Page 82 of Waste of Worth

Still, Dino had nothing better to do for a while, Karen was entertaining herself, and so he grabbed the axe, ready to work.

He’d never found work quite this relaxing.

Before he knew it, Dino had split a quarter of the cord of wood. His T-shirt had been hindering the force of his swing, so it now rested over top of the wood pile, forgotten. A bead of sweat trickled down his spine, reminding him that as relaxing as this was, it was still a goddamn workout.

Another five or so swings later, and Dino was sure he had heard the screen door close—the side exit of the cabin. He couldn’t see it from his position to check, so he kept working. Grabbing another large block of wood, he set it up properly in front of him, grabbed the axe by the base with his left hand and the middle with his right, and swung. The block snapped into three pieces.

The soft clearing of a throat stopped him from grabbing another bock. Dino used his previously discarded shirt to wipe his brow and chest before tossing it away again, and turning to face Karen.

She wasn’t exactly looking at him—well, not his face.

Her gaze traveled down the length of his body, lingering on his chest and then lower, stopping for a long while at the hard cut V of his groin where his pants hung low around his waist. Her tongue peeked out to wet her lips before disappearing back inside her mouth just as quickly.

Karen’s gaze finally made its way back up to Dino’s face, and he cocked a brow at her, smug and silently questioning. Her cheeks turned the sweetest shade of pink he had ever seen in his life.

“Find something you like?” he asked.

Karen shifted on her feet, throwing a glance over her shoulder. “I wondered what was taking you so long.”

“That doesn’t answer my question, sweetheart.”

“You already know I like it, Dino.”

“So say it.”

Karen’s sheepish gaze turned almost playful. “I didn’t know you could chop wood. You’re kind of a pretty, city boy, aren’t you?”

Dino scoffed. “Pretty, city boy?”

“Kind of.”

“I can also fix just about anything under the hood of a car. It’s good to have a set of skills.”

To say the least …

Karen nodded absently, although it seemed her attention was lost again as she eyed him up and down. Dino pretended like he didn’t notice her wandering stare as he reached for the axe and another block of wood.

“I should—”

“Stay and keep me company,” Dino urged.

Karen’s gaze snapped back up to Dino’s face, but she didn’t look as embarrassed this time to be caught staring. “I might bother you.”

Dino laughed. “How?”

Karen shrugged. “A few different ways come to mind, and none of them involve helping you chop the wood.”

The suggestive undertone to her words wasn’t lost on Dino.

“Stay.”

She did.

Another ten minutes of Dino chopping wood and Karen not even trying to hide the fact she was staring passed them by. It was only when Dino tossed the axe back into the corner, done with the task, did Karen speak again.

She’d perched herself up on the edge of an old picnic table. Leaning back, she used her palms for support to keep her upright, while her beautiful legs hung over the side, swinging to and fro.

“I should have brought my camera out for this.”