Quite the opposite.
I wish he’d be a littlelessrespectful of me with all that fire in his eyes. I’d like to see how it burns when he sets it free.
That yearning is back, boiling my blood and making my cells sing with something unfamiliar. A desire so strong I can onlyblame the fact that I missed my chance to hook up in the last few cities I stopped over in. I’m overdue for human contact, the exchange of pleasure, and my body is demanding I pay, with interest.
“I didn’t break in,” he finally answers, forcing his eyes back onto mine. “I knocked, but you didn’t answer, and then I heard you yelling ‘NO!’ and thought maybe you needed help.”
Did I yell that? It’s possible. I have a lot of conversations with myself, or the podcasts I listen to. But right now my memory is failing me, the way his eyes burned for me etched permanently into my brain, the only thing it wants to focus on. But I need him to know I’m just fine without his help.
“For the record, it’s never safe to open a random woman’s door without her permission. Especially mine.”
A small voice in my head wonders why I didn’t lock it. Why I didn’t feel the constant pressure I’m used to putting on myself to protect myself at all hours of the day, no matter how harmless my environment appears. What part of me felt safe here, outside of this garage, in this small town?
“Noted.” He nods once, dark blond hair flopping with the movement. “So you were, just…talking to Van Gogh? I thought that whole talking to your van thing was just a joke.”
“Oh no, it’s very serious. She and I discuss everything.”
His mouth twitches, amusement leaking through his expression, but I have a point to make here.
“I don’t need protecting. You’re lucky I didn’t mace you.”
“Your tits did the trick,” he says, with another dip of his head. “I was frozen in place, my eyes arestillburning with that picture. Hell, you could’ve knocked me over with an exhale, I wasn’t going anywhere. All yours to do with what you’d like, darlin’. Shit, you could mace me now if you want, it’d still be worth it.”
I roll my eyes and let out a flutter of a sigh, trying not to smile at how thick he’s laying it on. “Been a while since you’ve seen a pair that weren’t on your phone, huh?”
His dark green eyes twinkle with mischief before he answers me. “Nah, just never seen a pair that gorgeous, that’s all. Forgive my manners, I wasn’t expecting that welcome. I just stopped by because my brother needed me to check something on a part real quick. But now…” His voice trails off, those eyes lingering on my face, drawing me deeper into his every word. “I feel like I have this unfair advantage in that I’ve seen what you’re working with, but you haven’t seen mine.”
I’m not sure if eyes can really bulge, the way they do in cartoons, but I think mine make a concerted effort at it, and I’m surprised to feel my cheeks heat at the implication. My voice is steady, however, when I retaliate.
“Calm down, Boy Scout. No need to whip out your python just so you can call us even. They’re boobs. I’ll be fine living with the knowledge you’ve seen them. I’ve been through worse.”
Weston puts a hand on his chest, and I try not to notice the way the tendons flex in his forearm and hand as he does. “But I don’t thinkIcan live with the disparity of having been gifted that vision from the titty gods and not repaying you in some way. It feels like the universe is out of balance.”
“If you wanna make a contribution to the hidden folder in my Photos app, at least do me the honor of good lighting.”
His mouth tilts up in a filthy smirk, and his lips might as well be pressed against my skin for the ways I can feel that look.
“You want a keepsake, darlin’, say the word and we can get this photo shoot started.”
My hand flies to my chest as a laugh bubbles out of me. “You’re really sure of yourself, aren’t you, Boy Scout?”
“You seem to know what you’re working with.” Those glittering eyes flash down to my chest, barely covered, before he shrugs one shoulder. “I know my strengths too.”
“And here I thought your arms and that pretty face were what you had to offer.”
“Hell, darlin’, you ain’t seen anything yet.” His teeth catch the corner of his lip in another delicious smirk and dammit if my thighs don’t clench in response. The man has such a wholesome way about him, but then those filthy undertones come out, and my head just spins in his presence. It’s an unfair combination, really.
“All right, Boy Scout. Show me what you’re working with. But I gotta warn you, if nothing is pierced, Iwillbe disappointed, and the universe will still be misaligned.”
One palm grabs the hem of his shirt and fists in the material.
My eyes are glued to it, and I know this moment should be comical, this should be ridiculous, it started as a joke and I should be laughing at him, but somehow the air has become so thin in the van that all humor has evaporated with my sense of self preservation.
My curiosity has got the best of me now, or maybe that’s just my libido that’s calling the shots.
Mouth dry, lips parted, I watch a bit too intently as he grips the material of his white tee and begins to pull it up, slowly, like I’m going to tip him if he does it right.
Full disclosure, I don’t think there’s a wrong way this man can do something right now, unless he stops.
