One of the other guys must have let her in, as I heard voices a moment before soft steps padded down the hall to my room. From my bed, I glanced at the doorway, waiting for her to poke her head in.
A feeling of completeness filled my chest when I saw her face, every feature down to the freckle just below the corner of her right eye etched in my memory. I’d denied my feelings for her for so long that it was harder to embrace them than it was to shove them aside.
I was working on changing that, among other things.
In a way, every hurtful thing we’d hurled at each other over the last two years had really been little declarations of love in a fucked-up way—ourfucked-up way, and I freaking loved that about us. She drove me crazy as much as she made me crazy.
Her smile reached her eyes, despite my sensing an uncertainty from her as she hovered in the doorway instead of bounding inside like usual. “Hey.” Her soft voice felt like a breeze of spring air over my skin.
I showed her a dimple, knowing how much she “hated” them because they made her knees weak. “Hey.”
The awkwardness only lasted a few more moments. She started to relax, leaning her shoulder against the doorframe as she dropped an oversized bag on my floor. It landed with a thump. She took in my damp hair, the dewiness that lingered in the air from the bathroom. “You better not be lying.”
I raised a brow. “About?”
“The hot water,” she stated.
A silent chuckle shook my chest. She had a way of humoring me without trying. Folding my hands behind my head, I stayed stretched out on the bed. “Did you decide?”
An adorable look of confusion descended over her features. “Decide what?”
“Which one you want?”
Her eyes glinted as she recalled our text messages. “Doesn’t the hot water come with the bathroom?”
It took everything in me not to climb out of bed and go to her. Or better yet, tug her into the bed with me. I needed to feel her against me. “Then the only reasonable answer is all three.”
“Funny,” she said, averting her gaze from mine. She picked up her bag and slipped into the joined bathroom. “I only need like fifteen minutes,” she said, closing the door behind her.
I lay on the bed, staring at the door, listening as the water turned on a few moments after she disappeared. It took no time at all for my mind to start thinking of inappropriate shit. Like the fact that she’d undressed in the next room, only a thin slab of wood separating us. For the next sixty seconds, I pictured Mads standing in my shower, rubbing soap all over her body, and I became instantly hard.
“Fuck me,” I muttered, tapping my fingers against the mattress. I should stay right here and wait for her. I had no business interrupting her shower, except… My mind was already coming up with excuses, like how there was unresolved business between us. Somehow my warped brain convinced itself that now would be a good time to squash any unsettling feelings either of us might have when, really, I just wanted to see her naked.
I was a guy.
When didn’t I want to see my girl naked?
The door was unlocked when I turned the knob, the patter of the shower masking any noise it might have made as I carefully pushed it open. Her clothes were scattered on the floor, including a white lacy bra.
Dear God.She knew I had a weakness for white lingerie. Angelic and hot. How could you go wrong?
The shadow of her form, outlined against the frosted blocks, only added to the illusion of sexiness. She faced the showerhead, her chin raised as water rained over her body. For a few breathless seconds, I stared, watching as she lifted her hands, running her fingers through her hair.
My dick throbbed.
I moved soundlessly to the opening at the corner of the shower and stepped in. I didn’t bother to undress and didn’t give a damn that I had just showered myself. A body could never be too clean.
Mads turned around as I planted my bare feet on the wet tile floor. Her eyes were closed, still unaware of my presence. A smile curved at my lips, deflected drops of water spattering onto me. I gazed upon her face, taking in the high cheekbones flushed from the heat, the perfect cupid’s bow on the top of her pink lips, and the slim arch of her nose. I couldn’t help but wonder how the fuck I’d gotten so lucky.
Why did she pick me of all the guys in the world?
I’d never know what she saw in me. I could joke all day about my charm, wit, and good looks, but when you peeled away all the charisma and allure, what was left? A broken and tortured guy who had a long way to go to get his shit together.
Those long lashes, beaded with drops of water, finally batted open. Her eyes widened in surprise, and she let out a little squeal, splashing a spray of water in my face. “Christ, Micah,” she swore a second before she slapped me on the chest. “You scared the shit out of me. I could have fallen and broken my neck.”
I trapped her hand against my chest, partly to steady her but mostly because I needed to touch her. “I would have caught you.”
She rolled her eyes. “What are you doing in here? And you’re fully dressed,” she said, gaze raking over me.