Page 77 of Shortcake
A big mistake.
But also… maybe the most fun mistake I’d ever make.
I had to stop staring and sneaking glances at him, but in my defense, his body was as close to perfect as I’d ever seen. And the one and only other time I’d been with him likethis, seen him, felt him, it was dark and we’d both had one drink too many.
He flashed me a grin as he closed the deck door behind him, a towel draped casually over his shoulder.
He’d been hot three years ago, but in the tangle of our dark, drunken tryst, I don’t think I got the full experience. The full view.
Sure, I knew he’d been muscular, but the muscles that were in front of me now were next level. His golden biceps were thick and veined. Dark hair dusted his massive chest and forearms. A thin, groomed line of hair trailed down the lower center of his six pack and disappeared beneath the waistband of his swim trunks.
Two divots creased at his slim hip bones… the lower ab muscles that created a v right to the dick. My favorite muscle on a man.
I hadn’t felt this way about a man in years. Three, to be exact. I hadn’t wanted anyone as much as I wanted Conrad right here in this moment. The weight of that want was so heavy, so painful, that it nearly crushed me as I stared at him, dumbfounded.
Slowly, lazily, my eyes wandered up the landscape of his chest until they landed back on his face where he was staring back at me, that crooked mouth parted in a shadow of a smile.
“You sure this is okay?” he asked, reading my expression. “I don’t have to join—”
“It’s fine,” I croaked, barely able to form words at the sight of his disarming twitch of a grin.
Bare-chested, he moved with a nimble intensity toward the hot tub, robust sinews rippling across his chest and torso as he climbed into the water. Icy eyes sized me up before he slowly sank in. The groan he exhaled dropped the tension in his shoulders, while making my thighs clench.
Stupid thighs.
Our eyes met, locked for several seconds, our eye contact suspended, before I glanced away. He was insanely, incredibly sexy and I found myself staring at his tanned flesh pulled taut over muscles and the column of his throat that I so badly wanted to drag my lips and teeth across.
“You know, I almost didn’t buy this housebecauseof the hot tub,” he said, his head falling back to rest against the cedar lip.
All efforts to try to not stare at him were out the window and I whipped my head around, gaping. “Really? That’s a stupid reason not to buy a house.”
He chuckled. “I know. That’s what my realtor said, too. But in my head, it didn’t make sense. Half the year it’s warm and summery. I didn’t think we’d use it much…”
“Mmmm. But summer evenings with the cool breeze off the lake is perfect for the hot tub. And then if it gets too hot, you just go jump in the lake and cool right off. It’s perfect.”
I sank deeper into the water, grateful that I was able to use the hot tub even though it wasn’t technically part of my rental. Even Higgins would let me use it whenever Airbnb renters weren’t here.
“I’m starting to see that,” he said, his voice lowering a tick. Then, clearing his throat, he added, “I also worried that it would take a lot of upkeep.”
“It’s just tossing the chemicals in every few weeks and making sure the pH is right.” He stared at me a few blinks before I shrugged. “I used to take care of it for Higgins after he moved out. I can show you how.”
“I’d appreciate that.” His smile created a divot in his cheek that made my ribcage tighten. That fucking dimple. It wasn’t fair. Men shouldn’t have dimples that cute. It was disarming.
I reached for my glass of wine, propped on the edge of the hot tub, but my trembling fingers missed, knocking into it. It teetered for a second, the glass threatening to tip over and shatter everywhere.
But Conrad leapt up, catching the glass before it could fall and spray glass everywhere.
“Good catch,” I whispered, chest heaving with my tight lungs and heavy breath. He carefully set the glass down farther away from me, but didn’t move back.
Didn’t retreat back to his seat across the tub.
He was practically over top of me, wet body half out of the water, droplets pouring down his carved chest and torso. Heat radiated in his dark blue eyes as he pulled back slightly to stare down at me.
The oxygen between us charged as something shifted. Even though the hot tub could seat four people, it suddenly felt like we were enclosed in a broom closet.
The water lapped against the cedar siding, still churning from the sudden movement of Conrad catching the wine glass.
I could see the struggle in his eyes. In his tight features and crooked mouth.
