“Your home is my home.” I chuckled, my voice sounding slightly hoarse. Probably due to all the talking we’d done on the flight home, mixed with a lack of sleep.
“Exactly. Let’s get these suitcases to your room, and you can take a bath and get some sleep.” He set his water bottle on the counter and wheeled my bags down the hallway, stopping at the room beside his. I’d stayed here many times before, and I’d decorated the place, so I was more than comfortable at Cutler’s home.
“I forgot how much I loved this room,” I said as I plopped down to sit on the bed, and he moved to sit beside me.
Rustic wood floors ran throughout his home. He’d given me free rein on the interior design, which was modern farmhouse. He’d drawn this house on a pad of paper one night when we were still in college, and years later, he’d built it. Cutler had expanded his father’s construction business here in Blue Sky Bay, and he was the architect on all their projects here as well as back in Magnolia Falls. He’d been written up in several architecture magazines and had a brilliant eye for design.
“It’s your room. Always has been.” He tilted his head to the side as a wicked grin spread across his handsome face. “Although, if memory serves, there was a time when we’d have sleepovers when we were young, and we’d sleep in the same bed because you were afraid to sleep by yourself.”
“You were the only friend my parents ever let me have sleepovers with, and you were such a cuddly boy back then. You always ran hot, which I loved, because I was always freezing.” I chuckled.
I’d known this boy—this man—most of my life.
“Yeah, and I loved warming up my girl,” he said as he lunged forward, tipping me back on the bed. He hovered above me after rubbing his scruff against my neck as I fell back in a fit of giggles.
“You still run hot,” I whispered as my fingers traced along the scruff on his jaw, the way they’d been dying to.
“Welcome home, Jeege. I missed you.”
“I missed you too. And I’m happy I’m here,” I said, sounding a little breathless. “And I’m not kidding about this, Bear. I really do want you to teach me some of your sexy tricks while I’m here, okay?”
“You don’t need any tricks, Jeege. You’re sexy as hell exactly how you are.” He chuckled as he pushed up in one swift movement, almost abruptly, as he moved to stand at the foot of the bed.
I propped myself up on my elbows. “I want to have the kind of power that you have, you know? Like I just make one move, and the other person is all flustered. You’ve definitely got it, and I’m just asking for you to pass on your expertise.”
He tipped his head back as he laughed, then shook his head and smiled. “You’ve got it—you just don’t realize it. And I think that makes you even sexier.”
“Listen, I’ll just be straight with you. Gabriel basically said that I’m boring in the sack. Personally, I found him to be very unexciting. We hadn’t had sex for months before we even broke up, but it’s not like I have much to compare him to. So that’s why I’d like to learn some things before I even consider entering my next relationship.”
And who better to teach me than the man I trusted most in the world? He was experienced and sexy, and he’d never do anything to hurt me.
We were best friends, and I felt safe with him.
There was no risk of things getting complicated because it wasn’t like Cutler would ever look at me as more than a friend.
It wasn’t his thing.
But he could teach me plenty, and I was ready to learn.
“He said what to you?” His hands fisted at his side, and his jaw clenched. “Fuck this guy, Jeege. Don’t let that fucker get in your head. You’re perfect exactly how you are.”
“I just want some tips, and you’re the perfect guy to help me. I mean, who else could I ask to do this?” I smirked. “Come on. We’re best friends. It wouldn’t be that big of a deal. And this is a perfect time for me to get a bit more—educated.”
He rubbed his face and blew out a breath. “You’ve been back in the States for an hour, and you’re already tasking yourself with things to accomplish while you’re here.”
“What can I say, Bear. I’m a number one achiever—it’s sort of my thing.”
“Is this that Strengths test thing you made me do?” he asked.
“Yes. I’m a number one achiever and you’re a number one woo, which makes a lot of sense.”
He arched a brow. “How about you let your overachieving self have a little break for a few days, yeah? You can become a sexy diva once you get settled.”
“I’ll make you a deal,” I said, my voice teasing as I moved to my feet. “I do all the cooking while I’m here, and you teach me how to be a sexy diva.”
He smiled. “You’re a damn good cook, so how can I turn that offer down?”
“Great. We can start tomorrow.”
