Fall Shook Up

by Piper Sheldon

“What’s wrong?” I asked before I could remember that I wasn’t supposed to care. “Why’s he asking what’s wrong?” Ralph asked. “Nothing,” she said. “She’s crying,” I said at the same time, leaning forward so her father could hear me over her protestations.

Ripley jumped across the cab, pointy paws jabbing into my goods. “Oof,” I said, wincing. “Hello, darling.” Claire scratched Ripley behind the ear, causing her back leg to thump repeatedly against my junk. Some of the anger melted from Claire’s features as Ripley’s sharp tail whipped my face.

“I was a disaster yesterday and completely abandoned my hopes for provisions, so I really appreciate it. Tell me how much I owe you.” I growled and narrowed my eyes, putting an end to that. “It’s part of the rental.” I stared at the dashboard.

I was stepping out of his house to the front porch when I heard his truck coming up the drive. I waved hello brightly with a burst of adrenaline at having company. He lifted his chin in a sort of acknowledgment before awkwardly looking away. We were basically besties.

As if it were nothing more than a package of warehouse paper towels, Levi wrapped his arms around the whole massive lump and lifted it. Muscles in his forearms, biceps, and shoulders all engaged, flexing with the momentum as he leveraged it out of the truck with a masculine grunt. A sound that I would not be forgetting any time soon. Today, I learned that forearms with popping veins are a breathtaking sight to see in real life.

“Do you often hunt for wood?” I asked innocently. I really tried to keep it together. He didn’t respond, but the silence was telling. “I, myself, appreciate a good piece of wood,” I said. He stopped as we reached the garage and gave me a blank stare. “Not every day does life deliver a fine piece of girthy, hard⁠—” “Are you done?” he asked, the tendons in his neck straining. “It’s impossible to say.” I covered my growing smile with both hands. “I never really meant to start, but the jokes write themselves.”

I growled at myself to focus. The gash on her knee was dirty but shallow. It was still bleeding slightly as her body warmed. “Did you just growl?” “I don’t like that you’re hurt,” I said smoothly.

This was an interesting turn of events. Caught between two incredibly handsome men, what was a woman to do?

“I’m but a mere mortal. It’s not really something I can control. I think it’s hardwired into DNA. Man in uniform. Children playing happily. Parents watching on with smiles.” She bent her arms at ninety-degree angles and moved robotically. “Beep boop. Alert, alert.” She made a powering-up sound. “Now ovulating.”

“Who are you?” I asked her, or maybe the universe, for bringing this weird, curiously funny woman into my life. Her arms fell to her sides as she shrugged at me. “I’m just Claire.” And she was disarming me piece by broken piece. I swallowed and held her gaze. My body leaned toward her gravitational pull. “You’re not just anything,” I said softly.

She frowned up at me. “We’re leaving?” Her brows contorted in the saddest expression I’d ever been victim to. Even if leaving had been the plan, it wouldn’t have been anymore.

Back at the house? Was he going to continue this kiss? Was he trying to end this next level of physicality? Was he going to take me to his shed and show me his wood? I would not make a wood joke. I would not make a wood joke. I bit my bottom lip harder and nodded. “Oh, man.” He chuckled. “You are trying so hard not to say something inappropriate right now, and I’m not sure I want to know what it is.”

He swallowed audibly, squeezing my hand once before releasing me. Move over, Mr. Darcy and the hand flex. We had a new contender in town.

There was no way I could have possibly expected to find the object of all my dirty dreams, soaked and waiting for me in my bathtub. When I realized she was in there, I had already walked in. When I realized what she was doing, I froze. When I heard her gasp my name, I almost came.

“I’ve wanted this for some time. I’ve wanted you. And I know that once I let go of this restraint, this thirst won’t be easily quenched. When I want something, I want it with my entire being. I don’t really half-ass anything in my life. When I finally have you, it’s going to be fully. Repeatedly. Ruthlessly.”

“There’s a bravery to that sort of blind feeling. It’s easier to rationalize and compartmentalize rather than feel.”