against the bronze hue of her skin.
And she was so ready to be sexy.
Not wanting to be too obvious, she threw on a pair of shorts and a tank top, keeping things casual. She slipped on her sandals, quickly blow-dried her hair and headed back downstairs.
Rafe was just coming back inside when he saw her. “Hey, where’s your vacuum? I want to clean up the mess I made in here.”
“I’ll get it.”
“No, I’ll get it. Just tell me where it is.”
“In the entry closet.”
He nodded, grabbed the vacuum and cleaned the kitchen floor. And not just where he’d made the mess. He vacuumed the entire floor. She shook her head.
He just wasn’t like any man she’d ever known. Certainly not like her ex, who wouldn’t know a vacuum from a scrub brush, considering he’d never used either. Tod was an old-school traditional man who thought anything inside the house was a woman’s job to do. Even after she worked a twelve-hour shift, he expected her to cook and clean and do the dishes and the laundry.
Carmen, on the other hand, was a very modern woman who said bullshit to all that nonsense and expected a fifty-fifty balance of sharing the workload of household chores. Especially since when they were married they lived in a condo that required zero work outside the house other than taking out the trash, which Tod had complained about having to do.
Basically, the guy had been worthless. Not to mention a serial cheater.
Refusing to think about Tod any longer, she concentrated instead on Rafe.
What was it about a good-looking man running a vacuum cleaner that was such a turn-on? Maybe it was the fact that he was doing it so she didn’t have to that made it so damn sexy.
She expected him to finish up in the kitchen and put it away. Instead, he continued into the living room.
She took a seat at the island and grabbed her iced tea, feeling flushed while she watched him.
Rafe was every woman’s dream, and—for today at least—he was hers.
He finished in the living room, wrapped up by vacuuming the entry, then emptied the canister and put the vacuum away.
She sighed in contentment.
If he was as good at sex as he was at plumbing, electrical and household chores, she might just hold him prisoner here for the rest of his life.
He went to the sink to wash his hands, giving her an opportunity to watch him from behind, which was quickly becoming one of her favorite pastimes. His sleeveless shirt fit tight across his broad shoulders, and his shorts hung low on one very fine ass. He had biceps that just begged to be caressed, and all she wanted to do right now was press a kiss to the back of his neck.
Honestly, if she got any hotter around him, she would spontaneously combust. Something was going to have to be done about this. And she knew exactly what that something was.
But first, she was going to feed him dinner, because the man had worked hard today.
He dried his hands on a paper towel and turned to face her. “Okay, let’s go check out your grandpa’s bathroom.”
She batted her lashes at him. “I thought you’d never ask.”
He laughed.
They went into the bathroom, and he turned on the shower, demonstrating the rainfall shower and the handheld.
“Grandpa’s going to love that so much.”
“It’ll give him a little more freedom. He won’t have to be monitored so much when he’s in here.”
“He’ll love that even more. Thanks.”
“No problem. Should we try the new kitchen lights?”
“Absolutely.”
They went into the kitchen. Rafe hit the light switch, and her normally dull and dim kitchen was bathed in brilliant LED lights. She blinked a few times, amazed by how bright it was in the room.
“Wow. This is magnificent. I’ll actually be able to see what I’m cooking now.”
He grinned. “Yeah, it’s a huge improvement, isn’t it?”
She couldn’t get over the difference changing out the lighting had made. She went over to him and wrapped her arms around him, feeling all that muscle she’d previously ogled. “Thank you.”
He put his arms around her, tugging her closer. “You’re welcome.”
He leaned in, pressing his nose against her neck. She shivered at the contact.
“You showered.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“You smell good, Carmen.”
Was it her imagination, or did his lips brush her neck? Every inch of her skin reacted with goose bumps. Her nipples hardened, and her sex quivered in response.
She could stay like this or push for more. But she needed to reward the guy