Seeing Red(21)

He headed first to Meg’s room and knocked. As there was no response, he let himself in to deliver her paperback. He padded as quietly as he could through the living room and into the master bedroom.

Atop the bed, Meg lay on her back, propped up on the bank of pillows and doing nothing but showing off the bounty of one of God’s most perfect creations.

“I just…came in to bring you your book,” he said, trying dutifully to keep his eyes fixed above her collarbone, but then she recrossed her legs at the ankles and his gaze flitted downward. “Uh…were you hot? I can turn on the fan.”

She crooked an index finger at him. “Figured you’d want to bring me that.”

When he didn’t immediately move, she crooked that finger again.

He edged to the left side of the bed and squatted near the headboard. “Yes?”

“Are you so unmoved by me?”

Unmoved? “I don’t know what you mean.”

She swept a hand demonstrably down her body, indicating her nudity. “You walk in and see me like this, and you don’t react. How am I supposed to feel?”

Safe, perhaps? Unmolested?

Seth was under no pretenses about how he looked to women. Hell, some had told him that they couldn’t be with a man his size. And given his proclivity toward smallish women he could probably carry out of a hundred miles of wilderness on his back, his options had been limited. He’d learned to rein in his enthusiasm.

He stared down at his knees. “I’m not very good at reading women, so please don’t take it personally if I don’t respond the way you’d expect. Tell me what your expectations are, and I’ll try to react within the confines of those.”

He looked up in time to see her cock her pretty little head to the side.

“Take off your clothes, Seth.”

“What?”

She pushed herself up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. She patted the space beside her and sighed. “Take off your clothes and sit right here.”

He didn’t ask why. Although he’d only been in her very personal acquaintance for a few days, he’d already come to understand that Meg wasn’t a woman who enjoyed being cross-examined. If she told you to do something, and you were probably going to do it anyway, then you did it without asking her why.

His shirt came off first, followed by his damp swim trunks. Before sitting where she’d indicated, he took the time to hang the garments over the rail in the bathroom.

How could she possibly think he didn’t react to her? He was an intelligent life form, but no matter how sternly he scolded his cock, it was going to prepare to wage battle whether his head was in the fight or not.

She must have finally noticed his body’s response, because as he padded toward the bed, her lips quirked up at one corner.

He didn’t like that look. Or maybe he liked it a lot. Or maybe it scared him. He couldn’t tell, but with each passing second, his cock grew harder and begged for another release.

What was her endgame? He figured he’d find out soon enough.

He sat, and she immediately stood, grazing his sun-heated shoulders with her fingertips as she walked around to face him.

She put her other hand on his right shoulder and bent down to meet his gaze.

There was trouble in those dark eyes—the kind of trouble the Roma girls were always so good at alluding to but never following through on. Prudes.

“So, we were going to talk about our living situation.” She leaned in farther so her left cheek grazed his right one and her silky, warm breasts pressed against his chest.

He drew in some air. She smelled of fruity shampoo, sunscreen, and had an undercurrent of something that was all woman. If he could add his tongue to the sampling of her essence, he bet he’d doubly confirm it was the scent of her arousal.

Had he done that to her, or was she just that hard up? Unfortunately, he knew that feeling of being hard up all too well lately.

“Yes, over dinner,” he managed, pulling his wandering hands back in when he realized they were on her ass.

He wouldn’t make that mistake again. Last night, he couldn’t help but to explore her, even though she’d asked him to stay still. Keeping that promise felt like an impossible endeavor. She was meant to be held—touched. Not doing so would be defying nature. Still, he’d try. He’d be good, and maybe she wouldn’t run off so soon.

“Now’s fine.” Her breath was a mere rasp in his ear, and her lips tugged at his fleshy lobe before letting it snap back in.

What was she up to?

“Okay…so let’s talk. I work in Fayetteville, so—God.”

She’d pushed his legs open wider and had her left hand wrapped over the head of his cock. “You were saying?”