Page 62 of Mountain Dreams

Nineteen

Cody lay in his bed, his eyes closed and one hand wrapped around his erection. There was no way he’d be able to sleep without relieving the ache in his groin caused by his beautiful, sexy tenant.

He pulled up the last image he had of her sitting up in bed, wearing only her panties and gazing at him like she hated to see him go. He still couldn’t believe he’d made it upstairs without turning and going straight back to her bed.

“Maddie,” he whispered in the dark. It didn’t take long until he was spent, but afterward the ache was still there, and not just in his groin. He wanted her with every fiber of his being, and not just in his bed.

“Patience,” he said as he cleaned himself off.

It wasn’t fair to expect her to jump right into a relationship with him after coming off a broken engagement. Did he believe she was over Wyatt? Mostly, but he wanted to give it some more time just to be sure. It would be easy to give her his body, but his heart was a different matter, and that was why he’d walked away from her tonight.

He knew it’d be different with Maddie. She wasn’t just some woman he’d met at a party or bar. She meant too much to him to take this lightly, and though it went against his nature, he’d have to proceed with caution.

Finally, after convincing himself he’d made the best decision for them both, he fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, as he was preparing to leave for work, she still hadn’t come upstairs. It was still early, and maybe she’d decided to sleep in, or… Maybe she’s avoiding me.

He’d been hoping to see her before he left so he could get a read on her mood. Only then would he know if she regretted kissing him last night. He hoped she didn’t and he’d get to do it again soon.

However, over the next few days, soon became as elusive as his tenant.

He’d begun the construction of two new cabins on the property and was gone from early morning until dusk.

The first night after their kiss, she’d left a note for him that read: Meeting my sisters for dinner. Don’t wait up. Ignoring her instructions, he tried waiting up anyway, but by nine o’clock, he could hardly keep his eyes open and went up to bed. He had no idea what time she returned, because he was either sound asleep or she was a very stealthy woman.

The second night, he came home to a note that read: Meeting a client in Sevierville tonight. Might stay over with my parents if it runs late. It was tax season, and he knew she often met with clients in the evening to prepare their taxes. However, he was starting to wonder if she was purposely avoiding him.

By the third day, he was so irritable he was snapping at everyone on the job site. He was berating one of the rough framers for being too heavy-handed with his hammer when Jax came up beside him.

“What the hell’s wrong with you?” Jax said.

He usually let Cody manage the construction projects, but occasionally he stopped by to monitor the progress. Naturally, he’d shown up today.

“Nothing,” Cody growled.

“The hell it isn’t. I’ve had no less than three complaints about you this week.”

“Only three?” Three made perfect sense, one for each day that had passed since he’d seen Maddie.

“I stopped counting after that,” Jax said sarcastically.

“You know how it is with these guys. You have to stay on top of them to get the job done.”

Jax shook his head. “There’s something else going on.”

“Who are you, Sherlock Holmes?”

“I’m going to guess this has something to do with your houseguest.”

“Stop calling her that. She’s my friend.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Don’t you have someone else to harass?”

“Nah. Just you.”

“Great,” Cody said and rolled his eyes.