Chapter 11
Scott was trying very, very hard not to think about sleeping with Dina. And he was failing, miserably. Had he left his room to go to the bathroom shirtless on purpose? Well, that was beside the point. Dina’s reaction, the way she’d stilled, her eyes mapping his body, drinking him in. It had given him a hard-on that had been reluctant to go down even after a quarter of an hour.
The bathroom still smelled like her soap, even with the window open and the steam spilling out. Something fresh and sweet, but earthy too. If she’d still been here he might have pulled her to him. He was sure if he bent down to tease her hair away from her collarbone he would catch that scent on her skin.
Here I go again, thinking about sniffing her collarbones, he thought. Congrats, how very Hannibal Lecter of you Scott.
Try as he might, he still couldn’t get over their interaction by the fire. The way her hand had felt so small and delicate in his. He’d nearly slipped up, nearly called her a good girl. He wanted to praise her, ideally with his mouth between her thighs. All Scott could think about was saying it, whispering it in Dina’s ear as she took him inside her. Christ, how was he meant to get through this evening?
Even if he wanted to, he wouldn’t ask her out again. They had agreed to be friends for the weekend. Just friends. Friends who wanted to rip each other’s clothes off with their teeth.
Scott stared at himself in the mirror, contemplated trimming his beard again even though he had done so only this morning. Hairiness appeared to be in his genes. As he dressed, he remembered Dina’s transfixed expression, pupils dilated, as she’d seen him shirtless. She hadn’t seemed disgusted by his chest hair, not as other women he’d slept with had been. He imagined Dina tangling her fingers in his dark curls and felt heat bloom inside him.
Sucking in a breath and steeling himself for the evening ahead, Scott opened the bathroom door.
“Are you wearing cologne?” Dina asked, though he couldn’t see her, as she was around the corner in the kitchen area.
“I am. Is it too much?” Maybe she had a sensitive nose.
Dina ducked her head around the corner. “No. I like it.” She smiled, and he couldn’t help but imagine what her ruby-red lips would look like wrapped around his cock. Get it together, Scott, you have to spend a whole evening with her.
“What do you think?” Dina said, twirling around before the fireplace. Teasing him. Driving him insane. She was wearing a navy velvet dress that clung to her in all the right places, emphasizing her full hips and ass. The dress was artfully styled to slip off her shoulders, and her collarbones seemed to be glimmering in the firelight.
You look perfect, he wanted to say. No one in the history of the world has ever looked so good in a dress. Please take it off. But Scott didn’t say any of those things.
“You look beautiful, Dina,” he said, his voice coming out hoarse. She stopped still, taking him in, then stepped closer. He couldn’t help himself; he reached out and tucked a stray curl behind her ear. For a moment, her lips parted and her head tipped up toward him, as if she were contemplating kissing him. But then she stepped back, putting distance between them.
“We should go, or we’ll be late,” she said quietly. Scott nodded and walked to the front door. Disappointment surged through him. Friends don’t kiss, he reminded himself. The air around them felt full, brimming with unsaid words and unspent touches.