“You’re not going to scream again, are you?” His hand still hovered near her face, obviously ready to cover her mouth, should the need arise.
She shook her head.
“Good, because my ears are sensitive to high pitches. I’ll probably be deaf for the next few days because of that scream.” He shifted so that his body no longer pressed flush against hers. Instead, he was straddling her. “Okay, what got you so worked up that you started screeching and wrecking my entertainment room?”
“I...” Mel’s mouth suddenly went dry. Now that she was no longer staring at his face, she got a good look at him. Oh. My. Gosh. Ryne was on top of her. A nearly naked Ryne was on top of her! The flashes of lightning illuminated his body in amazing detail. Starting at his broad shoulders, her gaze ran over his muscular chest, noting the flat brown nipples, the faint trace of hair, the well defined abdominals, and lean hips. Black boxer shorts covered his lower half, but hung low enough that she could see the beginning of an interesting ‘v’ that disappeared below his waist band. Under the cover of the boxers...well...a certain something pressed against sensitive portions of her anatomy.
She gulped and forced her eyes back up to his face only to discover he was glaring down at her impatiently. Oh, right. He’d asked her a question. Now, what was it again? Umm... Ryne wanted to know why she was screaming. Well... Now that she was no longer alone, the danger her imagination had conjured up had faded into obscurity. Mel blushed, feeling rather foolish and looked away, biting her lip. Unfortunately, Ryne didn’t relent despite her obvious discomfort. He just sat on top of her staring down. Mel licked her lips as she realized he wasn’t about to give in to her silent plea. “Er...I heard something.”
“Such as?”
“I know you’ll think this is silly, but...it sounded like someone was tapping at the window and...”
“And your imagination took over?” He quirked an eyebrow at her and Mel felt herself flush even more. At least it was dark so he couldn’t see—
The thought wasn’t even completely formed when the lights went on, exposing her to Ryne’s gaze. She winced at the sudden brightness. Couldn’t anything ever go her way?
“Hey, what’s going on down here?” Looking up, in the direction of the voice, Mel saw Bryan leaning in the doorway, his hand on the light switch. Muscles rippled across his bare chest and his pyjama pants hung low on his hips. Her heart gave a lurch as she realized nearly naked hunks surrounded her. Unfortunately, none of the hunks seemed as impressed by her, as she was by them. This latest one appeared to be laughing as he took in the scene.
“Nothing. Go back to bed.” Ryne didn’t move from on top of her and Mel shifted, trying to give him the hint that he really should move.
“Doesn’t look like nothing to me.” Bryan continued. “More like the two of you are about to get it on.”
“Sorry to disappoint you, my friend, but it was nothing that interesting. Melody thought she heard a noise at the window.” Ryne completely ignored her efforts to dislodge him.
Mel stopped struggling, instead twisting her neck so she could better see Bryan. “Yeah, something was tapping at the window and I was getting up to investigate.”
A grin started to spread over Ryne’s face, as he called her on the veracity of her story. “Really? The window’s the other way. It looks more like you were coming to get me to save you.”
“Well, I wasn’t. I was going to get a poker from the fireplace and take it with me for protection.” Mel lifted her chin, daring him to doubt her.
Ryne tossed her a disbelieving look while Bryan crossed the room to check the window. He quickly returned. “Well, you did hear something Mel. The window is leaking and there’s a steady drip landing on the floor. I’ll get a bucket to catch the water.”
As Bryan went to get a bucket, Ryne leaned forward, a teasing glint in his eye. He spoke in a voice that was menacingly slow and creepy. “I’ve heard that evil drops of water often stalk fair young maidens in the middle of the night.”
“That’s not funny.” Mel pushed ineffectually at Ryne’s thighs. “Will you get off me?” She hissed.
“No, I don’t think so. I’m quite comfortable.”
“Well, I’m not. Now get off!” She noticed that he’d focused his eyes on her chest and she could only imagine what he must be seeing; the t-shirt wasn’t that heavy and the room was cold.
Bryan walked in carrying a bucket just as she spoke. He chuckled. “Mel, would you mind waiting until I’m gone? I’d rather not be here to see Ryne ‘getting off.’ We’re good friends and all, but I don’t particularly want to witness his sexual exploits.”