Scorched

Ta

He looked at me like he saw a woman he wanted—he needed.

Then he moved.

Kicking the door shut behind him, he steadily advanced on me. The thud of the door closing snapped me out of my stupor. “What the hell?” I shrieked, clutching where I knotted the towel above my breasts as I took a step back. I was completely nude under the towel, and I’d never been this undressed in a room with Ta

Ta

“W-what?” I sputtered. “You probably came to hurl more insults at me.”

He lifted his gaze to mine then. Some of the heat evaporated from his eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be insulting, but I was. That’s why I came up here. To tell you I’m sorry.”

For a second, I forgot I was in a towel and he had barged in on me. This was the second time he’d apologized. Never before had he ever apologized. Neither had I. I blinked slowly¸ having no idea what to say.

Ta

Holy crap.

Since I wasn’t a size 2 or even a size 10, a normal towel didn’t cover me completely. The towel parted just below my left breast, exposing the side of my stomach, my hip and my entire upper thigh. I knew he could see the underswell of my breast, and if he looked hard enough, God only knew what else he could see. I couldn’t even fool myself into thinking something different. If I moved too quickly, he’d definitely get an eyeful of my goods.

I almost laughed, because I’d been so against him seeing me in a bikini a few hours before, and now he saw pretty much just the same. But the back of my throat and my eyes burned, and if I laughed, it might’ve sounded a little crazed.

Ta

Anger and pleasure warred inside me. He’d said that earlier, but I’d dismissed it. Buried it so deep in my thoughts that it was like hearing it for the first time. “Don’t say things you don’t mean. Not stuff like that.”

He frowned as his eyes met mine. “I do mean it.”

I swallowed hard as I shook my head. My fingers tightened on the knot. I didn’t know what to say to that. “You shouldn’t be in here.”

“I know.” But he made no effort to leave. “You hurt your knee.”

Huh? I glanced down, and saw he was right. Tiny drops of blood beaded over my left knee. “I…I must have ski

“Let me take a look at it,” he said.

“It’s fine. Just a scratch.”

Ta

I wanted him to get the hell out of my room, but he was giving me the option to escape. Shuffling to the bed, I grabbed the clothes I’d laid out before Ta

Actually, everything about Ta

I slipped into the bathroom, legs shaking. My reflection in the mirror confirmed that my face was only a shade lighter than my hair. God, tonight had gone just amazing. Slipped and fell into the pool like a dork and then caught standing in a towel. I was ready to crawl into bed and pull the covers over my head.

Or down half a bottle of tequila, because if there ever were some moments to get shitfaced, this was one of them.

Picking up my clothes, I realized I’d forgotten to grab a bra. Fuck me. Seriously. Maybe I’d get lucky and Ta

My knee ached a little, and I grabbed some tissue. I’d just sat down on the rim of the bathtub when there was a knock on the door.

“Are you clothed?” asked Ta

“Yes.” Immediately, I knew I should’ve said no, because the next second, the door was opening, and he was stepping into the bathroom. Still shirtless. Still wet. God, wet abs were hot. I shook my head in disgust as I scowled up at him. “I could’ve been peeing.”

He lifted a brow as he stopped in front of me. “I’d hope you would’ve said that.”

“Why would I tell you I was peeing?” I fired back. “I shouldn’t have to tell you anything. You shouldn’t walk willy-nilly into rooms.”

“Willy-nilly?” His lips twitched, and I swore in that moment, if he laughed, I was going to kick him in the balls, total kung-fu style. He grabbed the tissues from my hand and knelt. “Are you okay?”

I didn’t know what he was referencing at first. “I said I was okay.”

He tilted his head as he wrapped his hand around my left calf, causing me to jump a little. Pausing, he peered up through thick, sooty lashes. “Did I hurt you?” His voice was low, thick like velvet.

There was a distinct impression he meant more than touching my leg. Before I could respond, he went back to staring at my knee. I tried to picture him doing this on calls when he worked. Unlike now, he’d be covered head to toe, but I bet with that uniform, he’d induced a lot of swoons.

Ta

I stared at the top of his head. Wet, his hair was a dark brown, and I could see the tiny droplets clinging to the short strands. “Are you sure about that? Because I honestly think you do believe that.”

His hand froze a few inches from my knee and then he lifted his chin. Cobalt eyes pierced mine. “You know, you’re right to ask that.” Settling back on his haunches, he didn’t look away. “And you do deserve my honesty. Up until a couple of days ago, I really didn’t think you did anything with your spare time. I had no idea you volunteered at the hospital or the suicide hotline.”

I sucked in a breath. “Syd opened her mouth?”

He nodded.

There was a tiny, black-haired girl who was going to get throttled. I could not fathom why she’d tell Ta

“I think that’s pretty amazing,” he said, flashing a quick smile. “Not a lot of people could do that.”

“No.” Most could not surround themselves with those who were ill, or listen to the calls from people who so desperately needed help. I honestly had no idea how I could do it, but I guessed it had something to do with…well, with who I was. “So, what? Now you think I put the ‘awe’ in awesome?”

He gri

I pursed my lips together. “I find that hard to believe.”