Phoenix (Editing)

Chapter 7 *Edited*

After a couple of weeks to finishing the floor plan and blueprints for the house, everything was ready to go. Today would be their first day on site, setting the foundation for her parents dream home. Claire was extremely excited and could almost see the finished product. She felt like she was on Extreme Home Makeover, but as she climbed out of her ice blue Chrysler Sebring her eyes landed on Pierce as he barked out instructions and she knew Ty Pennington didn't have anything on him.

As she slammed her door closed and beeped the alarm, Pierce looked in her direction and smiled. Her stupid heart did that flip-flop thing again and she frowned. She tried not to notice how sexy he looked in his faded jeans and white tank, muscles straining the material to the max.

God, she's beautiful. Pierce thought as his manhood jumped at the sight of her. He was going to have to get himself under control. He felt like a high school boy with his first crush only maximized by a hundred. He damn near drooled on himself every time he was around her and he felt so unsure of himself. He wasn't used to feeling like this, he was always comfortable in his own skin, until the day she walked into his trailer.

He especially didn't like how he didn't seem to have any effect on her. Women usually fell over themselves when he put his charm on, hell even when he didn't. Claire was apparently immune to his lure. He saw her frown at the sight of him as she approached looking even sexier than he'd thought possible in her light blue t-shirt, jeans with the tool belt he'd previously provided rocking from side to side as her hips swayed. He swallowed thickly, thinking that no woman should be so sexy. What made her even more alluring to him was that she seemed totally unaware of her own sex appeal.

Claire looked around at the rest of the crew that had already begun to work. He's just a man. She reminded herself as she stopped a few feet from him. "Looks like everything is ready to go."

"Just waiting on you to hit the first nail." He swept an arm out towards a couple of his workers who'd begun to set up.

Claire gave a small smile. "Thank you." Even after weeks of being in his presence working out the floor plan, he still made her nervous. She stepped passed him in the direction he indicated and sat her hard hat over her sloppy ponytail.

***

Carlos droned in his ear for what seemed like an eternity, but Pierce's eyes couldn't be bothered with the sight of the squat Hispanic man with a uni-brow as he watched Claire across the way. Through beams of the newly laid foundation, he watched her greedily guzzle ice cold water from a bottle she'd retrieved out of the nearest cooler. Her throat worked in rapid succession as she consumed the whole bottle in a matter of seconds. She wrinkled her nose in a sniff, took off her hard hat and wiped away the sweat that was threatening to slide beneath her protective goggles.

She was covered in a layer of saw dust and the heat made her shirt stick to her sweat slicked body. He could see the imprint of her sports bra and through that he could see her erect nipples. He wasn't sure it was such a wise idea to be working so close to her, but he couldn't imagine turning this job over to his foreman once he had returned to duty. He realized she was headed his way and quickly averted his gaze.

"What?" He gave Carlos a blank look when he realized he was still talking to him.

Carlos smiled and looked at Claire. "She is gorgeous, isn't she?" Pierce glared at him, and Carlos raised his hands and backed up a step. "Just saying, boss. Go for it." And then he walked away.

"Hey, I hope I'm not interrupting anything." Claire began.

"Not at all. What's up?"

"Well, it's almost one o'clock. I'd figure I'd run and get lunch for everyone."