“I like the way you think.”
He disappeared into the bathroom, and I turned on the TV. Now that we were finally on the cusp of changing everything, butterflies flapped like pterodactyls in my stomach. There had been so much buildup, so much tension. What if reality couldn’t live up to expectations? I was frowning at an infomercial when Ty came into the living room, toweling his hair dry.
“You don’t believe that nonstick cookware traps the flavor inside and requires no oil?”
The flutter inside me turned into a different feeling when I realized he was naked, apart from the blue towel knotted around his waist. My gaze slipped to his feet, second toes longer than the first, traveled up to well-muscled calves and lean thighs. Skipping upward, I admired the beads of water clinging to his chest. His stomach was slightly ridged, not a six-pack—he didn’t have time for that—but cut enough to tempt me to trace the lines. Broad shoulders, strong arms, he was the total package, and even more when you considered how smart and funny he was, what an amazing person.
When I shifted my gaze upward, he was flushed, either with excitement or embarrassment. “Damn. That look felt like foreplay. I was going to offer you a drink, but—”
“I’m not thirsty.”
“Then turn that off. Too much TV is bad for you.”
Smiling, I stood up and he took my hand. We walked down the hall toward his room, and I noticed that Sam’s door was closed. Symbolic, most likely—representing Ty’s commitment to keeping these two parts of his life separate. He had a full-size bed with a black wrought-iron headboard, and it was already turned back, revealing brown sheets beneath the blue-and-brown circle-patterned comforter.
He turned and put his palm to my cheek. “I don’t know what I’m doing. I’ve never had a woman in this bed.”
Perversely, I was glad to hear that. Even if we never had a regular relationship, this part of him was mine. “I thought you said it had only been—”
“I go out occasionally, pick someone up, either at a bar or a party. Then we go to her place. I don’t stay the night.”
Put that way, it sounded depressing, not the right mood for our first time. But I couldn’t help asking, “How is that better than beating off?”
A wry smile. “I’m not alone. Let’s not talk about this, okay?”
“I just need to ask one more thing.”
“Feel free.”
“Will you still be doing that while we’re doing this?” I tried not to sound bothered because we didn’t have a commitment.
“Of course not. But you can...do what you want.” To my vast pleasure, he gritted that last part out, as if he hated saying the words.
I laughed softly. “I wouldn’t have the time or energy. This is enough. You are.”
“If that’s true, you’re wearing too many clothes.” He grasped the bottom of my T-shirt and pulled it over my head in a smooth movement.
I didn’t think he expected me to be topless so fast because he stilled, eyes on my br**sts. I’d had guys touch me and not turn me on as much as that look. I watched his face as I worked my yoga pants down and stepped out of them. Now I had on my panties, and he was still sporting the towel. My hand trembled as I flicked it away from his hips. I had never been prone to comparing male packages, but his made my mouth water. In a glance, it was deliciously obvious how much he wanted me.
“You are so beautiful,” he whispered.
It didn’t matter if I was; only that he thought so. “Come to bed.”
Teasingly, I scrambled across the mattress, making him come to me. He was gentle when he did, and I squirmed down onto my side, eyes locked on his face. Ty wore an expression of incredulity and longing, like he just couldn’t believe I was actually here. He kissed me at last, lips delicate as a flower petal when I wanted so much more. That lightness didn’t last long. With a hungry growl, he deepened the kiss, and I tasted mint on his tongue.
Against my mouth, he whispered, “I’ve imagined you here so often.”
“Yeah?” I loved knowing he’d fantasized about me.
“In my favorite scene, you slip in through the patio door. I’m sound asleep in bed and you wake me.”
“How do I do that?”
A shudder worked through him as he touched a fingertip to my lower lip. “With your mouth.”
Teasing him, I whispered, “That’s dirty. I’m not sure how I feel about taking advantage of a helpless, sleeping man.”
He shivered. “Just so we’re clear, consent is granted ahead of time.”
More kissing. I initiated it, using Ty’s favorite move. I loved the rasp of his scruff against my palms. As I nibbled his lower lip, he brought me closer, until my br**sts fit against his chest. He made a sound in his throat and I wrapped a thigh around his hip, trying to get closer. The shift rubbed us together deliciously, only my panties between us.
Considering how wild, how desperate, he had been the first time we touched, his patience seemed unusual. Suddenly, I suspected I knew why. “You cheated, didn’t you?”
“Hmm?” He was kissing a tender path down my throat, nibbling, licking and evoking all the tingles.
“I know what you did in the shower.” Turning his head to the side, I bit his shoulder. That drove him nuts last time. He rewarded me with a hiss of pleasure. “And I can’t believe you didn’t let me watch.”
Ty throbbed against me; the push and surge made me moan. “You deserve more than seven minutes in heaven, so to speak.”
“But I missed out on you. In the shower. All soapy and wet. I promise it would’ve been good for me. I’d be even more turned on than I am right now.”
Ty fell onto his back when I gave a little push and by the jump in his breathing, he was into the idea of me watching him. “Next time,” he promised. “Although why I’d be doing that again when you’re here—”
“It was your idea,” I whispered. “And it’s rude to invite someone over and then keep all the fun for yourself.”
“I’ll make it up to you.” When I nuzzled down his chest toward his belly, he fisted his hands in the sheets. “If it’s any...consolation, it’s not helping as much as I h-hoped.”
Good. I didn’t say it out loud, but I wanted him in bed like he had been that night on the couch. Incoherent, shaking, completely on fire. I kissed and licked a path around his navel, then reversed directions, bit his nipple on the way up to his ears. I set a palm on his inner thigh, a whisper away, but I didn’t move it upward. Instead, I leaned in and nibbled his ear, remembering how he’d begged me to touch them.