My eyes widen. There’s no way in hell I heard him correctly. “Excuse me?” The question is barely a squeak that leaves my lips.
He jerks his head toward my chest as his gaze once again settles there. Awareness sizzles through me before I ruthlessly tamp it down.
Why him?
Why does my body always react to him like this?
It doesn’t make the least bit of sense. I can’t stand Crosby Rhodes. And yet…
My libido has a mind of its own where he’s concerned. It’s frustrating. Especially since he’s such a dick.
I blink to awareness as he stalks toward me. With every step he takes, the intensity filling the room ratchets up until it feels as if all the oxygen has been sucked from it and it becomes impossible to breathe.
A glint sparks to life in his eyes. “I said you’re not going anywhere until the sweater comes off.”
Even though I’m a full head shorter than him, I straighten to my full height.
Who the hell does this guy think he is?
As I open my mouth to blast him into next week, he says, “Look down.”
Thrown off by the snapped-out command, I blink before narrowing my eyes. I’m afraid of what he’ll do if I look away for even a moment. He continues to stare as my breathing turns labored and my teeth nibble at my lower lip.
“For fuck’s sake,” he growls, “stop staring at me and just look at your damn sweater.”
The gravel filling his voice has me dropping my gaze, only to find the thin, cream-colored material plastered across my breasts. Now that it’s soaked, it’s practically translucent. Not only is the outline of my bra perfectly clear, but so are the dusky-tipped nipples poking through the sheer material. Eyes flaring wide, I gasp and quickly cross my arms over my chest. If warmth had been filling my face a few minutes ago, it now feels like I’m burning up inside with embarrassment.
Oh god.
How many people caught sight of me like this?
A tortured groan escapes from my lips.
“That’s exactly why you need to take it off and put something else on,” he grounds out.
When I remain frozen in place, lost in the turmoil of my own thoughts, he eats up the distance between us with two long-legged strides before pressing his shirt into my palm. My gaze lifts to his bare chest, and an unwanted shot of electricity sizzles through my veins before settling in my core.
Say what you want about the guy, but he has an amazing body. He’s all rippling muscle and sinewy strength. If he were anyone else, I’d reach out and run my hands over his pecs to see if they’re as hard and chiseled as they appear. Instead, my fingers bite into the cottony material to keep from doing exactly that. I can’t imagine what his response would be if I were to touch him. He’d probably sneer and make a barbed comment meant to inflict as much damage as possible.
Already I can feel the burn of his gaze boring into the top of my head as I force myself to take a step in retreat. I need a few inches of separation before this situation can spiral any further out of control. Anything that will help clear the fog from my brain so I can think straight.
“You might not realize it, but the only way this will work is if you take off your sweater first.”
I draw in an unsteady breath and attempt to regain my bearings. It’s not easy with him standing inches away. Instead of Andrew’s citrusy aroma, his is woodsier and more masculine in nature. Something smoky that slyly wraps its way around me and assaults my senses. I’m almost tempted to inhale a big breath of him and hold it captive in my lungs.
It takes effort to clear both my throat and head. “Turn around.”
“Why?” As he shifts closer, his muscles flex and bunch. “I don’t get to ogle your chest the way you did mine?”
A smirk simmers in his deep voice.
“Just turn around,” I snap, losing my patience. The way he can so easily befuddle me is irritating.
“It’s not like you have anything I haven’t seen before.”
Air becomes trapped in my lungs as he invades my personal space. I feel the heat radiating off his body in heavy waves as he whispers in my ear, “Or touched. Or sucked into my mouth.”
The deep scrape of his voice has arousal exploding in the pit of my belly. Actually, it detonates much lower. My panties are dampening as we speak. There’s so much attraction zipping through my veins, searching for an escape route.
I sway toward him before catching myself. “That might be so, but you’ve never seen me, and I’d prefer to keep it that way.”
His gaze drops to my stiffened buds as his tongue peeks out to play with the lip ring. Stare intensifying, he flips the metal back and forth until it feels like the moment could shatter. Just when I can’t take another second, he retreats and turns away.