Sinner (Shelter Harbor #1)(24)
I choke out a laugh.
“So that’s what’s worrying you?”
I nod glumly.
“You’ve heard of the internet, right?”
I make a face. “What, pornography?”
He laughs. “Well, yeah, plenty of that. But I’m sure there’s stuff out here to read.”
“Ugh, I don’t know.”
“You could always ask-” he stops short.
“What?”
“I was going to say you could always ask Chastity but…”
I laugh. “Right, Chastity the nun. That’d go over well.”
“I mean with a name like that, God it just seems like a dare.”
I giggle, feeling warmed and comforted by his arm around me. “Thanks,” I say with a smile.
“For?”
“For being nice about it.”
“Oh, I’m just holding it back for later.”
I smile again as I take a tentative sip of the beer in my hands.
“You could ask me, you know.”
My brows shoot up as I glance sharply up at his face. “What?”
“I mean if you’ve got any questions about it. You know, preparing for Milton.”
“Sex questions,” I say flatly.
“I do sort of know what I’m doing.”
I blush as I take a step away from him, almost regretting the way his arm leaves my shoulders. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
He rolls his eyes. “I didn’t mean anything tawdry, just questions. But suit yourself.”
I nod. “I should get back inside.”
He holds my eyes another second before he nods. “Sure. Oh, so we’re still okay about the other night?”
I nod as I turn for the side door. “Yeah. Oh, and Rowan? Thanks.”
He smiles. “Anytime, darlin’.”
He turns and he’s started to head for the gate to the yard when the thought takes hold, quite suddenly.
The wicked thought.
Temptation.
The devil’s whisper.
Just go inside. I tell myself. Please just go inside. Just go-
“Hey Rowan?”
Crap.
He turns. “Yeah?”
“What if we traded?”
What the HELL are you doing?
“Traded?”
“Yeah,” I can feel my heart pounding inside my chest. This is a terrible idea, but at the same time, maybe a good one. After all, who better to teach me something about stuff like this than him? Who better to ask questions about original sin to than the sinner himself?
“I won’t tell anyone about the guy the other night.”
“Appreciated-”
“If you teach me some stuff.”
His eyes flash, his jaw tightening as he suddenly looks at me with a hungry look.
“No, not like…” I’m blushing furiously — simmering. “Not like, teach me — nothing gross. I just- I might have questions.”
“And you want to ask me them.”
I nod at the grass, not able to meet his eyes. “Something like that.”
“Wow.”
I cringe. “Okay, I’m sorry, this was a bad idea-”
“No, no, it’s not actually. So, you’ll keep my secret, and I’ll be your sex teacher.”
I roll my eyes, still blushing as I finally make myself look up at him. I swallow thickly, meeting those eyes. “Just questions. And you can’t tell anyone, okay?”
“I can’t think of a single person I would.”
I nod and stick my hand out. “So we have a deal?”
There’s a slight grin teasing the corners of his mouth as he takes my hand. His skin is warm, and I shiver at the tingles moving through my body to places they shouldn’t.
“Deal,” he murmurs.
“Okay, so, goodnight.”
I yank my hand away from his and flee into the house before I can say or do anything worse.
Because I just made a deal with the devil, and I should not be this excited about it.
Chapter Twelve
Rowan
Holy fuck.
I slam the door to my apartment above the bar shut, and storm across the room. I grab a bottle of whiskey and a tumbler from the shelf and pour a huge splash before I knock it back in one huge swig.
Shit.
Shit shit shit.
This just went from “don’t play with fire” to jumping head-first into the flames.
Prim, proper, buttoned up, off limits, sheltered, drop dead sexy without even knowing it Evangeline Ellis is a virgin.
And she wants me to teach her.
I groan.
I’m hard. Fuck, I’m harder than I can remember being. Harder than Fiona even got me earlier. Way harder.
I exhale slowly, leaning against the brick wall and looking out the window down over the harbor. O’Donnell’s is up the hill a ways from the touristy spots, but up here, you can see the whole damn harbor and the town below.