Page 26 of Nerdy Dirty Valentine

Grunting, I didn’t answer him. I couldn’t meet his eyes. That kind tone. I longed to reach out and return to his steady embrace and had to will myself not to do it.

Instead, I peeled off my T-shirt, which was a bit clingy with sweat, and tossed it into my hamper.

James stared at me, swallowing hard. “I’ll be here.” His gaze dropped a nanosecond toward my bare chest.

Relief filled me. This part, I could do. With a slow inhale, I felt my out-of-control emotions finally loosen their grip.

“Wanna join me?” I offered a teasing smirk.

James’ eyes widened a little before he nodded. “Yeah, I would.” Emotions shimmered in his eyes that I couldn’t decipher, but something there made my heart give a hard thump.

He knew I needed this. As much as he did.

I couldn’t wait to hold him in the shower. Kiss him all over.

Then it hit me that James was agreeing for me to see him naked. Naked under the bright lights of my bathroom.

My cock stirred at the thought of him revealing his body, but warmth washed into my chest, too, knowing that he trusted me this much. I couldn’t pretend this was just sex.

Not when James was so giving. I wasn’t sure what was happening between us, but I was suddenly grateful for it. However many moments James would give me, I wanted.

I had a feeling these moments would become precious memories for me, ones I’d store inside to examine when I felt at my lowest.

CHAPTER

NINE

James waited as I adjusted the water temperature to be nice and steamy. But hearing James wanted to be with me in the shower was something I needed. That I wasn’t alone with all my feelings. It might all be temporary between us, but it was real.

He was a little shy as we undressed, so I busied myself with fetching us towels.

Once we were inside the shower, however, James relaxed. “Can you hand me the soap?”

I nodded, my heart in my throat. Something had changed for us both tonight. Instead of handing him the soap, I grazed it along his shoulders and down his arms before transferring it to him. His body wasn’t as sculpted as mine, but he was lean and graceful, and the word he’d once called me came into my mind: lovely.

“Thanks.” He smiled, his eyes warm and trusting, and my heart filled with pride in him. He was vulnerable yet strong. And so much more honest than I was.

James soaped himself as I just gawked at him. Holy fuck, he was so beautiful.

Being with him was more than I’d admitted before. But I could no longer deny James was important and had been important to me from day one.

When he handed me the soap, I grunted. It was all I could manage; I had zero words left after my emotional upheaval. But I stared at James, and he must have read something hungry in my gaze.

He didn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around my neck. We kissed, and the moment we touched, everything slowed. I became aware of his slick skin, the press of his lips on mine, the closeness of our naked bodies. His lips were so full and soft, his mouth locked tightly on mine.

Had I ever kissed this way before? With other guys, it was rough and rushed. If we kissed at all…

I honestly didn’t think so. After giving him another lingering kiss, I broke away, noting the water coasting down on James, fighting a desire to lick every drop.

“Tilt your head back. I’ll shampoo you,” I said thickly. I turned him around. Soon, I was kneading my fingers through James’ thick hair.

As my fingers massaged him, I tried to ease my growing arousal, squeezing my thighs together, as if that could stop it. James was a magnet for me, drawing me closer. And not only my body.

I ached to touch every inch of him, but it was more than that. I was glad James’ head was tilted back, his eyes closed. Otherwise, he might see right into my heart, see the wonder that was filling it. And that was too terrifying for me. I wasn’t ready to share it. Not yet.

“Gah,” he said.

“Good?”

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