Page 71 of No Rings Attached
“It was a few years ago. I needed a toothbrush.Just one. So I asked in our family chat if anyone had extras since I was slammed full of meetings that day and couldn’t run out and get one.”
I nodded at the obvious affection I could hear threaded through the annoyed tone of his voice.
“They thought it would be funny for each of them to drop off all the single-use toothbrushes they had. By the end of the day, I had somewhere around thirty. So now, because they think it’s hilarious, every time they get one from the dentist they leave it with me. And I just throw them in a bathroom drawer.”
I spat, rinsed, and placed the brush carefully back in its cardboard sleeve like I hadn’t just been the least sexy person alive. “Well, I’m grateful for the family prank. They saved me from cavities. They’re my heroes.”
His gaze flicked to my mouth, and suddenly the air between us shifted. His breathing deepened. His body stilled. “You’ve got a little toothpaste … ” His voice was rough, words trailing off.
I started to turn toward the mirror, but he caught my chin, thumb brushing the corner of my mouth.
A jolt shot through me, hot and sharp, at the simple touch as he wiped away a bit of toothpaste. Toothpaste should not be sexy. Heat coiled in my chest, and I sucked in a sharp breath. Toothpaste should not make me want to climb him like a tree.
And yet here we were.
I swayed closer. Or maybe he did. Inches. Just inches between us. My heart raced. The heat from his body reminded me of how well we fit together on the porch of the B&B. The way his mouth alone practically brought me to orgasm. How he felt standing between my thighs and how I was so close to coming before we were interrupted. And that fear of what happens next was a gentle hum in the background. Practically forgotten.
“Ellie,” he whispered, his voice so low I barely heard him.
I tilted my chin, breath catching, lips parting. I could throw caution to the wind. Just one move and?—
“Yoo hoo!” Glamma’s voice yelled from downstairs.
I groaned, forehead thunking gently against Drew’s chest.
Worst. Timing. Ever.
Chapter Sixteen
DREW
Iwasn’t sure if I wanted to hug Glamma or kill her for interrupting us.
“Ellie! Drew! So glad you’re here!” She called up from downstairs. “I have Ellie’s luggage! We forgot to drop it off earlier so I’m just going to leave it here by the door in case she needs something. Byeee!”
The front door slammed like she’d robbed a bank, and her getaway car peeled out of the driveway before either of us could yell at her.
The moment between Ellie and me had passed. My body, however, was very much still in the moment. I tugged my t-shirt down, hoping to hide the evidence of my arousal.
How was I going to make it through the night with her here, in my house, in my clothes?
By sleeping on the floor, I reminded myself. Far away from the temptation of Ellie’s curves, only made more so by seeing her in my clothes. I had no idea that it would affect me so much or hit me so hard.
Then temptation herself waltzed right past me into the bedroom and stopped short when she saw the blanket and pillow I’d put on the floor while she’d been getting changed. She blinked, then shrugged and got down on her hands on knees to crawl beneath the covers like she was camping.
The sight instantly sent my brain into dark, delicious places.
She gave me a sweet wave, her smile so dazzling I was sure she could make men give up their soul. “Good night.”
“What the hell are you doing?” My voice cracked, which wasn’t ideal for the whole alpha-male thing.
She frowned. “Um. I thought it was obvious. Sleeping. Thanks for the pillow and blankets.”
“Ellie, those are for me.”
She laughed, snuggling down like she was at the Ritz. “Don’t be absurd. I’m not taking your bed.”
“Get in the bed, Ellie.”
