CHAPTER ONE

Sam Thibodeaux could bang out a job in no time. Too bad it wasn’t the job he wanted to bang. The only thing Hannah Mattay wanted him to do was her master bedroom and bath. He had other ideas. He gazed down her body and ached to fondle those ripe curves right there in aisle fourteen of Home Depot. She bent and her short jeans skirt rode up along a long tantalizing thigh until a bit of a black, lacy panties peeked out from beneath the skirt’s edge. He swallowed hard. A trickle of sweat rolled down his back as he fought his cock’s reaction. With his erection ready to play before he could blink, it was hard to focus on reality instead of creamy, vanilla flesh and lace.

He cleared his throat.

“Oh, hi, Sam,” she said with an innocent glance over her shoulder.

Her chocolate brown eyes floored him almost as much as the view of her lace panties. Damn, at this rate, he’d need an hour before he got his hard-on under control.

“So many sizes of screws to choose from; how do I know which ones I need?” she muttered.

He cleared his throat. With an internal wince, he squatted beside her and hid adjusting himself by seeming to fidget with his tool belt. “Size is determined by the job, chère.”

“I’m not sure what I need. Charlie gave me a list, but I forgot it at home.” She flashed him a weak smile. “All I remember is they shouldn’t be too long or too short, either, and it needs to have the right kind of head.”

His cock twitched. “This is for your deck repairs, right?” At her nod, he inhaled her scent, wild jasmine with a touch of musk, and tried to ignore his balls tightening and his cock thickening. He was in deep trouble here and worked to stay on the practical issue of Hannah’s project. “Single slot works best.”

“Oh. Are the connections hammered in?”

“Definitely screws for a power screw.” Merde, now he was speaking in inane dialogue. “You also need some good wood.”

She slanted a glance at his groin. “Right, nice and straight, not warped. Could you help me? I mean—” She licked her lips again. “—the deck needs to be fixed before you and the crew start work Monday and I’m not good at power tools and getting into unusual positions. Unless you could show me?”

His eyes narrowed at the laughter he saw in her gaze. Not good? Merde! No doubt, she would be excellent at the skills he taught her. He was also confident she thought the same thing. She had been screwing with his mind, and libido, for the last six months. Now in the heat of late July, he was ready to do the nailing along with some screwing with a definite application of power.

He stood and helped her up. Not able to resist, his fingertips lightly stroked her cheek. “Ah, chère. I’ll get the supplies and repair the deck and in turn, you can make me dinner tonight.”

“Six o’clock?”

Finally, an end in sight. His mouth turned up in what women called his wicked smile. At the bright gleam in her eyes, Sam fought the urge to brush a kiss across her lips right there in the hardware aisle. He glanced at his watch. Yes, he could wait four hours. “Bon, don’t worry about the materials. I’ll get everything I’ll need.”

***

Sam Thibodeaux’s drawl of “chère,” had almost fractured Hannah’s tenuous grip on her lust right there in the superstore aisle filled with nails and screws. She groaned aloud in her car just remembering his voice and glanced around the parking lot for witnesses. Thank the good Lord she had parked out in the boondocks.

She grabbed her finger vibrator from her purse, slid her fingers beneath her skirt and thong, and flicked it on. Her clit was already swollen thanks to Sam and her overactive imagination. Her head fell back against the seat as her moan escalated into a scream, she managed to bite back with her lower lip clenched between her teeth. The orgasm was good. Not nearly as good as the images in her mind of Sam’s cock providing her release, but it would have to do.

She sagged in the seat with one more furtive glance around. She was chemistry teacher, not a sex addict. This obsession was a branch of ‘chemistry’ that was really overblown biology perplexed her. What she did comprehend was that lust had consumed her for over a year. In the beginning, all she acknowledged was a tall, dark-haired, handsome man with powerful strong shoulders that tapered to a perfect...well, ass. Yes, definitely a great ass. She spent the first two months fantasizing about slowly stripping off his shirt and then ridding him of those jeans. And that was all he had on, because in her fantasy, there was nothing beneath those jeans but hot, hard Sam.

That’s when she had started buying her toys.

Now, four months later, she could practically open her own store. Blessedly, the hot, humid Louisiana summer hit and he had removed his shirt. Fantasy to reality. Who knew the heat could be such a Godsend. For the first time in her life, she climaxed just seeing him through her front room window.

Hyperventilating from the recollection, Hannah gripped the steering wheel, her knuckles white as she tried to control her reaction. His hips were so slim she thought his jeans would slide right off. That’s when she discovered he didn’t wear briefs or boxers. Muscled shoulders and a chiseled chest captured her living fantasy, finished off with rippling abs that were such the definition of a six-pack that she looked for the pull-tab. She’d was tempted to ask if he’d let her bounce a dime on those beautiful sculpted stomach muscles, then chickened out.

It had cost her. During summer break, she was home while he worked across the street. The distraction of Sam kept her hot, horny, and in a perpetual state of lust limbo. Hot flashes of need consumed her days and cold showers ruled her life.

That ended tonight. She had the toys she’d bought the first day she had seen him—even at a distance she knew she wanted him—and they were waiting in her bedroom along with another set hidden in the dining room. The man was good with tools. His life revolved around tools. Well, she had the tools for this job, now she needed the right formula to begin. If she handled it right, she might have him not just Friday night, but all weekend.