Chapter 17 #2
I stare at the soft fade of his hairline around the nape of his neck as he stands there like a goofball, hand over his eyes, and fight the bubble of laughter that rises through me.
Why is he kind of adorable, but also kind of sexy all at the same time?
And what does he mean—he would love to watch me step out of my dress?
My head spins as I onehandedly attempt to unzip my dress. It was difficult enough to get on with two hands, and Addy helped me zip it shut earlier. After much struggling, I sigh and admit defeat. Theo is going to have to help me.
“Um, Theo?”
“Yes, sweetheart?”
Nervously, I ask, “Would you mind helping me with the zipper? You can turn back around.”
Theo drops his hand from over his eyes and slowly twists back to face me.
I’m the one who turns away instead, biting the inside of my cheek as I hold my breath.
Carefully, Theo sweeps my hair to one side over my shoulder and tugs gently on the zipper of my dress.
The tips of his fingers brush coolly over my bare skin and I shiver as his touch travels all the way down to the small of my back.
“You want the bra off, too?” he asks, and I gulp.
“Um, no, that’s okay. Thank you.”
“There, Hails,” he murmurs. “I’ll close my eyes again.”
“Thank you.”
I feel him turn away from me once more and I hastily shimmy out of my dress and kick off my heels.
I have to awkwardly maneuver Theo around with me as I grab my cute little satin PJs set from my suitcase, but very quickly realize this isn’t going to work.
I manage to slip on the shorts part of the set, but it’s impossible to even try to wrangle the top on.
Every time I glance at Theo, his other hand is still pressed firmly over his eyes, and my heart hums a little.
Despite how awkward this entire situation is with these handcuffs, he’s made me feel so safe with him.
I can only imagine how awful tonight might have been had I been handcuffed to literally anyone else.
“Okay, this is the best I can do,” I say, awkwardly hugging my free arm over my chest. I can’t stand sleeping with a bra on, but there’s no way I’m sleeping next to Theo naked.
He drops his hand from his eyes and turns back to face me. Without my heels on, he seems even taller next to me than he did before. “You’re very cute,” he says with a smile. “I like the bears.”
I glance down at my PJ shorts and all of the little teddy bears in the print. “Only Addy was supposed to see these,” I say defensively, though deep down, I know he isn’t mocking me in the first place. I bet Theo really does like the bears.
“My pajamas aren’t that cute. Just some incredibly sexy boxer briefs,” Theo teases, then flashes me a stern look. “Can you turn around and close your eyes while I get out of these jeans? No peeking at my ass in the mirror, Hails.”
This time, I do laugh at out loud. Mimicking his own actions, I plant my hand over my eyes and spin away from him, staring into the darkness of my palm as I feel him get undressed behind me.
My pulses beat with an odd sense of anticipation as I wait for the green light to turn back around.
I’ve seen Theo without a shirt before, many years ago when we were teenagers hanging around in the pool in the Sinclairs’ back yard, and even then his abs were a sight to behold.
“Okay, I’m good,” Theo says, copying me, too.
With a small hitch of my breath, I turn around, and goddamn it.
I’m certain there is no hiding the way I blush when I see Theodore Sinclair standing in front of me in nothing but a pair of baby blue fitted boxers.
His skin is so perfectly sun-kissed and tanned from working outdoors on construction sites in the Florida sunshine and there must be at least two extra abdominal muscles in his stomach that I don’t remember ever being there before.
“Would you like to touch them?” Theo asks, purposely flexing to define those stomach muscles of his.
I’m not even admiring his abs, though—I’m now gawking at his biceps in alarm, wondering if perhaps this man is on steroids.
There’s no way working in construction keeps him this fit.
How many slabs of concrete can one person possibly lift?
Even his quads are muscular. He definitely hits the gym hard.
“No,” I say simply. “It’s bedtime.”
I tear my eyes away from his body and tug him toward my bed, tossing display pillows to the floor and pulling back the thin sheets.
The bed is crisp and cool beneath the AC as we clumsily climb in and get settled.
I definitely drew the short straw tonight—it’s my dominant hand that’s handcuffed to Theo’s non-dominant one.
I reach over and turn off the master switch for all the lights, plunging the hotel room into darkness.
We both lie there on our backs, listening to the white noise of the AC purring. My heart beats so heavily in my chest I’m convinced he must hear it. After a minute, I feel the tug of the handcuffs against my wrist as Theo adjusts himself—he shifts onto his side, facing me.
“Can I read it? Your book?” he asks in a low voice, like the quietness is too fragile to break.
“No.”
“Has anyone read it?”
“No one I actually know in real life,” I say. “Only the literary agents I submitted it to.”
He pauses for a beat, then softly says, “I’d love to read it, Hails.”
“I write romance, Theo,” I say with a nervous laugh. “I’d absolutely die if you read it.”
“Why? Are there sex scenes?”
I roll my eyes at the ceiling. “Yes, Theo, there are sex scenes.”
“Now I really want to read it.”
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I roll onto my side, too. Our handcuffed wrists rest in the small space between our chests, and my heartbeat quickens once more. “I’d never be able to look you in the eye again if you read it.”
He shifts ever so slightly closer to me, close enough that I feel the heat of his skin. “You can barely look me in the eye even now.”
“And how would you know that? It’s dark,” I point out, but I think I’ll stop breathing if I look at him.
“I just know, Hails. You’re shy around me.”
“I’m not shy,” I brazenly lie.
Through the darkness, Theo’s hand finds my jaw. His fingertips brush over the soft skin of my neck, and when he parts his lips to speak, the warmth of his breath makes me aware just how close his mouth is to mine.
“Hails. Look at me.”
And when I do, I’m not sure my heart is even beating anymore.
It is dark, but I can see his eyes—warm and shining and earnest, taking up my whole field of vision. I’m not sure I want to look away. Ever.
“If I told you I wanted to kiss you right now,” he murmurs, “what would you say?”
My entire body ignites with nerves, but not the scared kind—the excited kind. I nudge up closer, pressing my chest to his.
“I’d say . . .” I whisper, “this.”
And I don’t consider it for a moment longer—I press my lips to Theodore’s.
His mouth fits perfectly with mine as he kisses me softly, deeply, slowly.
It’s almost like he’s terrified I’ll pull away if he makes one wrong move, so his movements are careful and tentative.
A current of electricity soars up my spine, and there’s no way in hell I want to pull away first. Goosebumps flare over every inch of my skin.
Theo attempts to move his other hand toward my face, but the handcuffs between us abruptly lock tight, his movement restricted by my wrist.
“Fuck,” he whisper-laughs, breaking the kiss, and it is the hottest thing in the entire world.
“For the first time all night, I’m now wishing we had the key for these cuffs.
” He exhales a shaky breath, almost like he’s a little nervous, too.
His free hand that cups my jaw gradually falls to my waist beneath the sheets, and he immediately wraps his arm around my body and holds me tight. “You’re shaking.”
“It’s the AC,” I lie, but I am indeed trembling like a leaf thanks to the adrenaline rush.
Luckily, Theo’s body warmth is like a blazing fire, and I happily snuggle into him.
I don’t even notice the discomfort of the handcuffs anymore.
Before he can say one more word that’ll have me blushing more than I already am, I quickly say, “Goodnight, Theo.”
“Night, Hails. I’ll dream of you,” he mumbles into my hair. “I always do.”
“Do I even want to ask what those dreams entail?”
“You don’t need to ask,” he says, and I can just sense it through the darkness, the cocky little smirk on his face. “One day I’ll show you.”