His smile grew.“I came to see if you were awake, and if maybe you want to go get some breakfast.”
“Go?Like, go out?”
“It was just a thought.”The light in his pretty eyes dimmed, just a little.“If you’d rather not, it’s fine.”
“I’d love to go out,” she told him.“I just really want a shower first.If, um, that’s okay?”
“Of course, it’s okay,” he said, his eyes brightening again.“I’ll get you a towel.”
“Thanks.”She waited while he opened a cabinet and took out a fluffy towel the same pretty green as the tiles.“I won’t be long.”
“Take as long as you want.”He handed her the towel with a smile.“I’ll be downstairs when you’re ready.”
“Okay,” she said and he turned to go.“Unless…”
He paused, one hand on the wall, and looked back expectantly.
The nerves were bouncing in her belly again, but she liked it.She liked it a lot.“I don’t suppose you’d want to join me?”
Surprise flared in his eyes, then pleasure.“I’d love to.”
“Good,” she said, and hanging her towel on the hook on the wall, stepped inside the shower.
She was standing there, staring at the knobs on the wall, when he stepped in behind her.“You didn’t have to wait for me.”
“I wasn’t going to, but—” She waved at the series of knobs, buttons and nozzles that glittered bronze against the tile.“I have no idea how to work all that.”
He chuckled, the warm, rich sound echoing off the tiles.“Yeah, there’s a learning curve.Do you want to get your hair wet?”
“Depends,” she replied with a glance over her shoulder.“Can I use your shampoo and conditioner?”
“Sure.”
“Okay, awkward question—is it actual shampoo and conditioner, or some kind of two-in-one abomination—I mean, situation?”
He nodded toward the niche built into the tile.“We’re men, not Neanderthals.”
She turned to look, angled her head to read the label on the tall bottle.“Um, Knox?That’s lube.”
“Not that niche, the one next to it.”
“Oh.”She shifted her gaze.“Oh, nice.Yes, I would like to get my hair wet.”
“Okay, then.”He reached past her, fiddled with some knobs, pushed some buttons, and warm water came streaming out of the nozzle overhead.
“Oh,” she sighed, turning her face up to the spray.“That’s nice.”
“Hang on,” he said, still fiddling, and water began to pump out of the wall jets.
“Well, God.”Shoving her wet hair out of her face, she looked up at him.“How do you not spend all your time in here?”
“I get hungry and tired,” he explained and ducked his head under the spray.
She watched the water pour over him, arousal working its way idly, almost lazily through her system.He was so beautiful, with that sculped face and swimmer’s body, that arousal seemed almost inevitable, but it wasn’t the prospect of sex that had a lump rising in her throat.
Jesse was all bold, brash sexuality and in-your-face hedonism, but Knox was surprisingly, appealingly tender.A little stern, yes, and that remarkable self-control was a little intimidating, but there was a softness to Knox, an inner core of mush that both surprised and seduced.This was a man whocared, and he wasn’t afraid to show it.
He opened his eyes, water streaming down his face, and smiled.“You’re staring at me.”
