Page 9 of Shark Bait

“Same difference.”

Since I’m blocking the exit, Shark can’t walk past me. I can tell he wants to, and maybe that’s why I don’t move. I want toknow what he’ll do. I enjoy teasing him, even though I think it’s because I’m damaged and want to provoke him. Maybe provoking violence and getting him to off me is all I’m good for now.

Shark takes a step toward me, pressing against my protruding belly. Instead of pushing me away, he puts a palm against the small of my back and pulls me more toward him. When I skid forward, I end up stepping on his feet.

The next thing I know, my bare feet are on his bare feet, and he’s walking me backward into the room. All I can do is hold on to either his shoulders or his biceps. I choose biceps. Oh yes, I do, because, Lord help me, this man’s body is all lean muscle and lines, and the way he handles me is hot.

Under my palms, his biceps flex as he pushes open the closet.

“What should I wear?” he asks.

“What are the choices?” I lean in a little and sniff. He smells like…well, not Fis’s soap, so that’s a bonus.

“I’ll wear whatever clothing won’t remind you of the man who used to occupy this room.”

“It wasn’t just him, Shark. It was all of them.”

Shark grits his teeth. “I’m sorry I didn’t take my time. I regret I worked fast.”

His proximity is making me dizzy. We’re so close that if I inched my face forward, I’d kiss somewhere around his heart. “No regrets. Only lessons.” We’re talking about things I saw but didn’t see.

He glances down at me. “You’re too wise for your age.”

“I look younger than I am.”

“How young are you?” He’s sorting through Fis’s hangers.

“I’ll be nineteen tomorrow.”

Shark breathes out as if relieved. “Good thing I jerked off, then.”

“I’m an adult.” Also, he admitted he was jerking off. And he said it nonchalantly, not wanting to make a fuss over jerking off while, possibly, thinking about me. I don’t push him, but I note that he’s telling me he’s attracted to me.

“Did you make up your mind on what I should wear?” he asks.

“Pajamas?”

He shakes his head. “I sleep naked.”

At the thought of his nude body, heat crawls up my cheeks. I’m pretty sure I’m blushing.

He glances down and smiles. I’m so happy to still be able to blush that I wish I could blush on purpose.

“Wear Fis’s gray sweatpants and a white T-shirt. They all wore these matching sportswear suits like soccer players wear.” I shake my head. “God, I hate them.”

Shark deposits me near the bed, and I notice he’s changed the sheets. After tonight, the bed will smell like him too. Shark must’ve brought his own toiletries. He smells like the summer spent at sea. Warm and inviting, a place a girl could drown in. I wish I’d met him in Nashville before all this.That sounds like a regret.

He dresses while I look around. “You didn’t bring clothes?”

“Not for this mission, no.”

A mission. “How about toiletries?”

“I always bring my own.”

“Even if you’re in hotels?”

He nods, dressed now. Hands in the pockets of his gray sweatpants, he stands there, watching me, his gaze drifting down to my belly. Since he’s wearing loose pants, I can clearly see the outline of his erection.

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