Axe’s Fall(15)
“Do you want to have dinner together? We could go over our plan of action when we have to present the blueprints tomorrow.”
My plan to avoid Logan socially isn’t panning out at all.
“Thanks, Logan, but you know, I’m really bushed. I’m going to order room service and turn in early.”
He pursed his lips, nodding his acceptance. “We can have dinner another time. It’s not like we’re leaving any time soon. Maybe tomorrow night? We can go over what happens at the meeting.”
The elevator doors opened. All Baylee wanted to do was go to her room, close her curtains, and lay on the bed. A dull throbbing in her head threatened to turn into something nasty if she didn’t take a couple of aspirins soon.
Before she could walk inside the elevator, Logan grasped her arm. She turned.
“So, dinner tomorrow night?”
“That’s fine.” She had to get away.
“Excellent.” He let go of her arm. “I’m going to have one more beer. I’ll catch up with you later.”
“Whatever,” she mumbled as the door trundled shut.
Trudging down the hall, Baylee wondered what in the hell she was going to do in Pinewood Springs for three or four months. If the pace of small-town living didn’t drive her insane, she knew spending her time with Logan would push her over the edge.
After tipping the bellhop, Baylee kicked off her shoes and shuffled over to the window, squinting against the blaring sun. She sighed as she took in the blue skyline broken by the jagged peaks of the Rocky Mountains, dotted with dark green foliage. Maybe I can get back into hiking. It’s been a while. When Baylee was at the University of Colorado in Boulder, she and a group of her friends hiked many of the mountain trails that circled the university town. Once she graduated and moved back to Denver, her whole focus had been on her career.
Looking out the window at the beauty of the landscape, Baylee realized how much she missed doing some of the things she used to before she became a crazed career woman. It seemed that ever since she had her one-night stand, she’d begun to question if she were making a mistake to be so single-minded in her pursuits.
Logan’s smug face flashed in her mind. She couldn’t lose to him. She was the better architect; vanity wasn’t telling her that, only the facts. Baylee had bailed Logan out more than a few times over the past two years for simple mistakes he’d made on projects they worked on. She never told Gary, Bob, or Warren, and she was positive Logan wouldn’t have been as discreet if she were the one who’d screwed up—he’d be chomping at the bit like an impatient race horse at the starting line.
Once I make partner, I’ll slow down a bit. Maybe I’ll meet a nice, sexy man. Who knows? Who the hell was she kidding? The only man she’d love to have in her life and her bed was the brooding stranger she spent the night with the previous week. Baylee couldn’t get him out of her mind. Even though her common sense told her she was crazy fantasizing over something that would never happen—she didn’t even know his name, for God’s sake—her body craved his touch, his wickedly delicious tongue which made her come over and over that night.
Damn. When would he leave her mind? Probably not until she found a living, breathing replacement, and her purple vibrator wasn’t it. She heaved another sigh. At least she was far away from Denver, and she’d be so busy with the big construction project that by the time she returned home, her sexy one-nighter would be a very distant memory.
Baylee zipped open her tote bag, taking out a couple of aspirins and a bottled water. She pulled the curtains closed, replacing the brightness with a cool, comforting darkness. She downed the tablets, stripped down to her underwear, pulled down the bedspread on the king-sized bed, slipped under the sheets, and covered her eyes with her arm. As the low hum of the air conditioner began to lull her to sleep, she prayed the shadows from the past wouldn’t creep into her dreams, turning them into nightmares as they often did. I need to sleep without the past clawing at my present. Baylee tugged the soft blanket around her, then let sleep overtake her.
* * *
Axe stretched his long legs in front of him and cursed under his breath about the malfunctioning air conditioner. It seemed that each time the temperatures hovered around one hundred degrees, the damn thing went out. His wet, gray muscle shirt clung to his chest, and his ripped biceps glistened with perspiration. After he guzzled down a bottle of ice-cold water, he twisted the cap of another and poured the chilly liquid over his head, bringing momentary relief.
A persistent fly buzzed around his face, and each time Axe tried to catch it in his large hand, the fly zipped away. The elusive insect pissed him off big-time, and he made it his mission to nail the fucker by the time church wrapped up.