AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Sorry about this,” I say for the third time as Ariana brings some ointment from the bathroom and dabs it on my wound.
“Stop apologizing, Duke. It was an accident.”
She’s so gentle as she bandages my thumb, frowning in concentration, her amber eyes glued to my hand. It gives me the perfect excuse to stare at her. I take in her long eyelashes, the roundness of her cheeks, the soft lines of her face. Her lips are the prettiest shade of pink I’ve ever seen, and as her teeth nibble on the soft flesh, I have to grit my teeth.
This gorgeous girl has no idea what she does to me. My cock swells against my jeans every time she looks at me, so hard it’s almost painful. Seeing Ariana in my home, filling it with her sweet scent as she tends to my hand…it does something to me. Nobody ever gets this close. Hell, I don’t want them to. But Ariana? I want her closer, so close that I don’t know where she ends and I begin. I want her in my arms, her curves pushing against me, limbs entwined. With her, I don’t feel like the brute I am on the outside.
But she’s so fucking young.
The nagging voice in my head won’t let me forget that I’m old enough to be this girl’s father. I went to school with her mother, for God’s sake. Yet it’s getting harder to push down the feelings that are bubbling up inside me. The responsible part of me is being drowned out by the aching need I feel for Ariana, and I don’t know how much longer I can stand it.
“I feel so bad that you hurt yourself while doing me a favor,” she says softly once I’ve thanked her for bandaging me up. “You don’t have to finish the bookcase.”
I grunt. “Damn right I’m finishing it. I owe you for taking care of my thumb.”
Ariana frowns thoughtfully. “Well, technically, I already owed you for making the bookcase for free.”
“You don’t owe me shit. I offered to do it.” An uncomfortable thought crosses my mind as I run a hand over my beard. “Listen, I don’t want you doing anything because you think you owe me, Ariana. That’s not how this works. When I said I’d make the bookcase, there weren’t any secret strings attached.”
“I know.” She looks at me, her eyes meeting mine. “And I appreciate it, Duke. More than you know. I just wish I could repay you somehow.”
“Let me take you to dinner.”
The words fly out of my mouth before I can think them through, and my stomach instantly drops.
Shit. That was stupid. Of course she doesn’t want to go to dinner with me.
Ariana’s eyebrows shoot up at my words, and I brace myself for a polite rejection. Watching me build her furniture is one thing, but going out for a meal is ‘date’ territory. And there’s no damn way she wants?—
“I’d love to go to dinner,” she says, her eyes glittering. “I’m pretty sure that’s the opposite of letting me repay you, though. It should be me taking you to dinner.”
My heart flips over, adrenaline pumping through me. I was so sure she wouldn’t want to. So ready for her to flinch, grimace, make an excuse. But there’s anticipation in her gaze, as if the thought of going to dinner with me excites her. For a guy who’s been alone his whole life, it’s hard to get my head around it. But fuck, I’m not complaining.
“So you’ll come?” I ask.
“Yes, but at least let me pay.”
I scoff. “No way. I’m paying and that’s the last we’re going to say about that.”
Ariana opens her mouth like she’s about to argue, but at the sight of my determined glare, her face splits into a sheepish smile.
“Fine, you win,” she says. “But I really need to find a way to make all this up to you.”
“No, you don’t.” A lock of chocolate brown hair has fallen over her right eye, and I have to resist the urge to tuck it behind her ear. “This isn’t some kind of quid pro quo. I’m not keeping score. I just want to treat you to a nice meal.” With a frown, my tone turns serious. “No more talk of repayment or making things up to me, okay?”
Her eyes are twinkling. “Okay, Duke. Promise.”
I shake my head. “A promise won’t cut it. I need a Scout’s honor.”
Ariana laughs and holds up three fingers. “Scout’s honor. I swear it on my first aid badge.”
For the first time in ages, my face splits into a grin. “That’s more like it.”
6
ARIANA
I try to convince Duke to rest his hand, but he won’t hear of it. Immediately, he gets back to work on my bookcase with renewed determination, cutting the wood to the correct dimensions and letting me help him when I ask. We work hard, occasionally pausing for a snack or to pet Scout, and before I know it, the clock on the wall says it’s after six. Time seems to fly by in Duke’s company. I’ve spent all afternoon sneaking glances at him while he works, savoring the steely resolve in his eyes, the deep scars on his face, the sheen of sweat on his lined forehead.
