Page 66 of Gluttony
“Stay,” she demanded a little too vehemently. She wasn’t ready to be under water on her own. She needed his arms around her, the same ones that had pulled her out of danger and saved her from drowning.
He nodded and kneeled down before her to unbutton her pants. Peeling the dried and crusty black fabric down her legs, he was careful to not disturb the welts on her ankles from the poison. When his attention passed the area, he frowned and stared at it angrily.
“Lift your arms,” he rumbled.
She did, and he popped her dress shirt down the front, not even patient enough to undo the buttons. When she lifted her brows at him, he shrugged. “It was ruined anyway.”
That word sat heavy in the air. Ruin. It punctuated every brisk and stilted move he made. First, taking off her buttonless shirt—ruin—then when he rolled the shirt into a ball and threw it in the vanity sink—ruin. She was left in her bra and panties, and when Tony’s gaze slid back to her, he cocked his head. The clouds in his eyes dissipated, replaced with surprise.
“You’re wearing sexy lingerie.”
“I know.”
“Has that been under there the whole time?” He gave a self-deprecating shake of the head. “Of course it has.”
He moved to lift her again, but she stopped him. “Aren’t you undressing too?”
He glanced down at his similarly dirty clothes. The Nikes were still on his feet. He had to be just as uncomfortable as she was, yet he never showed it.
“Right.” He tugged his shoes off, then stood.
“Uh-uh. There has to be something for me to look forward to.” Bailey waggled a finger around his torso. “That comes off.”
She held her breath, waiting.
A salacious grin curved up one side of his face, but then he dipped his gaze with a frown. “I can’t be held accountable for the actions of Tiny Tony if that happens.”
“Tiny Tony?” She giggled.
“Well,” he blushed. “He’s not tiny, tiny. But compared to me, he’s—shit, never mind. Forget I said anything.”
Bailey unhooked her bra, letting it fall to the floor. His beautiful eyes lowered to take in her breasts. The liquid heat in his intense gaze made her pulse quicken. Maybe this shower would be okay after all.
Tony slowly disrobed, and she couldn’t stop staring. With each inch of flesh he revealed, her pulse sped up. And when he threw in a cocky striptease, all the tension released with a laugh.
“You like this swamp stain?” he joked, pointing to a brown splat on his perfectly defined abs. “Does it do anything for you?”
The grin wouldn’t leave her face, no matter how hard she tried to school her features. Dammit. That boy knew how to make her smile.
“How about this one?” He turned and showed her the perfect globes of his ass, still covered by briefs. He hooked his thumbs in the waistband and began to lower it, then grimaced. Checking his rear, he said, “Actually, let’s leave that striptease location for another day. Who knows what the waste water collected?”
He turned to face her and lowered his briefs with efficient economy. Bailey blinked, trying not to look atit, but like a schoolgirl catching a glimpse of her first naked boy in the pool locker room, she blushed ten times until Sunday. He was well endowed. Definitelynottiny. He turned the bath faucet off and then returned to her with a wink.
“Yeah,” he said smugly. “Tiny Tony kinda has that effect on women. Just ignore him.”
After tersely helping her out of her panties, he slid an arm around her waist.
“Can you stand, or should we do this with me carrying you?”
“Um.” She tested her weight. Nettles bit along her feet and prickled around her ankles. She winced. “I don’t think I can.”
“Okay,” he replied thoughtfully. “Carry you it is.”
He squeezed her waist and scooped another hand under her legs, so she was back in his arms. She gripped him around the neck as he lifted and brought them under the hot rain falling from the ceiling. Water flooded her face, getting in her eyes and mouth in an entirely uncomfortable way. It wasn’t like a jet shower stream, the water simply fell onto her softly, a small suffocation.
She didn’t like it.
Shutting her eyes, she frowned, adjusting to the sensation.
