Ben: I swear I just wanna see your tits. This has nothing to do with Brian texting me. ;)
Eve: What did he say to you?
Ben: I’ll see you in a little bit.
Iknockedonthedoor and Eve answered in tiny jean shorts and a plain black T-shirt with her hair piled on top of her head. Her face was free of makeup andthere were splotches of something white on her shirt. Flour, maybe.
“Hey,” she said, crossing her arms and leaning against the doorframe.
“Hey,” I answered, giving her a questioning glance.
She was guarding the door like she might not let me in. Maybe Brian was wrong, and she didn’t want the distraction I offered after all.
I studied her. Her chin jutted out stubbornly while flour dusted her clothes and face, but unease and something close to fear danced behind those dark brown eyes.
No, Brian was right. She was dying for a distraction. She just didn’t want to admit it.
“Did you get into a fight with a bag of flour and lose?” I quipped.
“Ha ha,” she snarked. “I was making tortillas. I’m a mess. I’m not wearing any makeup. There’s flour everywhere, as you can see. And I didn’t get the chance to hop in the shower and clean up.”
I couldn’t care less about any of that shit. She didn’t need makeup. She was beautiful without it, and the flour speckling her nose and cheekwas adorable.
“You look good,” I said, leaning down to kiss a spot of flour dusting her cheekbone.
“You don’t need to be here.”
I smiled and cocked a brow despite the tightness in my chest. “You really know how to welcome a guy, princess.”
She rolled her eyes. “I meant if you’re here because Brian told you I needed a babysitter tonight, I don’t. And even if I did, that’s not your job. You’re not my boyfriend, so you don’t have to be here. I look like crap.”
I stepped closer to her, tamping down theirrational anger that flared when she pointed out that I wasn’t her boyfriend.
She wasn’t wrong. Iwasn’ther boyfriend.
Yet.
Her comment struck a nerve. It would be idiotic if I didn’t acknowledge the hold that she had over me. Stupid to deny the feelings that were bubbling to the surface. But I didn’t think she was ready for me to admit any of that to her.
I invaded her space, forcing her to look up at me. “First of all, makeup or no makeup, you look beautiful. And second, I might not be your boyfriend, but I thought we were more than acquaintances who like to see each other naked.”
She put her hand on my chest, keeping me from getting any closer. “Wearemore than acquaintances, but I don’t want you to feel obligated to be here if there’s somewhere else you’d rather be tonight.”
I gave her a shit-eating grin. “I was planning on burying my face in your perfect tits tonight. Trust me when I say there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
She shook her head, laughing. “You’re ridiculous.”
The aroma of spices filtered out into the hallway where I was still standing. I leaned forward, inhaling the scent hanging in the air.
“You cooking us dinner, princess?”
“Yeah. I didn’t know if you’d stay, but I really didn’t want to go out and I figured... I wanted to keep my hands busy.”
Brian hadn’t told me anything other than Eve had a bad day and he didn’t want her alone tonight. I wanted to ask her what had happened, but I needed to get past the doorway first.
“So, do I get to come in and have a taste?” I asked, spearing her with a heated gaze and settling my hand at the dip of her waist.
Her eyes went wide and the tops of her cheeks flushed.
