Page 127 of Dark Love

“You know if you stare at me much longer, we’re going to have soup instead of sundaes.” The grin on his face says he doesn’t really care.

“Aren’t you… um…” Hot. Very hot! “…cold?”

The beast chuckles. “No.”

What am I going to do? My brain won’t function with him like that.

“You must be. I’ll just…um…” Did Dad leave any shirts here when he stayed last? Like Dad’s shirt is going to fit over all those expansive muscles. “You don’t have any tattoos.” Why? Why in the world would you blurt that out? Don’t make it any more obvious that you’re salivating over him.

“Never saw a reason to get one. I don’t need to prove my strength or pain tolerance to anyone. Do you have any?”

“Muscles, no.”

He chuckles again. “I meant tattoos.”

“Oh.” Stop staring and start thinking. “No, I don’t have any tattoos. My mother would have lost her mind if I ever got one.”

“And you care about that?”

Can you really kiss a smirk off a man’s face? It works in books.

That smirk is almost as sexy as his…

Stop being a perv. This is completely normal. Women have ice cream with shirtless men all the time.

On the beach, not in the middle of my bed.

“Would you feel better if I put a shirt on?”

“No.” What did I just say? “Yes.” Pull yourself together. “It would be nice if you put on a shirt. I wouldn’t want you to catch a chill.”

The smirk turns into a grin as he heads to my bathroom. The view from the back is just as nice…

Vex comes back a second later with a shirt on and one in his hand. “This is for you.” He takes a bowl from my hand and gives me the soft shirt.

“Why?”

“You can sleep in it.”

“But this is your shirt.” I hold up the offending garment.

“It is. Now go put it on.”

“But I have pajamas.” Lots of pajamas. Including a pair that covers me from my neck to my toes. I usually wear it on the coldest day of winter, but was planning to wear it tonight like it was armor protecting me from the gaze of a sexy man.

Which would probably work, since what man finds adult onesies sexy?

“I know, but I want you to wear this.” He nods to the t-shirt.

“But…”

“Wear the shirt, Dahl.”

Fine, I’ll wear the shirt, but only because it’s incredibly soft. “Here, take this. I’ll be right back.”

Vex takes the second sundae bowl, and I go change.

He’s lying on the bed on top of a blanket with the television on and a bowl in his hand.