He nodded and pushed a wet strand of hair behind my ear. “Yeah. It’s one of my favorite things about you. You’re never fake.”
He smelled like the expensive body wash he used and bacon. The combination was making me a little lightheaded. Or maybe that was pain from my arm. I’m pretty sure it was time to take another pain pill. His bare chest was inches from me, making it impossible to think.
“I have lots of other favorite things about you.” He took the same lock of hair he’d just tucked behind my ear and twirled itaround his finger. “In fact, there’s nothing about you I don’t like. Which is saying a lot, since I think I know you pretty well.”
“You think you do, huh?” I asked
The heated look he gave me stole the oxygen from my lungs. “I know I do. And I’ve let you run and hide from me for a long time, but you need to know that I’m over that now.”
I swallowed, unable to look away. “Over what, exactly?”
“Over you running every time you get scared, hiding whenever my mom says stupid shit to you. You know I want more than friendship from you, don’t you?”
I nodded.
“Good. Now what do you want from me?”
Such a loaded question. An honest answer could scare the crap out of both of us, so I forced down the butterflies in my stomach, gave him a cocky smirk, and said, “I don’t know, this whole shirtless-in-the-kitchen look you’ve got going on is kinda working for me.”
“Is that so?” he asked, stepping to me. When his hard, incredible chest pressed against me, he moved the hand which had been playing with my hair to the back of my head. He held me there as he slowly inched toward my lips. When we were breathing the same air, he whispered, “No more running, Dylan.”
Then he kissed me. Warmth spread from my lipsto my entire body as his tongue explored my mouth. He pressed me against the counter and went deeper, his hands running over my arms. He hit my bandage and I cried out.
Asher leapt back. “I’m so sorry,” he said, his eyes wide. “I...I... I’ll grab your pain medicine, wait here.”
Then he turned away, leaving me breathless and warm all over. “It’s not a big deal, Ash,” I said, but he was alreadyrummaging through the pharmacy bag on the table.
“It is a big deal,” he said, shaking a pill out of the bottle. He handed it over. “I have to take care of my girl.”
Well that made my insides gooey. I swallowed back the pills. He watched my lips, then my throat, then I was in his arms again. But this time, when Asher leaned against me, there was a loud suction sound, followed by an audiblepopbetween us. He jumped back again, his eyes wide with concern. “What now?”
Something slid from my boobs... crap! I tried to catch the cups, but now that they were finally free, the poor man’s excuse for a bra refused to be contained in my loose T-shirt. They fell to the floor, leaving me braless as well as speechless. And the front of my shirt was wet, thanks to the shower water that had beentrapped between the cups and my skin. I didn’t know whether I should cross my arms and try to hide myself, or reach down and pick up the cups, so I froze like an idiot.
Asher looked from the cups on the floor, up to my wet T-shirt, to my rapidly-heating face, then back down to the cups. “What are...? How the...?”
“That’s... uh... the bra I had to wear for that dress.” I was actually happy thecups had come off. If my next emergency room visit had to be to remove plastic cups from my ta-tas, I would admit myself into the hospital for good. The mental kind of hospital where you get a nice warm jacket, a soft, padded room, and three square meals a day. Didn’t sound like such a bad gig, considering.
He blinked, and his gaze went once again to my wet T-shirt. The hunger in his eyes warmedup a lot more than my face. Heat pooled throughout my entire body, terrifying me. I picked up the fallen cups and took a step away from Asher.
“I should go... uh... I’ll be right—”
Before I finished, he grabbed my good arm and pulled me to him again. Feeling his hard chest against my wet, braless one only increased my temperature. Our lips met again and I thought I’d combust. I could feel hisbody responding as well, and was both alarmed and excited by the way I affected him.
I heard Addison’s bedroom door open down the hall and I pulled away from Asher, stepping out of his grasp. Gaze locked on mine, he gave me a wicked grin, full of all sorts of promises that left me both worried and eager.
“Mmm, something smells good—” Addison froze. Her gaze took in me with my wet shirt andcups in my hand. Asher had spun around.. “Should I go back in my room?”
“No!” I said a little too forcefully. “We’re good. We were just... talking. We’re done now.” Then I did what any brave girl who’d just faced down kidnappers and murderers would do... I fled into my room and got my body under control.
When I reemerged, we all three sat at the table and ate. Addison fished for details whileAsher and I took turns changing the subject. But every time he looked at me, I knew our “conversation” was far from over.
