Page 34 of Worth Every Game
“Helping you clean up.” It sounds like bullshit, but it’s why I came over here in the first place.
I take a step back, trying to collect myself, but all I can see are her feet, which are bare. Naked. All ten toes, perfectly fucking naked on my kitchen floor. “Your slippers. Where are they? You need to wear them.” This feels crucial, because if Elly doesn’t put those damn slippers on her feet, I’m going to shove her against the wall and kiss her, and the fact that I want to makes me mad.Teasing and flirting is fine, but this is something else. This feels compulsive… a raging desire that has me by the balls. I’m not in charge, and I don’t like it.
Get your fucking shit together, Lansen.
“What’s the obsession with my slippers?” she whispers. “Forget about them. They were a joke.”
“I’m not laughing.”
Blood pulses through my upper chest and down my arms. My palms start to buzz.
All I’m aware of is her beautiful face staring up at me, and those pink lips.Fuck, I want to kiss them.
I am in so much trouble here, and my breathing is all out of whack. I hit the gym a lot… I’m fit.Athletic. There is no logical reason why I’m breathing like I just ran a marathon.
Elly cocks her head, looking me up and down, and something about her expression—how alert it is, and the sharpness in her gaze—lets me know she’s no longer sharing this out-of-this-world-nothing-exists-but-you moment with me. She’s retreated to some place where she can be rational… where she can see what’s happening from an objective distance.
“Why are you all riled up? Is this what a messy kitchen does to you? A few dirty dishes and you’re losing your shit? Bloody hell.” She turns her back to me and starts filling the sink. “Let’s clean up before you give yourself a coronary.”
A coronary?I’m not that worked up…Am I?
I’m about to respond when Elly lets out a squeal.
The bottle of pomegranate molasses slides out of her grip, hits the surface with a bang, and splatters the remaining contents all over my shirt.Shit. I need to soak it now, or it’ll stain. Without thinking, I start unbuttoning it, undoing the cuffs and pulling the whole thing off.
It takes a second or two for me to notice that the kitchen is very,veryquiet. I look up to find Elly staring at me, a tea towel dangling from one hand, the almost empty pomegranate molasses bottle, which miraculously didn’t smash, in the other. Her eyes are drifting over my pecs, my abs, and I’m suddenly thanking God for all those hours I spend in the gym because I know I look good. It would appear that Elly agrees, because her gaze is all admiration as she pins her bottom lip with her teeth, then lets it roll slowly outward again.
“You all right?” I ask, because I can’t let this moment pass without drawing attention to her reaction.
She nods as though she’s in a daze. She’s still not meeting my eye, keeping her gaze fully trained on my chest instead.
“Okay, then…” I say, letting my words trail off, but still Elly says nothing. I can’t remember my bare chest having shocked a woman into silence, especially not one as vivacious as Elly, but I’m feeling pretty proud of myself right now. A little puffed up, even, and it’s a bloody good feeling, especially given how out of control I felt only moments ago.
Leaving Elly drooling by the sink, I cross the kitchen and enter the utility room, where I grab the stain remover out of the cupboard and start spraying the sauce splashes on my shirt.
I’ve nearly got them all when I’m aware of a presence behind me. I put the bottle down, settling both hands on the countertop.
“What?” I ask, without turning around.
“If I have to wear slippers, you have to wear a shirt,” she says, so quietly I’m not sure I heard her correctly.
I turn to find her standing in the doorway, looking more unsure than I’ve ever seen her. Elly’s all brash jokes and laughter. But right now, she looks really unnerved. “Why?”
She flaps the tea towel in the air. “Because—”
“Because now you want to fuck me?”
Elly stands a little straighter. “Are you trying to make this the most awkward housemate situation ever?”
Well, that wasn’t acompletedenial.
“No. I’m just saying what I see. You’ve followed me in here like I have something you want and you’ve barely looked at my face since I took my shirt off.”
Elly hisses dismissively, but two spots of red appear on her cheekbones. “I’m not here to fill the gap in your sex schedule because you sent Lydia away. I have no interest in sleeping with you.”
My mind whirrs. Elly’s shown more resistance to my advances than any other woman I’ve come across, and damn if it doesn’t make her all the more appealing. But right now, it’s clear as fucking daylight that she wants me, and I’m not going to let thisopportunity escape. I can’t let her walk away without roping her into…something. Something that will bring whatever the hell I’m feeling for her under control. Quick as a flash, an idea occurs to me. “You willing to bet on it?”
She tilts away from me. “Huh?”