Chapter 8
Stepping out of the bathroom, Sarah rubbed a towel over her wet hair and said, "All yours."
"Thanks. If you want to order food while I shower, get me a burger. I'm not fussy about what it comes with," Asha said as he stood from where he sat on the edge of the bed waiting for her.
"O-okay." The sight of him had her stumbling over her words and if was a good thing she'd stopped walking because she probably would have stumbled over her feet too.
He'd stripped down to his briefs while she'd been in the shower and with all that bronze skin on display in front of her it was hard to get her brain to work. Or her lungs.
Swallowing, she licked her dry lips. "Burger. Right. Drink?"
"Beer? Or whatever. Again, I'm not fussy." Asha stepped around her and into the bathroom, door gripped in his large hand, he glanced over his shoulder and said, "I won't be long."
It wasn't until the door closed between them, the latch clicking into place that she took a full breath.
She'd seen him without a shirt before, a couple of times actually, but none of those times had the same impact as being alone in a room with him did.
He was ripped. Some might consider him old, but not her. His age didn't even factor into her attraction. Or maybe it did. Because he wasn't immature or clueless as to what he wanted from life even if he did have a body to rival someone half his age.
And he definitely wasn't an immature frat-boy college student like the one she'd married thinking he had the same image of their future she did.
Shaking her head, she dislodged thoughts of her ex-husband and moved toward the phone and the room service menu. She needed to get her head out of the past and in the present.
Asha had the right idea, a burger sounded good. A beer too. Maybe after they'd filled their tummies and relaxed a little, she could ask him if he was interested in going on a date.
She knew he didn't date, well he hadn't since she'd moved to Winter Lake, but he might just be discreet about who and where.
Or maybe he only hooked up with tourists, he wouldn't be the only guy—or woman for that matter—to do that.
Except she didn't think he'd be able to keep his love life, whatever form it took, a complete secret in their small town.
No, he wasn't seeing anyone, she was confident of that, so she wouldn't be stepping on anyone's toes if she asked him out. And she would ask. This cruise was the perfect place for them to test the chemistry that arced between them without the prying eyes and busy-bodies of home.
She'd have to be clear though. She had no intention of being a hookup. After her marriage had crumbled, she'd made a promise to never settle for less than what she wanted ever again and what—or who—she wanted was Asha Yunker, here and at home.
Picking up the phone she punched the number for room service and placed an order for two burgers with the lot plus fries, and four beers. They could pop the extra two in the mini fridge to keep them cold. Then again, she might just chug the first one before she took a bite of food.
A bit of liquid courage might help tamp down her nerves.
"Did you order?"
She spun around and almost fell on her ass. It had nothing to do with how quickly she moved. Or clumsiness.
Nope. Nothing to do with that.
The blame lay at the feet of the hot as hell man in front of her.
He'd pulled on a pair of running shorts—the compression kind that looked painted on—and a tank top as tight as his pants. Neither hid his ripped muscles. If anything, they accentuated every ridge and hollow, every smooth bulge—including the one between his thick thighs—like a second layer of skin.
Holy hell she was in trouble.
She wanted to jump him.
Wanted to rip his clothes off and run her hands and tongue all over him.
"Sarah?"
"Um, what, sorry, what?" She dragged her gaze up his edible body to meet his.
The smile he gave her said he knew exactly what she was thinking, and he wasn't unhappy about it. In fact, if she was reading him right, he was happy the sight of him made her unable to comprehend or speak.
He tipped his chin toward the desk behind her. "Did you order dinner?"
"Oh, right, dinner. Yes!" God, could she be any more of an idiot. If it wouldn't make her look more stupid, she'd slap herself upside the head to knock some of the lust fog loose. "It'll be about thirty minutes."
"Wanna sit outside while we wait?"
"Will we hear the knock if we do?"
"We can leave the door open. I know that will switch off the air, but we can close it again as soon as our food arrives." He moved toward her, and she couldn't stop herself from taking a step back.
She instantly regretted the move when she saw the look in his eyes. "Sorry, I um..."
His gaze bore into hers. "I would never hurt you."
"Oh, no, it wasn't that." She let out a breath. She had no clue why she'd stepped back. Okay, that was a lie. He overwhelmed her, or the emotions he made her feel did.
She'd been attracted to men before, slept with some of them but Asha set her body on edge in a way she'd never experienced and while she didn't want to show her hand or have him take advantage of the power he seemed to have over her, she couldn't lie to him either.
"I just, you"—she waved a hand to indicate his body—"You're overwhelming. Not in a frightening way. Just..."
He moved closer, close enough to touch her and he reached out, one long finger pressed beneath her chin to lift her face so her eyes met his. "You are always safe with me."
Even with her assurance she wasn't frightened of him she could see he wanted to make certain she understood he would never hurt her. One more reason to like this man. He was one of the good ones. "I know."
Smiling, he tapped her chin then stepped back. "C'mon, let's sit outside."
Asha didn't wait for her and didn't look back to make sure she followed. He was giving her the choice and she instinctually knew he always would.
It was why she stopped him before he opened the door by calling out, "Asha."