Page 60 of Show Me How
“A flirt who doesn’t lie. It’s fucking killing me picturing you in some tiny bikini, all damp and windswept. I’m trying really hard to be a good guy here, and I’ve got a feeling I’m going to fail pretty damn soon.”
My core tightens, growing warm. “Do you think it’s only you who feels like that?”
“Like what exactly, Millie? Because as much as I want to have another go at that list of yours right here, right now, I’m also real frustrated that you’ve been ignoring me for days. I won’t be touching you again if that’s how it’s going to be afterward. You’ve got a friend in me now, and for as long as you’re here, that’s what I want to continue being.”
“I didn’t think you cared about that. You never mentioned it upsetting you,” I argue weakly, knowing that he’s right.
I have been all over the place recently.
Shade rolls his jaw, his eyes clouding. “What exactly were you looking for from me? You ran out of the studio like your ass was on fire after leaving your mark all over my throat and then came into work the next day with your eyes everywherebuton me. I can’t read your mind, Millie. When you want something from me, you need to say it. I’ve proven to do just about anything you ask, so this should have been no different.”
“I don’t know how to do that,” I admit, growing tense. “What you’re telling me to do, I’ve never been able to with the people in my life. Not without being shamed for it or guilted for having real feelings. So, I’m sorry.”
It’s too hard to look at him, so I focus on the water in front of us. It ripples slightly but is otherwise unmoving. Stagnant. Boring. I almost laugh before looking to the trees lining the bank instead.
“To start, I want to help you get comfortable with touch,” Shade starts, drawing my attention so naturally it’s almost freaky. His attempt at encouraging me to open up is appreciated, even if I keep my thanks tucked away. “You should know every inch of your skin that makes you burn up inside and release those fucking noises you were making the other day. Then, you’ll start working on telling me what you want. That’s an important one if you’re going to be with men who aren’t as attention detailed as I am.”
The teasing tone helps make it less awkward for me, but I still flush, unable to help it. There’s something incredibly embarrassing about being a grown woman and needing to be guided on all things intimate by a guy I’ve only met a week ago. Even if his intentions aren’t to make me feel this way, I don’t think it’s possible not to.
“There’s that confidence again,” I reply loosely.
He chuffs a laugh, letting that light dig go. “I need to hear that you’re still okay with going forward with this. If you are, I’ll go back up to your cabin with you right fucking now, Millie. But if you’re not, you need to tell me now so I can figure out what our dynamic is going to be for the rest of your time here.”
“I’m okay with this. I never wasn’t.”
Fingers tap the underside of my chin before guiding my head to turn. I hold my breath when Shade’s brown eyes dig into minefrom only a few inches away. He darts them back and forth from my left to right, searching for any hint that I’m lying to him.
His search comes up empty the way I knew it would.
“Let’s go, then.” He’s baiting me.
I force his touch to fall away when I push up from the dock and stand. Brushing off the back of my skirt, I palm my hips and stare down at him.
“Am I meeting you there later, or are you going to get up and come with me anytime soon?”
The quirk of his mouth incites a flurry of flutters in my stomach. Yeah, it’s dangerous being around a man like Shade. Not only because of how good-looking and smooth witted he is—although that doesn’t help—but because of the easy friendship he’s offered me. It’s too easy to be around him, and regardless of what we’ve agreed to do together, I feel at peace around him. Comfortable in a way I haven’t been before, not once. Even if all we did was sit and talk like friends for the duration of my stay, I’d leave happy.
I offer him my hand and wait until he slaps his against it before giving him a tug. His body doesn’t move in the slightest, but I feel the strain in my arm from the pull.
“These muscles are concrete, baby. Don’t pull your arm out of its socket,” he teases while getting to his feet.
“I’ve never met anyone with concrete in their muscles. How interesting.”
“Luckily for you, I’m up to being groped if you want to really live up this once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
I laugh, belly warming with what I’ve come to expect whenever I’m with Shade. An arousal that’s bound to send me into a spiral when I can’t diffuse it properly.
“Does that usually work on the women you meet?” I ask in hopes of playing off my reaction.
He drops an arm to my shoulders and hauls me right up against him as we walk off the dock. The arms I have hanging at my sides feel so out of place as I debate moving the one slapping his thigh behind him instead. I clench my teeth when I hesitate, continuing my awkward slapping motion instead.
“I’m not sure. Tell me if it’s working on you, and I’ll think about keeping it in my arsenal,” he replies.
Without dropping a look down at me, he pulls his arm off my shoulder and grabs my hand instead. I hold my breath while he moves it behind him and confidently slides it into the back pocket of his jeans. Once his arm falls back onto my shoulder, I manage to speak.
“It isn’t working.”
We walk over a big tree root sticking up out of the ground, and Shade drops his mouth to my ear. “Liar.”
