Searching for Beautiful(84)
She needed to stop talking to herself.
“Good. You got extra bacon?”
She fumed but forced a sunny smile. “Sure. Did you have fun?”
“Yep. Are you making eggs, too?”
Her eye twitched. “Worked up an appetite, huh?”
He pulled back at that remark and studied her. She turned away and fiddled with the skillet, cursing her inability to be cool. The silence behind her spoke volumes. Wolfe finally cleared his throat. “How was your night?” he asked.
Her back tingled in rebellion. If he thought she’d been lying around with the remote, he was sorely mistaken. “Really good.” The bacon sizzled in the pan and spurt out fragments of grease. She maneuvered the spatula around the eggs. “It was actually kick-ass.”
She sensed his frown but refused to turn around. “Oh. That’s good. Your date is tonight though, right?”
“Yep.”
“You went to Mugs with the girls, then?”
She scooped up the eggs and bacon and slid them over. Picked up her coffee and sipped. “Nope. I got a tattoo and a Brazilian wax.”
His expression was well worth the shock factor. Those blue eyes widened and his lower lip hung down a bit. His gaze scoured her from top to bottom, settling on the apex between her thighs before quickly being dragged back up. Sweat popped up on his brow.
Gen grinned and dug into her eggs.
“What the hell are you talking about? What tattoo? Where? Why?”
She shrugged. “Felt like it. I think the Brazilian hurt more.”
An intense light gleamed in his eyes. Her body reacted by saluting to attention. Her nipples stiffened. She grew wet between her legs. She hated it. Having him cross over from the camp of friend to man she desperately wanted to sleep with was brutal. Should she try to get back some of the ribbing and teasing associated with their friendship? After all, if Wolfe was sleeping around, she couldn’t be included in the troop of women he desperately wanted to sleep with. So if it was just her panting after him, she better get back on equal footing.
“Why do you need it?” he asked roughly.
“The Brazilian?”
His fingers clenched the fork in a death grip. “No. The tattoo.”
“Told you. It was impulse. Kate came with me. She was pretty freaked out by the needles and my nakedness.”
The fork clattered to the floor. Wolfe breathed heavily. “Who saw you naked?” he asked in a high voice. “Where did you get it?”
She arched a brow. “Calm down, dude. You got a piercing in your dick. Had to hurt like a bitch. Why’d you do that?”
Ah, he flushed again in that kind of adorable, masculine way. Ducking his head to pick up the fork, he tossed it across the counter. She got him a replacement, waiting for his answer. “Because I was pretty screwed up at the time. I pushed limits, didn’t mind pain, and wanted to torture myself for a bunch of messed-up things.”
She leaned forward. Her voice was whisper soft. “Like what?”
“Never mind. I really don’t want to talk about the piercing, Gen. Where’s the tat?”
Disappointed, she turned back to her breakfast. Of course. After all, they didn’t share dark and lonely stories. An emptiness pulsed in her gut, with the need to know more of him. It had never mattered before—she was always grateful for whatever he chose to give. Now?
Not so much.
She patted her lower back. “Tramp stamp.”
He sucked in his breath but she ignored him. Cleaned up her plates and stacked them in the dishwasher. “Can I see it?” he asked.
“It’s covered. I’ll show you another time.” No way did she feel like revealing it to him right now, when she felt so vulnerable. If he tried to touch her, she might lose it. Best to keep the tone light and let him know the expectations for tonight. “I need you to sleep at your apartment tonight.”
Darkness crossed his face. “Not a good idea. I think David’s watching and I don’t want you to be alone two nights in a row.”
“I won’t be. If everything goes according to plan, Charles will be staying the night. I’d rather not get into any awkwardness.”
“You don’t even know the guy! What if you’re not attracted to him? Why can’t you have a nice dinner and come home? We can go over his assets and liabilities together over a beer and TV.”
Her temper surged. She made sure not to bang his plate around when she cleaned it up. “Maybe I’m looking for more than friendship tonight, Wolfe. Maybe it’s time I prove to myself there are other men who’ll want me.”
“Sweetheart, don’t talk like that. A man would be nuts not to be hot for you. I don’t want you to rush or make a bigger mistake if he’s not the right one. You need time. I’m telling you this stuff because I’m your friend.”