhere.

"You okay?" I fell into the chair beside him and handed him a Styrofoam cup. He looked like hell.

"Yeah." He accepted the cup with a smile. "Sorry again for ruining your evening."

"You didn’t ruin my night. To be honest, it’s been a long week and I didn’t really want to go."

A nurse appeared and handed me a ream of insurance forms to fill out. Luckily I knew most of it by heart and what I didn’t know she assured me I could return with tomorrow.

"You were right," Wade said once she’d gone.

"About?" I propped the clipboard on my knee and started filling in all the little boxes.

"Us. This was a bad idea."

"More like ‘good idea, bad timing’."

CHAPTER NINE

By the time we left the hospital we’d somehow come to a silent understanding that Wade was staying the night at my house. I’m not sure how it happened and I’m not sure I cared. I wasn’t quite ready to let go of him yet and the feeling was mutual.

Inside the house I dropped my keys and purse on the hall table and turned to face him. "Is this good timing or bad?"

He wrapped his arms around me and covered my lips with his, his tongue performing a sensual exploration of my mouth that I felt in the pit of my stomach. Heat radiated outward, pooling between my thighs and making my knees weak. I came up for air and took his hand, leading him down the dimly lit hallway to my bedroom where we silently stripped each other and fell on the bed, all hands and tongues as we found the spots we knew turned each other on: Wade’s extra-sensitive nipples, the base of my spine he trailed his fingers across, the wet heat between my thighs that I spread, unconsciously begging him to fuck me.

More than anything I wanted to feel him inside me. I stretched out on my back and reached for his cock, running a finger across the tip and licking his precum off with a smile. The silk quilt cooled my fevered skin and made my nipples stand straight up in the chilly room.

"Don’t tease me." I reached between my own thighs and stroked myself, sighing with pleasure at my wetness, at the feel of my clit swelling under my fingers.

He swatted my hand away and buried his face between my thighs, lapping and suckling at my clit until I wanted to scream. Until his mouth and my hips settled into a rhythm that I knew would only satisfy me temporarily. My hips arched off the bed while overhead, the fan spun in a lazy circle, feathering my overheated skin with a cool lazy caress.

While Wade’s tongue teased and tormented, my hands skimmed across my ribcage to pinch my nipples. Little darts of pleasure zinged to the clit he was worrying with his teeth, and my heavy breathing and sharp moans filled the air as I came.

He settled between my thighs and stroked me with his cock before finally sliding home with a satisfied grunt. I grinned up at him, still working to catch my breath.

"You do realize—" he pulled out and slid home again, "—we just did this last night."

"Nope, you didn’t go down on me last night." I locked his hips between my legs and wrapped my arms around his shoulders.

"There is that." A groan rumbled deep in his chest as he sank into me again, his face tense with concentration.

I urged him on, meeting every thrust and watching intently as his control deserted him in a climax that left him clinging to me.

~*~

T
he sun burning through my eyelids woke me up the next morning. Wade was gone, but I had no clue when he’d left, and I’d overslept. I didn’t even have time to think about
why
he’d left. I had a ton of paperwork to do.

I pulled into the parking lot of the construction site mid-morning and slid out of the truck with two dozen donuts and a cup of coffee. The site was eerily quiet but for the rhythmic sound of the nail gun, the occasional burst of male laughter and a radio playing Cuban music from somewhere inside the building. Stepping out of the mid-morning heat, I slipped my sunglasses off with a free finger and looked around.

Despite having to work a Saturday, and the previous night’s accident, things were going well, judging from the smiles on their faces. One by one the nail guns stopped, and Carter, a tall skinny redhead took the donuts from me with a grateful smile.

"Thanks, boss lady."

"If you want, I can open up the trailer and make coffee," I offered.

"I’ve got a cooler full of soda in the back of my truck." Wade gave me a tired smile.

Two of the guys took off to get the cooler while the rest grabbed donuts and found a place to sit.

"You not eating?" Wade asked.

I shook my head and took another sip of my coffee. "I ate earlier. Guys, I’ll need to talk to everyone who was here last night; shouldn’t take more than a few minutes a piece."

One by one they all nodded, and then Carter spoke up, asking the question that was apparently on all their minds. "Who’s taking over now that Hal’s gone?"

A few guys clinked their soda cans together in a toast. Guess I wasn’t the only one happy about Hal leaving.

"I’m sure Junior will let us know as soon as possible."

Nodding, Wade said, "Come on. I’ll show you what we’ve got done."

I followed him, while carrying on an internal debate. Ask why he left, or no? What was he thinking behind those cool green eyes? Because they didn’t reveal a thing.

"We should be done early this afternoon."

"Need an extra hand?"

"Couldn’t hurt," he said with a smile that left me still curious.

As soon as I finished up my paperwork, I grabbed the hard hat out of the front of my truck and spend the rest of the morning holding sheetrock in place while Wade nailed it to the two by fours. Just when I didn’t think my shirt could soak up another drop of sweat, the nail guns around us stopped. I turned and stifled a groan at the sight of Jerry Dolan standing at the building’s entrance.

"I need to see you." Dolan gave me a once over, unaware that the bottom had just fallen out of my stomach at his terse tone.

I motioned for Carter to come take my place, and then followed Dolan outside where the muggy air only seemed to make my shirt wetter. Holding it away from my body, I gave it a good shake to cool my midriff.

Wade and I were busted. I knew it. And there was no way to warn him. It’d only confirm what Dolan obviously suspected. I couldn’t afford to lose my job. I had a house payment. Not to mention Dolan could get me blackballed from working construction anywhere in Texas. Fuck a duck.

I’d acted carelessly and I had to suffer the consequences all on my own. There’d be time to commiserate with Carlotta and Lanie later tonight. After I cleaned out my desk.

I followed him to his Navigator, my stomach a tight knot of nerves and too much coffee, scolding myself and Wade in my head for screwing at work. That had to be it. Hal had to have heard us and retaliated by telling Dolan. It wasn’t any less than I deserved. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I slid my sunglasses over my eyes to shield them from the bright afternoon sunlight. Dolan’s Navigator sat parked next to Wade’s truck. He motioned to the passenger side door and on heavy feet, I climbed in.

"Care for a cigar?" he asked once the doors were shut and the Navigator was started, so that frosty cold air filled the vehicle.

I’m about to be fired and...
"No thank you, sir."

"I would have been here earlier but I had a meeting over golf. I hate golf. In the good old days you just went out and built something. Now you gotta schmooze and grease palms to get anything done. Houston used to be a lady. Now she’s just a
whore
."

I winced at the word
whore
, despite the fact that he never took his eyes off of the half-finished building across the way. "What’s this about, sir?" I asked, wishing he’d just get it over with so I could go home and throw up. Then go get drunk with the girls.

"I like you, Alex. I really do, but I’ll be honest. I had serious reservations when Junior hired a woman.” He glanced in my direction. "You’ve proven me wrong more than once."

"Thank you," I murmured automatically, even though his words stung.

"I know there’s no love lost between you and Hal, and I wouldn’t have put you on the same crew if I’d had a choice...it’s a moot point now anyway," he added with a chuckle.

Fear mixed with a bit of annoyance gave way to mystification, and I frowned, trying to figure out what in the hell he was talking about.

He cleared his throat before he spoke again, "Sometimes my position requires me to go places that...to be frank, my wife would kill me if she found out about. Places like The Dollhouse."

Even as my own cheeks burned in embarrassment, he was kind enough to keep his focus on the scenery outside the SUV.

"I see," I said after I swallowed the lump of embarrassment in my throat.

"So, it was you."

I slowly crossed my legs and folded my hands in my lap as if needing some sort of modesty. "Yes...sir."

"I almost didn’t believe it." He chuckled again.

Snorting softly, I bit my lip and squeezed my eyes shut, not sure whether I wanted to die from embarrassment, howl with laughter or puke.

"Wade’s crew almost done with the sheetrock?"

"Yes, sir." I nodded slowly, wondering at the change of topics. "We’ve got most of it up, and they should be done with the tape and bed by Thursday or so."

"As soon as Wade’s crew is finished, I’ve got a new job for them. Next Monday a different drywall crew will come out to drop in the ceiling tiles. Make sure you’re ready for them. And I’ll have Junior see that you two don’t land on the same project again. Which shouldn’t be too hard since his isn’t the company’s only drywall crew, and you’ll be stuck here at the site for a while. I’m putting you in charge."