WhiskeyBottleLover (12 page)

He ran his hands through his hair and then pinched the
bridge of his nose. “I’ve never met anyone like you.”

His words rocked her back on her heels. “Excuse me?”

“In a hundred years of bein’ shuttled around the earth, I’ve
never met anyone like you and I don’t know how to…” He spread his hands and
shrugged. “I just don’t know what to do.”

“It’s only food, Hayes,” she told him with a chuckle. And
awesome sex.

“But it’s not, Chance. Don’t ya see?”

He seemed agitated. His strange reaction confused her,
leaving her uneasy.

“I’m gonna go start stacking the wood.” With that he all but
ran out the door.

Okay, maybe two straight days without sleep started to get
to him. Nothing he said made sense and that’s the first time she saw him have a
mini breakdown. Interesting. Maybe they’d visit that little episode later.
Right now she needed to get dinner started.

They both worked at stacking the wood until she didn’t want
to see another stick. She had enough to get her through the winter and spring.
Hayes made it enjoyable though. He teased her about her weak arms, showed his
strength by picking her up and toting her around like a feather. Best of all,
they both laughed. He asked questions about current day events and she did her
best to explain them.

Occasionally he would tell her a distant memory about his
life before, but then got aggravated because he couldn’t remember clearly. She
felt for him. Her memories weren’t the best but she still had them. A blank
slate had to suck.

When they sat down to eat, he waited. She couldn’t refrain
from asking, “Why do you do that?”

He shrugged.

“Nope, you don’t get to skirt around the question. Answer me
or we both sit while the food gets cold.” It might not matter to him but she
was starving.

“I have to, Chance. I can’t help it.”

“You mean it’s part of the genie thing?”

“Yep. You’re my master and I can’t do anythin’ without your permission.
You eating first gives me permission to follow. Simple.”

“Simple but stupid. And don’t call me ‘Master’. I hate it.”
The word grated on her nerves. She didn’t see herself as anyone’s master. She
quickly took a bite and he followed.

“How long do you have before something bad happens if I
don’t make a wish?”

He tensed, put his fork down and sat back in his chair. “I’m
not sure but I’ll know it when the time comes.”

“Come on. A month, two months, ten years?” She secretly
hoped it would be much longer.

“I honestly don’t know. Why?”

This time she shrugged. “Curious.”

“You have a wish ready?”

Did she detect a note of disappointment in his tone? “No. I
don’t want you vanishing into oblivion either. If it comes to that I’ll make
some silly wishes.” He nodded but said nothing further. Over the next couple of
days she’d pump him about how to wish him free.

“Well, I’m full. Let’s give you a crash course in carving
pumpkins.”

Hayes did his job with the dishes as she prepared the
pumpkins. “First you have to draw a face or whatever on it and then gut it.”

“Gut it?”

She marked out a simple face, grabbed a knife and cut the
top open. “Reach down in there and start ripping out the insides.”

Hayes plunged his hands down inside and froze. “Well, that’s
unpleasant.”

Chance lost it. The look on his face, the tone of his voice
all made her burst out laughing. “Are you kidding me? A big, strong genie and
this grosses you out? Come on, Hayes, dig in.”

“Bein’ big and strong has nothin’ to do with not likin’ the
feel of this.” Still, he yanked out the stringy insides and seeds.

The disgusted look on his face kept her laughing. He came
from a time where you killed your food and gutted it. How could feeling pumpkin
guts be worse?

“Okay, ya big baby,” she chuckled. “Move over, I’ll save
you.” Hayes gladly pulled his hands out and ran to the sink to wash them off.
While he had his back turned she grabbed a handful of gooey guts. Hayes never
knew what was coming as he carelessly returned. With mischief tingling her
belly, Chance flicked them at his face.

One dangled from his nose as another plastered to his cheek.
A seed sat plain as day on his chin and the rest molded to his neck. The sheer
terror on his face had her busting out in breath-stealing laughter. Could he
look more adorable?

“You think that’s funny?” he asked, peeling the seed away.

“Yes,” she said on a gasp. Her stomach hurt from laughing so
hard.

Hayes reached inside the pumpkin, got a handful of yuck and
with his free hand pulled the neckline of her sweater out. In one quick,
disgusting move he plopped the mess down inside. The cold goo made her yelp as
she scrambled to get it out. Hayes stood there laughing, a rich, robust sound
that spurred her to retaliate.

A pumpkin-guts tossing feud ensued. By the time they had it
emptied, they both stood there covered in smelly strands of orange and panting
for breath. It occurred to her somewhere in the midst of giggling that she
hadn’t laughed this hard or had this much fun in ages. Reaching out, she peeled
some of the icky strands from Hayes’ face and hair, wiped them on a towel and
sighed.

“Ready to cut the face now?”

He peeked down inside the hollow pumpkin and frowned.
“Anythin’ else in there you’ll be decoratin’ me with?”

“Nope, all cleaned out.” Chance picked up a knife, pierced
it through the thick skin of the pumpkin and cut.

Hayes watched and if she wasn’t mistaken, was ready to bolt
at any moment. Chance carved a goofy, lopsided face and when the last piece
came free she laid the knife down. “What do you think?”

He studied it, picked up the pumpkin and inspected
everything. “That’s it? This is all you do? Now what?”

“Now we put a candle in it and set it on the porch.” She
went to her junk drawer, grabbed a small tea light and set it down inside. They
went to the porch, placed it on a step and lit the candle. “See, a face that
glows at night. It’s fun.”

Hayes stepped down in the yard for a better look. “I like
it. Can I do the other one?”

“It’s all yours.”

He hustled back into the house. Chance laughed at the sight
of him covered in stringy orange pumpkin guts and seeds adorning his hair. She
advised him through the process of cutting the top. When he reached down inside
and cringed, she snickered. Hayes shot her an annoyed glance seconds before
pulling out a gob of guts and plopping it on top of her head.

After the initial shock of what he’d done faded, Chance
reached up and slid the mess out of her hair. “Didn’t get enough the first
time?” Taking a play from his dirty game, she tugged the front of his jeans out
and stuffed it down.

The look of astonishment on his face thrilled her, but when
he dropped his gaze to where her hand was tucked in front of his jeans and then
shot her a hot,
now you’ve done it
look, she melted. For her, it went
from good-natured play to
make me pay for it. Make me scream
.

“Oops.” Before she could make an escape, Hayes snagged her
around the middle with one arm and scooped her up. “Play nice,” she squealed,
sure her punishment would be underwear full of pumpkin.

“I should make ya dig it out,” he whispered in her ear.

Next thing she knew her sweater was full of the cold, slimy
mix. Hayes released her as she squirmed, trying to get it to drop out. “Foul on
the play,” she shouted, reaching up inside her shirt.

“I don’t know what that means,” he chuckled, “but I’ll clean
you up if you clean me up.”

Sudden heat washed through her body, making her shiver. Her
gaze locked with his. They stood there, both a complete mess and sending off
waves of desire. All it would take was one movement, one touch of the button on
his jeans, and they’d be all over each other. She knew that just as she knew
she wouldn’t stop it from happening.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “Out of line.”

To her disappointment, Hayes turned and busied himself with
cleaning out the pumpkin. Chance closed her eyes and fought to rein in the
raging need and desire for this man that plagued her. The throb between her
legs took longer to tamp down but after a few moments her head cleared. At
least Hayes had enough sense to stop it before it started. Yeah, once was
enough and if she kept telling herself that she might hold off for another
fifteen minutes before attacking him.

Holding her head high, she walked around the other side of
the table and checked out his progress. Hayes made quick work of the inside and
had begun whittling away at the face. His large hands worked with skill,
holding the knife like a pro and cutting small slivers at a time.

“I thought you never did this before.”

“I haven’t. My first time.”

“Coulda fooled me. What are you making?”

His grin came quickly as he continued to work. “It’s a
surprise. Be patient.”

“Okay,” she replied and shrugged at the same time. Patience
wasn’t her thing. “I’m gonna go clean up while you,” she pointed at the pumpkin
and twirled her finger, “finish up.”

He grunted a response, still fully focused on his task.
Chance strolled back to the bathroom and slipped out of her sweater, tossing
the gobs of pumpkin guts into the small trash can. She hit the shower and
cleaned up quickly and then wiggled into a comfortable pair of yoga pants. With
the house so warm from the fire burning all day, yes, thank you Hayes for that,
she slipped a tank on and made her way back out.

Hayes rushed out the door as she entered the kitchen.
Curious, she followed on his heels. When he magically lit his pumpkin and his
sexy smile glowed from the candlelight, the suspense got the better of her.
With a childlike leap off the porch, she landed in the grass next to him and
felt the world tilt. It couldn’t be.

“Oh. My. God.” Hayes had carved a perfect likeness of her
into the pumpkin. With the light flickering, it made her hair seem to dance.

“Do ya like it?”

“It’s, it’s incredible. How did you do all that so fast? Did
you use genie voodoo or something?” He had to. No one could carve like that so
fast.

“No magic. I must have been able to carve before. Once my
hands got started I couldn’t stop. I knew what I wanted to make and it
happened.”

She couldn’t look away. He’d shadowed and angled every bit
of it so the light inside emphasized certain features. People would pay good
money for his carvings.

“I don’t suppose I could talk you into doing a few more so I
could sell them at the shop.” Her hand went to his arm, resting gently against
his muscle.

He put his hand over hers and smiled. “For you, anything.”

Chance shivered again. Not from the cold but from the
sincerity in his eyes and smile. What did that mean and why did he say it? Who
the hell cared?

“You should go inside. It’s cold out here.” He rubbed both
her arms, his hands gliding up and resting on her shoulders for a second before
he snatched them away as if she scalded him. “Come on. I’ll help you clean up
the kitchen.”

She followed him inside, reeling from the mess of emotions
churning in her stomach. Quietly they cleaned up their mess. Hayes took the
pumpkin innards outside and tossed them far away from the house while she wiped
down the table and cleaned the knives. When he returned they sat in the living
room and watched mindless television for a while.

The tension between them seemed to grow. At least she felt
it anyway. What did he feel? Did he want her as badly as she wanted him? Did he
feel the connection between them, or was he reacting like a man who’d gone one
hundred years without a woman? How did he handle that anyway? Wait, she didn’t
want to know. Or did she?

“Can I ask you something?”

Hayes turned his head and smiled. “Sure.”

“What’s the longest time you ever spent with a master?” Ugh,
she hated that word.

He shrugged. “Seven, eight days maybe. Why?”

“I guess you’ve had plenty of female masters.”

This time he looked away. “Yeah, I guess you could say
that.”

Awkward silence filled the room as she worked up courage to
ask the next question. Put it out there, just blurt it out, get it over with.
“Did you sleep with any of them?” Once the words left her lips she regretted
them. If he said yes, then what? If he said no?

“No.”

That was it. One single-word answer and she couldn’t be
happy with that. Nope, not her. “Why?”

“Until I met you, I wasn’t sure decent, nice people existed
anymore. Besides, people are genuinely more preoccupied with their greed. I’m
just the guy who gives them what they wish for.”

He sounded sad as he spoke. She knew how it felt to be
unseen and forgotten. He pushed to his feet, ran his fingers through his hair
and smiled down at her.

“If it’s all right with you, I’m gonna go stroll around
outside for a bit. Maybe I’ll bring more wood out and get started chopping it.”
Hayes rounded the couch, standing behind her, hesitating.

“I’ve got enough for the winter,” she replied. “And the
spring. You don’t have to do that.” She stood, walked toward him and pulled
another piece of pumpkin off his shirt. “You could shower, get all this sticky
off you.”

“I don’t need a shower to do that.” His voice dropped an
octave, rumbled over her nerves and pushed her into that place where she
couldn’t stop herself. As if another person emerged, taking the lead.

“Yeah, but it wouldn’t be as much fun as me helping you
shower.” Brave as ever, Chance released two buttons, allowing her knuckles to skim
over his chest. He allowed her another two buttons before he gripped her wrists
and magically dispensed of the pumpkin remnants.

“Chance, we said it shouldn’t happen again.”

Yeah, and he sounded as sure of that as she felt. “Didn’t
you like what I did for you?” She leaned in and kissed the bare skin between
the flaps of his shirt, letting her tongue lap softly. He released her wrists
and she quickly continued to unbutton his shirt as she kissed her way across
his chest.