“Ask me some questions, then. My safe word is ‘banana pepper.’”
“Now who’s being kinky?”
“Don’t kink shame, Miss Anchovies,” he said.
“Fine. What,” I asked in the same tone of voice as the character fromMonty Python and the Holy Grail, “is your favorite color?”
“Whatever color your bra is.”
“So, purple. That’s interesting.”
“I love purple,” he said. “I must look at all things that are purple. It’s a rule.”
“A rule you just made up. How about you start the stripping this time?”
He slid his chair back from the table and placed Brené Brown on the floor so quickly, the poor kitten was confused. Possibly dizzy.
Then he stood and whipped off his shirt. It was my turn to look a little dizzy. I stood and rounded the table to stand in front of him, finally tracing the words that ran around his bicep. I read aloud, “Things are only impossible until ...”
“They’re not,” Malone finished.
I sucked in a breath. “That’s beautiful. Who said it?”
He sighed. “I’m trying to get laid here, Stark.”
My eyes locked with his. “I’ve had daydreams about tracing that tattoo. With my tongue.”
“Jean-Luc Picard.”
Despite my best efforts, the corners of my lips threatened to twitch upward. His father wasn’t the only Trekkie in the family.
“I answered your question,” he said as he crossed his arms. “I now need to see your bra. Because it is purple.”
I took off my black T-shirt to reveal a royal-purple satin bra.
“Ooh, front hook.” He reached for the clasp, and I smacked his hand.
“You take off yours ... I’ll take off mine.”
His sweatpants pooled on the floor so quickly, I wasn’t sure what to do with myself. Another point in favor of sweatpants. And Adidasslides, since he’d stepped right out of those before pantsing himself. My eyes locked in on his boxers, once again tented.
“Your turn, Stark,” he said.
I forced my eyes back up to his and kicked off my wedge flip-flops before unbuttoning my denim shorts and unzipping them slowly. One hip shimmy, and they were on the floor.
Malone swallowed hard. “Is that a thong?”
I did a slow three-sixty.
“Yep, that’s a thong,” he said. “And that is a stellar ass.”
He took a step toward me, and I sucked in a breath. The next thing I knew, he’d picked me up and plopped me on my kitchen table. He stood between my legs, pulling me toward him so our bodies met where we were most sensitive. I only had time to gasp before his lips met mine. My legs wrapped around him of their own accord, and the end result was a delicious friction courtesy of his erection.
Cool air hit my breasts. A light buzzing sound made me look around for ladybugs.
That sound had to be in my head.
No, definitely my apartment.
