His eyes opened at that. “You want to touch my ass? Why?”
I cleared my throat again, and tried not to wiggle my fingers in a blatant show of grabby-ass. “It’s... nice. And I would very much like to touch that swoopy part on the sides where it indents.”
He glanced over his shoulder at his butt, and gave another flex before turning his attention to me. “Do I get to touch yours?”
“I’m not lying here naked and exposed.”
“You exposed me.”
Dammit, he had a point.
“True, but I am wearing appropriate sleeping apparel.”
“Sweetheart,” he said with a twitch of his lips that made me feel a good ten degrees warmer, “that bit of nothing you have on is anything but appropriate.”
“I notice that you’re not having any problem talking to me now,” I said in a blatant change of subject, then decided that wasn’t fair. I couldn’t play coy with him, not when the reality was that I wouldn’t mind in the least if he touched my butt. And legs. And breasts, and pretty much all of me. “I’m sorry, that was wrong of me.”
“Why?” he asked, frowning. “Iamtalking to you, but it’s due to the fact that I’m feeling quite a few emotions that are blocking out my social anxieties. I believe I explained that phenomenon to you.”
“You did, but my apology was about me pretending I wouldn’t like for you to touch me, when the reality is that I would.”
“Mercy,” he said, giving his butt another flex.
Twenty degrees. Maybe I felt twenty degrees hotter. “Hmm?”
“Is there a reason you’re talking and not touching?”
“You didn’t say I could. I wouldn’t wish to presume, especially after I made such a big deal last night about telling you I didn’t do the very thing that I want to do now.”
“I can say with all honesty that at this moment, you may consider my ass your own to do with as you like. So long as you offer me the same consideration.”
“Deal,” I said, and got onto my knees to commence fondling. “I don’t know what it is about men’s butts when they have this swoopy part, but hoo mama, do I like it.”
“And I like you liking it.” He groaned into the pillow when I put both hands on his cheeks, and gave a little squeeze.
I had the worst urge to bite him, but decided to keep that rather shocking reaction to myself. “Would you mind if I... er... expanded the territory?”
“That depends. Where do you intend to go? Up or down?”
I gazed upon the wonderful smorgasbord of Alden that lay before me. I just wanted to touch and taste all of him, but again, I didn’t want to admit that. At least, not just yet. “Can I do both?”
“Yes, but I warn you, when it’s my turn, you’re going to have to face the consequences of all this exploration.”
“I hope you don’t mean that literally,” I said, sliding my hands up his warm, satiny flesh to his lower back. He was hot, but with every touch, I was growing even hotter. “No one likes a face full of unexpected penis.”
“Unexpected Penis is my grunge band name,” he said when I scooted over slightly, and spread my hands along his rib cage.
I paused and looked down at him.
He opened an eye and rolled it back to look at me. “Didn’t you ever play the fake band name game?”
“Oh, that, yes. Grunge band. Heh. Would you mind rolling over?”
“Much as I’m enjoying this unanticipated massage—you may have that foryourgrunge band name—I hesitate to point out that if you continue, I will feel obligated to do everything I can to seduce you.”
The secret, hidden parts of me gave a thumbs-up to that idea. Just the thought of that magnificent body lying next to me doing all the things that I’d been thinking of the night before had me restless with need. “The way I see it is that we’re both consenting adults, and although we’ve only just met, we have had a lot of conversation, and beyond that, we have a spark going on between us—wedohave a spark, don’t we?”
“I believe so, yes.”
