“Need help?”
“Nope. I’m good. Just…practicing a new dance move. Pretty cool, right?”
He looked amused, but didn’t smile. “You’re the embodiment of coolness.”
Eventually she decided it would be easier to just let go and fall to the floor. Once her back hit the carpet with a light thud, she uncrossed her legs and took a few seconds to soak up all that embarrassment.
She felt his hands on her upper arms and he effortlessly lifted her up like she weighed no more than a feather. She gripped onto his arms for added support until her feet were firmly on the ground again. He wasn’t very tall, but he was still a head taller than her and the sturdiness of his frame seemed to engulf her. Being so close to him was unnerving in a shivers-down-the-spine kind of way. She felt her face heat up and her breath caught in her throat. Was this what flustered felt like? If it was, then she liked being flustered. He wore a tight, black cotton top and she could feel his strong muscles beneath the fabric.
“These are nice,” she said, giving his biceps a quick squeeze. “Very nice. This too.” Her hand did a quick brush over his chest and she felt hard, defined muscles there as well. “Verynice. And you smell really good. So clean.”
“Your approval means the world to me.”
He grabbed both her hands and gently pushed them off his body. She took that as sign that he didn’t like being touched, at least not by her.
“Are you ready to have breakfast?” he asked.
“I’ll be there just now.” His eyebrows creased at the phrase and for a second she thought she might’ve spoken another language, so she tried again. “I wanna shower real quick.”
That he understood and he gave her a slight nod. She waited for him to walk away and then dashed into her room. She was in and out of the shower in no time. She dressed in a thick pair of sweatpants and a fluffy pullover, then she briskly made her way to the dining hall and sat down at the table across from him. “Did you order yet?”
“Still deciding. Not really hungry.”
She opened the menu, which was not only restricted to breakfast options. Her eyes skimmed over the lunch meals. There were a few things that caught her attention, different foods she hadn’t tried before and she was feeling adventurous. “What are Rocky Mountain oysters? It sounds…exotic.”
He glanced up. “I wouldn’t try that if I were you. It’s fried bull testicles.”
Suddenly she wasn’t feeling so adventurous anymore and decided on waffles. He got bacon and eggs. Their food was delivered and she jumped right in. He cut his bacon into little strips, but then just picked at his plate, only taking an occasional bite.
“This is so good,” she said. “You wanna try some?”
He declined with a shake of his head.
“Yours looks good too,” She reached over the table to take a small piece of bacon from his plate.
“You’re not even gonna ask?”
“What?” she replied through a mouthful of bacon and waffles.
He let out an irritable sigh. “Nothing.”
“You’re so grumpy, Kevin. And your personality really doesn’t suit your face. You’re gorgeous, so pretty—in a manly way, but really, so pretty. And without the beard, you are…mind-blowingly hot. I could just look at you all day.”
“Please don’t.”
“Plus, you’ve got that sexy chest and arms thing going on. You’re absolutely dreamy.”
“Do you know that if you keep your mouth closed, your thoughts will actually stay in your head?”
“I don’t think you even know how good looking you are. Girls probably throw themselves at you. You must have a lot of sex. And you’re a Scorpio. They’re the most sexual star sign. Are you very…activein that department?”
He cringed and crossed his arms over his chest. “On the awkward scale of one to ten, where one is accidentally stepping on someone’s toe in an elevator and ten is coming home to find my parents in a BDSM orgy with the neighbors and some midgets…and gerbils…On that scale, this rates about a thousand.”
She reached for another tidbit of bacon. “Did that actually happen?”
“No. I’m just trying to describe to you a situation that would belessuncomfortable than this one.”
“Why are you uncomfortable?” For the life of her, she couldn’t understand why he took offense to what she’d said. It was a compliment. “I’m just stating a fact. Would you beuncomfortable if I told you the sky is blue? No, because the skyisblue. You’re hot, Kevin. I don’t understand what the issue is.”
