Minka stood in the doorway, Boris clutched to her chest, watching as Angelo pulled his uniform overshirt over his head without undoing the buttons, which she thought was a pretty impressive feat. Then she saw what he was hiding under there and decided the view was much more impressive. Technically, he was still clothed, but the light tan T-shirt was really tight, and she didn't have to use her imagination very much to figure out there were a lot of muscles under it. Just the sight of his big arms rippling as he moved was enough to make Minka catch her breath.
When he reached behind his head to pull off his T-shirt, Minka found herself licking her lips in anticipation. She felt bad for watching him like this, but she couldn't help herself. Then she looked up and saw Angelo regarding her with an amused expression on his handsome face.
"I understand why you want to keep the door open, and I'm okay with that," he said. "But you might want to look the other way for this part."
Minka felt heat rush to her face. She nodded and stepped out of the doorway, turning to sit down on the floor beside the bathroom like Angelo had done. Her fingers dug into the stuffed sloth's fur. She was glad he couldn't see her face because it was probably bright red. Why had she been staring like that?
She was so caught up in those thoughts, she barely realized her claws had partially extended and her gums were tingling, like her fangs had been trying to slip out, too. What was happening to her?
She closed her eyes and focused on thoughts of Angelo a few feet away. Her claws slowly retracted and her breathing slowed.
Then, her ears picked up the sound of Angelo's boots hitting the floor, quickly followed by his pants. She could tell by the distinctive sound his belt buckle made against the tile. Of course he was taking off his pants. He was going to take a shower.
As she heard him pull back the curtain, then water turning on, it suddenly hit her. There was an extremely attractive and muscular man without any clothes on only a few feet away from her. If she turned her head, she'd have seen something she had never seen in her life-a naked man. Her claws immediately popped out again, and she felt her fangs poking into her lower lip.
Minka silently rebuked herself, swearing she would never do anything as rude as that. But before she knew it, she was leaning sideways to peek around the corner. Her mind was screaming at her to stop, but her body refused to respond. This time she couldn't blame it on the beast, though. This was all her.
The shower curtain was closed, but it was so wet, she could practically see through it. And the view? Minka didn't have the words to describe it-in English, Russian, or Tajik.
Angelo was soaping his hair, and she could see the silhouette of his naked body through the shower curtain. She tried to turn away, telling herself it was very wrong. But her eyes locked on the outline of something between his legs she had definitely never seen before. Her fangs dug into her lips. Gripping Boris tightly in her hands, she rose to her feet and walked into the bathroom.
She was only a meter from the shower curtain when a ringing sound from the front of the apartment startled her so much she jumped.
Angelo stopped moving behind the curtain, his hands over his face as he rinsed off the soap. "Was that the doorbell?" he called as if she were still outside the door. "I'll get it. Let me just get the soap out of my eyes."
He reached for the curtain, rinsing at the same time. Sure he was going to yank it open and see her standing there, staring, she spun around, darting for the front door.
"I'll get it!" she called back.
If Angelo stepped out now, all wet from the shower with soap running everywhere, she wouldn't be able to control herself.
"You sure?" Angelo asked.
She could hear him furiously trying to get out of the shower. Was the towel in there big enough to wrap around his waist?
"Yes!" she said.
Her claws were still partially out, and she would have slowed down to try to get them back in, but the delivery person was banging on the door now, and she was sure Angelo was coming.
Minka grabbed the money Angelo had left on the table, cranked the three locks open as fast as she could, then jerked open the door. The guy standing there jumped at her sudden appearance. Were her fangs showing?
But then he smiled, showing her uneven teeth behind a straggly beard and unkempt mustache. Minka suddenly felt ill at the odor that came off the man. He was attracted to her, and he was disgusting.
"Hey, babe," he said, touching the brim of the red ball cap he wore. "You're not the same hottie that's usually here. Maybe a younger sister-an equally hot, unmarried, younger sister?"
Minka had never heard a man say something so forward to a woman in a polite setting, and the impulse she felt developing was scary in its intensity. She thought she might actually kill the man. The growl was already building and she wasn't sure she could keep it in.
Before she could do something she would regret, Minka shoved the money at the man, trying her best to keep her extended claws tucked into her palm. Then she yanked the pizza box out of his hand and pushed him back into the hallway. Slamming the door, she locked all three locks. Unfortunately, the man didn't seem to get what she was trying to tell him.
"You know you only gave me a three-dollar tip, right?" he called through the door. "I normally get more, but I'll take your phone number instead."
She slapped her palm against the door so hard it shook in its frame. Just for good measure, she let out a low, dangerous growl.
There was silence on the other side of the heavy wood door for a few seconds. "That's cool. I'm okay with three dollars."
Minka stood by the door, waiting until she heard the sound of his retreating footsteps. When she finally turned around, her claws and fangs had disappeared back to where they were supposed to be. That was when she caught sight of Angelo standing there. He was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, water dripping from his long, wet hair to plaster the tight material to his skin.
He looked … amazing.
She felt her pulse start to beat faster again and tried to look somewhere else, but it was useless. Every time she looked away, her gaze snapped right back to him.
His mouth quirked. "You sure you never lived in Washington? Or New York?"
She shook her head, confused by the question. "No, of course not."
He chuckled. "Could have fooled me because you handled that delivery guy like a pro. Remind me never to get fresh with you."
Minka had never heard that expression before, but she guessed he meant the deliveryman had been flirting with her. She would definitely not mind at all if Angelo flirted with her.
She realized she had been standing there, holding the pizza-which smelled very good-for a long time without saying anything. She blushed again, sure Angelo would know where her mind had been.
But he simply pointed at the big, white box in her hands. "You want to eat now? I'm starving."
* * *
Angelo grinned as Minka grabbed a third slice of pizza. When they'd sat down on the couch with a couple bottles of soda and a roll of paper towels, she had claimed she wasn't very hungry and that just a single slice of the great big, cheese-smothered pizza would do. That first slice had disappeared in less than a minute and Minka was reaching for another before he'd even opened his drink.
"This is very good," she said.
Holding the slice in one hand, she used the other to wipe the corners of her mouth with a paper towel in a gesture that was very dignified and polite. Okay, that definitely wasn't something he was used to with the people he normally ate with. The guys on his SF team would have rolled up whole slices like burritos and shoved them in their mouths at once. Of course, Minka was a hell of a lot better company than any of his guys, too. And a damn sight better looking. Even with a mouthful of pizza, she was easily the most attractive woman he'd ever laid eyes on. The funny thing was, as she sat there in those tight yoga pants and curve-hugging tank top, he got the feeling that Minka didn't have a clue how beautiful she was.
When she had stepped out of the bathroom after her shower, her long, dark hair so clean it shined, and her face free of dirt, his jaw had just about hit the floor. God, she was a knockout.
But he minded his manners. While parts of Tajikistan were very progressive due to Russian influence, others could be as conservative as any other predominantly Muslim country. Minka might be confused, embarrassed, or even offended if she thought he was behaving poorly around her.
So he kept his eyes on the appropriate parts of her anatomy and focused on the pleasant conversation.
"You've eaten pizza before?" he asked as she sprinkled Parmesan cheese on her slice and spread it around with her finger. Then she licked that same finger off in a move that was completely innocent-and incredibly sexy.