Page 5 of Time to Stirrup Love (Harmony Glen #10)

Chapter

Three

O h my God. He smells so good.

Margaid drank in the deep, warm, woodsy scent that permeated Finn’s clothes and then realized she was standing there in his tiny houseboat bathroom, buck naked and sniffing the clothing he gave her.

What is happening to me?

And the only logical solution she could come up with was she must have hypothermia and was suddenly delusional.

She was used to falling in the water, and she’d had a mild case of hypothermia, so she knew what to do.

She decided to have a quick hot shower, which would help warm her up.

Which it did, but as the hot water ran down her body, all she could think about was Finn standing in here washing himself.

Oh my gosh, I need to stop this weird fantasizing.

Finn was off-limits. She finished her shower and grabbed the towel he’d given her and rubbed vigorously before pulling on the clothing, which was baggy and much too big, but it instantly warmed her.

However, no matter how tight she pulled the drawstring on the pants, they wouldn’t stay up on their own without her holding them.

He may have a narrow waist, but he was definitely thicker below the belt than she was.

Clutching tight to the waistband of the ridiculous baggy pants, she left the bathroom in search of Finn or the location of his dryer so she could throw her wet clothes in there.

As she waddled through the narrow hallway from the head, she heard a thud and saw through a crack in the door a brown-and-white muscular bare back, which then led down to narrow hips, ones she’d just been thinking about, to a very juicy backside and thick legs.

He turned slightly and she got a glimpse of his thick cock, and the little curls of heat in her belly turned into an inferno. He may have a lot of attributes similar to a horse, but definitely no tail.

The blush heated her cheeks and she knew that she shouldn’t be peeping on him, but she couldn’t help it. She looked away and he turned, his ass fully bared. It was mesmerizing and all she wanted to do was grab a hold of that juicy double as it pumped into her.

Great. I’m think quoting Sir Mix-A-Lot.

Just thinking about gripping his muscular backside made her wet with need, her body thrumming with lust. It was not like her at all.

Margaid scurried away before Finn caught her ogling him.

She headed out into the small living area.

It was homey, she hadn’t noticed it before.

There was built-in plaid couch, strewn with pillows.

A table that was piled high with books. In the large window behind the couch were numerous ferns and other plants.

Behind her was a small galley, surprisingly tidy for a bachelor. Although, she didn’t know if he actually was one, but given how this appeared to be his home and no one else was on the boat, she was making assumptions.

On the wall there a few pictures. Mostly of fish, but she was immediately drawn to one photo of a young woman.

She had white-blonde hair, pale-pink lips, and large violet eyes.

It kind of reminded her of the character from The Last Unicorn , but real and not a cartoon.

The photo was the most stunningly beautiful person Margaid had ever seen.

So much so, she reached out to touch it, like she was entranced.

“She’s my sister,” came a gruff voice.

Margaid startled and the big baggy pants hit the floor. Finn’s gaze roved over her bare legs, and she was just glad that his shirt was big enough that it covered her own naked butt, because her undies were soaking wet on the floor of his shower.

“Sorry…” She reached down and hiked the pants back up. “Um, where’s your dryer?”

“I collected your clothes and shoved them in there. I put the stuff from your pockets on the bathroom counter.”

“Thanks.”

An awkward silence fell between them. She hated these silences that fell between people. She was a bit empathetic and tried to please people. Sort of a coping mechanism when growing up with all the moving around she did.

Not that she let anyone walk all over her anymore. She was friendly, but sometimes that old part came rushing back in tension-filled situations like this.

“Your sister, huh?” she queried, trying to engage him in any form of communication to get her mind off the fact she was standing in his houseboat and wearing his clothes, because if she dwelled on those thoughts, her mind instantly began to wander to other things.

Naughty things.

“Yes.” That’s all he said, and she was realizing that Finn definitely was not a conversationalist.

“She doesn’t…look like you.”

He quirked an eyebrow. “She takes after my mother, who is human. Female glashtyns keep their human form and there aren’t many of them.”

“Can she shift?”

“You’re very curious.”

“I suppose I am. I’ve never lived in such an openly monster town before. Everything before the Great Revelation was just myth.”

Finn sighed, then relaxed. “Would you like a coffee?”

“Sure.”

“I figured you need something to warm you up and then I can answer your questions. I appreciate your curiosity. Humans aren’t always that kind.”

“Well, I am.”

Then Finn smiled at her, just slightly, and turned on the coffee maker. Margaid walked over to his couch and curled up, holding the trousers. It only took a few minutes and Finn had poured two hot cups of coffee.

“I only have sugar. Kind of out of milk,” he said.

“Sugar is fine. I’m also okay with just black too.”

Finn didn’t respond, but mixed in some sugar and then brought her a mug. As she reached out to take it, their fingers brushed and shiver of anticipation ran down her spine at just the simple touch.

He retracted his hand as if he’d been stung.

Clearly, this was a one-sided thing, this attraction.

“Thanks,” she responded quickly.

He shrugged. “Sure.”

“Can I ask a question?”

“Okay.”

Although, given his expression, she didn’t think that it was okay, but she didn’t care. She didn’t want to sit here in awkward silence while her clothes dried.

“You’re not really…chatty.”

He sat down in a chair and set his coffee on a table. “Is that a requirement?”

“Well, I mean I’m interested in you and the town. You seem loathe to answer questions.”

“Hmm. Not sure how I feel about that.”

“Why?”

“Well, you could potentially shut down my business.”

Warmth flooded her cheeks. It was true. If the species was struggling, or the lake was ailing, then she would have to make a recommendation to shut down sportfishing on the lake until the population was healthier. There was no point in denying it.

“I’m sorry. I do have a job to do.”

“So do I.”

“I’m surprised you agreed to help me.”

He shrugged. “It was a government contract. Fishing season isn’t open yet and the money is good. I have to support my sister and mother.”

“That’s admirable.”

“What brother wouldn’t?”

“I wouldn’t know about that,” she remarked. “I don’t have any siblings. It was just me and my mom.”

And then her mom passed. Now it was just her.

“No father?”

Margaid shook her head. “Nope. I never met him. I was raised to be a strong independent woman.”

There was a hint of a smile that curled on his lips. “Good.”

They just sat there in silence and she was pretty sure that it wasn’t just the coffee that was keeping her warm.

All her life, before the Great Revelation, she’d been told that the monsters lurking under your bed or in the shadows were bad.

And she had no doubt that some were, just like some humans were, but there was just something about Finnbar Clague which was reeling her in. Like she could be herself around him.

Remember, he’s a sportfisherman. He’s everything you detest and he’s grumpy.

Margaid ignored that thought and stood up as gracefully as she could with really baggy pants. “Well, I better go check on my samples.”

“They’re on the deck. If you’re done, I’ll ready the boat to head back to shore.”

She nodded. “Yep. I think I’m done for today. Provided my samples are intact. We’ll have to test another area of the lake tomorrow.”

He nodded, took her mug from her and set them down in his little kitchen sink, his back turned to her. Through his tight t-shirt, she could see rippling muscles and again she found herself completely ogling his muscular backside.

Get a grip.

She headed out onto the deck and knelt down to look at her samples, but as she did, she caught sight of her expensive hip waders, lying out on the deck, cleaned up. He’d saved them from the river.

He said he would.

Yet, people had broken their promises to her before. It was nice he hadn’t. She smiled, noticing them and the care that had been given to them.

Maybe he wasn’t so bad after all?

Her samples were intact. And as soon as she secured them, Finn was pulling up his anchor before he went back to the bridge and fired up the engine.

She curled up in a Muskoka chair that was fastened to the deck and drank in the rays of sunlight as they sped away from the little spring-fed inlet and back toward Harmony Glen.

By the time they got back to Harmony Glen, her clothes were dry and she quickly changed back into them, making sure that she’d placed the items Finn had lent her into the laundry basket.

He wasn’t saying much as he tied off his boat at the end of the pier. Silently, he helped her bring all her gear off and onto the dock.

“So tomorrow same time?” she asked.

Finn nodded, quickly. “Yep.”

“Well,” she said awkwardly. “Thanks for the coffee.”

“Yep.” That was all the response she got.

What did you expect? A little shared experience and he’d be your pal? You’re threatening his business.

Finn headed back up the gangplank of his houseboat. It was up to her to carry the load back to her pickup truck in the marina’s parking lot. Which wasn’t a big deal, she’d managed to lug it all down here.

“Need help?”