Page 72 of Hidden

August uses his foot to disturb the corner of the fuzzy blue blanket I made him pull from the couch, and then he stares at me, like he thinks I'm going to throw a fit or something.

I try my best to ignore the mussed blanket, but it nags me like an itch I can't reach. I flip him off, another fun trick I've learned in my new life, and dive to replace the area he disregarded. “That was unnecessary,”I tell him, fighting off a smile.

The expression on his face kind of matches mine. His eyes are crinkled in amusement, lit up from within. He's beautiful.

“Am I even allowed to come in there with you, or is this a solo adventure? Because you sort of took all the pillows and blankets from the entire apartment and that looks really damn comfy.”

I'm tempted to tell him tough luck because he's clearly making fun of me, but I can totally be a mature adult and talk about all the things.

“Just don't knock any pillows out of place and put the blankets back in the exact same place after you crawl in, and we won't have any problems.”

“Yes, princess.”

And then, he gets naked.

No, seriously.

August stares me down as he slowly unbuttons his jeans and kicks them outside of the closet with his socks and does this wildly sexual move with one arm reaching across his torso to whip his shirt off.

My mouth goes dry.

His chest is full of tattoos I haven't seen yet, all apparent physical representations of sounds. Color and shapes flowing across what looks like written music, making me feel as if I can hear the melody. A flock of birds mid-flight with lines skating in and out that makes me feel as if I can hear the flapping of their wings and their calls.

Smaller things too, like water flowing over his shoulder, making me hear a roaring waterfall as it explodes down his side. Words with no apparent commonality written in heavy script, deliberately, as if being announced by someone with a heavily poetic voice.

I can't even take everything in. It’s a canvas, but it's so loud that I feel almost over-stimulated by it.

Then he signs and it fades to a dull roar; a soft symphony in my ear that becomes background music to the man staring at me. In nothing but underwear.

I peel back the blankets dumbly, suddenly not caring about anything except for the way he's looking at me.

“Just when I think I understand you,”I tell him with shaking hands, “I find something else hidden within you that calls even more to me. You're stunning. I…”

Yeah, I have no idea where I was going with that. And now I'm just staring at him. My hands find their way to his graying long beard so I can better learn its texture, then up to his cheeks so I can know the contrast of his skin.

“What were you going to ask me, earlier, when you sort of froze up on the phone call?”

“What happened to your girlfriend? Before this can go anywhere, I need to make sure we're on the same page. If you still want to be with her, I'm not sure this can happen now.”

August relaxes and a masculine gleam bleeds into his entire countenance, making me feel very much like a prey animal. And like he's very much not a beta right now.

He leans over me until I’m forced to recline with him hovering over me. “May I kiss you?”

I nod, curious about what's happening. He's purposely avoiding answering me, but I can't tell if it's because it’s not an issue, or because it is.

He slowly removes the soft, threadbare cotton shirt and the tank underneath that's draped over my body, snarling as he lowers his mouth to my breasts. My head falls back, words beyond my reach at the moment.

Damn. If I knew he was going to kiss me there, I'd…what? Tell him no? Ha. I almost laugh. Having his mouth on me makes my insides ignite, my back arching up into him like something is lifting me.

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