“And if people aren’t willing to learn every inch of those scars, to see that they make you beautiful, they can go fuck themselves,” he growled, and I felt my stomach tighten at the sound. “Because you already have a handsome face, a strong body, a thick ass, and a hell of a nice dick. Those are just additions, but you’ve got plenty. So just because you haven’t found, or haven’t been willing to find, someone to trace those scars with their tongue to make you understand how hot you are doesn’t mean you aren’t a gorgeous man, got it?”
“I’m…” I said, leaning back because between the weird feeling and his intensity, I wasn’t sure what to do. “I can’t tell if you’re tryin’ to make me feel better or seduce me.”
The intensity on his face flickered and broke as he realized what he was doing. “I, uh?—”
I raised an eyebrow. “You don’t know either, do ya?”
He still didn’t move, frozen as if terrified of what he’d been doing and afraid to do anything decisive. “I said I was having feelings. I guess this got a little…weird.”
“It’s different,” I said, laying my hand on his bare chest. It was warm; no, it was practically radiating heat, and I could feel his muscles were taut. Now he no longer looked intent on trying to kiss me; his words sank in, and I felt a flutter in my chest that I couldn’t remember feeling…or at least, couldn’t remember feeling for a while, anyway.
My hand stayed where it was, and Walker was still frozen as I raised a brow. “Er…trace my scars with their tongue?”
If he had been holding off on being embarrassed before, that fight was lost at my words, as his face turned a brilliant shade of red in seconds. “I, uh, was…caught in the moment.”
“I guess so,” I said with a little laugh. A new curiosity was bubbling up in my head, and I couldn’t help but ask, “You, uh, always talk to people ya wanna sleep with like that?”
“No,” he said, drawing back, but my fingers pressing against his collarbone twitched, and he stopped with a confused expression. “I mean, kind of?”
“Kinda?”
His face tightened with frustration. “I’ve been known to do it…sometimes…when I, uh, really am in the…moment.”
“And ya were in the moment just now?”
“Obviously,” he huffed.
I guess it was kind of mean of me to keep asking him questions, but my curiosity was getting the better of me. Itwasn’t the first time a guy had come on to me. Actually, in the past few years, it had only been men who’d come right out and admitted they were attracted to me, which had been flattering but hadn’t provoked the same curiosity. I’d also had some women be pretty aggressive, saying that they wanted to sleep with me, though it had been a while. I couldn’t recall ever having a guy be this blunt and…colorful.
“Were you…gonna try to kiss me?” I wondered.
His frown deepened. “I’m going to be honest with you, Cade, I don’t know what was going on in my head, alright? I was caught up in the moment, and the moment just…carried me forward, okay? Just like I don’t know what’s going on right now between us because I’m really confused and don’t know what I’m supposed to do next.”
I blinked. “What?”
“Because it felt like you weren’t going to stop me, and right now it feels like you’re trying to stop me pulling away,” he said, a desperate note in his voice. “And you’re touching my bare chest even though you know full well that something weird almost just happened on my end.”
I frowned. “It ain’t weird.”
“It’s a little weird.”
“Now hold on a minute. Ain’t nothin’ wrong with you bein’ turned on by someone,” I told him with a scowl. “I don’t care if it’s me. You’re into guys, why wouldn’t you get turned on by me?”
“I’m not saying it’s weird that I got turned on by you, especially when your… Everything was right there on display. And it was kind of hot to see you get all forceful,” he admitted, and the color in his face came back.
I blinked. “Ya liked that?”
“Okay,” he said, drawing away finally, leaving my hand hanging in the air before I had the sense to draw it back. “This is getting weirder than I know how to handle.”
“I’m just askin’ questions,” I said with a huff. “I’m tryin’ to understand, and make sure ya don’t feel bad about it.”
“Bit late on that one,” he said wryly, sitting down again and somehow drawing further away.
“Well, I ain’t upset about it. I don’t get it, no matter what ya said, but I’m not upset,” I told him firmly. “So if ya feel bad, don’t make it about me. That’s comin’ from you.”
He stared before snorting and looking away. “The call is coming from inside the house, huh?”
“Yeah,” I agreed after I thought about what he meant. “I guess it kinda is.”
