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HAILEY

T his isn’t the first time I’ve hired someone to help me around the house, but it is the first time I’ve hovered around them the entire time they’re trying to work because they’re so damn hot I can’t tear myself away.

Harvey Neil really should include his sheer attractiveness as a warning on his website because, holy shit .

Annoyingly, it’s not just his looks that have me reeling. No, the man has the personality to back it up. He’s taken all my comments in stride and fired back with just as much boldness and teasing.

I’m fully aware that I should leave him alone to work and give him space, but it’s like there’s an invisible tether between us I can’t walk away from. I’ve never, in my twenty-four years on this earth, felt even an ounce of the attraction I feel for this man who I’ve only just met. How am I supposed to just go about my day like normal now? Maybe I can film a ‘day in the life’ video and subtly feature the hottest handyman I’ve ever seen.

I shake my head at myself, pushing the insane thoughts away. I need to get a grip. I’ve never been one to be boy-crazy. Hell, I haven’t had a boyfriend in … well, forever. It just hasn’t seemed worth it until now, and seeing all the drama my friends go through with men has been more than enough to confirm I made the correct decisions. More than that, I’ve just never met a man who made me want to share a life with him.

Well, until now.

My to-do list for the day is still whirring around the back of my mind, taunting me. I really need to go and finish the vlog that’s supposed to be posted tomorrow, the one that’s only half edited that I promised myself I’d finish this morning, but every time I try to make my feet take me out of the laundry room, my body refuses to comply.

Driving myself insane, I pull my phone out, needing to get these thoughts out of my brain. There’s a text on my screen from my manager, Lucas, and I pull a face as I decide to completely ignore him for a minute. I’m not in the mood to deal with him right now. I’ll answer him later , I tell myself, as I pull up Steph’s contact and text her, screaming in all caps about the fact the handyman I hired could be a damn model. She texts me back immediately, laughing and demanding I take a photo for her.

I immediately decline that request but happily type out another text, explaining in detail how muscular his arms are and how confidently he handles his tools, knowing that my best friend will never judge me for what I’m saying.

“Satisfactory enough?” Harvey asks, jolting me out of my thoughts and making me realize I’ve just been staring at him like a total creep.

“Oh, yup! Looks good,” I stammer out, feeling my face go pink as I make a total fool of myself. Hastily, I tap my phone screen without looking, sending the text, and shoving my phone away before he can ask what I’m doing.

The sound of a phone buzzing breaks the tension, and Harvey’s face changes as though his phone going off has brought him back to the real world, too. The washer’s fitted, and though I know exactly nothing about any of this stuff, it looks like he’s done a damn good job.

I’m almost disappointed. If he’d made a mess of this job, I’d have a reason to ask him to stay longer. I’m racking my brain, thinking about what else I can get him out to fix. Maybe if I accidentally on purpose break my sink?

God, what’s gotten into me?!

I see Harvey out with a smile, despite my inner scheming, and the second I close the front door, I collapse against it, my heartbeat thudding heavily against my chest. We did nothing but banter and yet my body feels like it’s primed for so much more.

I force myself up, heading for the kitchen to grab a drink of water. Halfway through gulping it down, though, there’s a loud knock on my door. My heart jumps again, hopeful anticipation filling me. What if it’s Harvey? I shake my head, trying to calm myself down. It’s probably just Lucas coming to see why I haven’t answered his messages yet.

Setting the glass down, I smooth down my dress and take a deep breath before answering the door.

“Harvey,” I say, a little stunned but trying not to show it. “Did you leave something behind?” I step aside to let him in, assuming he’s left a tool or something.

Harvey steps inside but doesn’t step past me, instead stopping directly in front of me, staring down at me with sea-blue eyes. I let go of the door, and it slams closed, but neither of us jump at the loud noise, too caught up in the cloud of heated tension surrounding us.

“Yeah, as a matter of fact, I did. You,” Harvey answers, his voice low and gruff.

My mind whirs as heat skitters over every inch of my skin. “W-what?” I stutter, sure I must have heard him wrong. Am I daydreaming or something?

Harvey grins, his eyes sparkling. “What was it that text said? I bet he’s handy with more than just machines? ” he says, paraphrasing the text I sent to Steph ten minutes ago.

I did send it to Steph, right? Oh God.

I feel my cheeks burn hot, embarrassment searing through me. How on earth could I have texted him instead? This is what I get for texting without looking. Shit.

“I can explain…” I start to say, even though I have exactly no idea of how I’m going to explain this.

Harvey interrupts me before I get the chance to attempt, though. “I knew you were supposed to be mine the second you opened this door,” he says, stunning me even more.

I don’t even realize I’ve been backing up until my back hits the wall, stopping me short and trapping me in. Suddenly, Harvey’s so close that I can see every shade of blue in his eyes, lighter at the edges and darker around his pupils, which are wider than they were before, I’m sure of it.

The air between us crackles with energy, and I swear I can see sparks flying as I struggle to regulate my breathing. My body feels lit up with anticipation and need, and it takes me far longer than it should be to form an answer.

Harvey waits patiently, clearly not wanting to push me if I don’t feel the same as he’s just admitted he does. But I do. I feel it so clearly it’s overwhelming.

I can’t put it into words, so I give up trying.

I close the small distance left between us, throwing my arms around his neck and stretching up on my toes to kiss him. For a split second, he’s shocked still, but then he’s kissing me back deeply, his arms winding around me and pressing me into the wall. His tongue teases the seam of my lips, asking for entry, and I open for him, melting against him. I can feel his muscular build through the thin layers of clothing separating us, and the kiss sends liquid heat through me, making my thighs press together to try to stem the ache building between them.

I can’t help the whimper that escapes me as he nips my bottom lip between his teeth, the small moment of pain pushing my pleasure higher. I feel drunk on him, mind spinning and body his to do with whatever he wants. It’s not just a kiss. It’s a connection of body and soul and the beginning of something more. I can feel it building around us. We’re the only two people in the universe right now. He groans against me and slides his hands down to cup my ass, lifting me off my feet so my thighs are wrapped around his waist, my dress riding up and no doubt exposing my now-wet panties.

“Fuck, Hailey,” Harvey groans as I squirm, desperate for friction where I need it most. “God, I’m going to get addicted to you.”

I pant, clinging to him. “Good,” I manage to say, meaning it. “Because the feeling’s mutual.”

“God, baby, so fucking beautiful,” he murmurs, taking a second to look down at me, exploring my body. “I can’t fucking wait to see how pretty you look falling apart for me.”

My heart skips a beat, my body responding to his implications with a resounding yes! “So don’t wait,” I say, my voice all breathy and needy.

Harvey’s eyes snap to mine. “You need it bad, don’t you, pretty girl?” he growls, voice low and rough and delicious.

I nod fervently. “I need you,” I whine. “Please, please, Harvey. I’ve never felt like this before. I feel like I’m going to go mad without it. Touch me, kiss me, I’m yours.”

My babbling clearly does what I want it to because a second later, he’s pushing me harder against the wall to stabilize me, slipping one hand up my thigh. I cling harder to him, my head falling back as he kisses my neck, skin sensitive.

“Oh, baby,” Harvey groans against my skin. “So wet for me. Fucking perfect.”

The way he says it, like he fucking loves it, erases any embarrassment I might have had about just how ready for him my body is. Besides, I can’t think of a single thing except the sensation of his fingers where I need them most, teasing the sensitive bundle of nerves pulsing for his attention. I gasp, losing control of my breathing as he slides two fingers inside of me, filling me so perfectly I get dizzy.

“Harvey,” I pant, my nails digging into his shoulders and back through his shirt, clawing at him.

“So fucking perfect,” he says, murmuring the words against my throat. “Every goddamn inch of you. You’re like a goddamn dream, Hailey.”

If I wasn’t held up by the wall and his strength, I’d have swooned from his words alone. The combination of his filthy mouth praising me and his fingers driving my pleasure higher and higher with every movement makes my eyes flutter shut, and a string of moans and whimpers escapes my lips.

His fingertips skim over a sensitive spot inside of me, and I shudder, bliss devouring me. I’ve never felt like this, never knew someone’s touch could ever feel this good, never felt this tsunami of pleasure rising hard and fast inside of me.

“Oh God,” I babble, shaking. “Harvey, fuck… ”

“That’s it, baby, give it to me,” Harvey encourages, keeping up the rhythm that’s driving me crazy. “Let me feel you come for me, pretty girl.”

I couldn’t stop it if I tried. The wave of bliss engulfs me, throwing me over the edge. I cry out his name, stars exploding behind my eyelids as my body surrenders fully to him.

For a long minute, I have to focus on returning my breathing to normal before I can even begin to open my eyes and form words. Harvey holds me up as I attempt to recover, placing soft, gentle kisses on my neck and shoulders.

As I open my eyes and take in the desire and affection on his face, I know I’m screwed.

Because the handyman I hired to come fit my washer?

He’s the man of my dreams.