Page 30 of Until Then

Brows jumping, she shakes her head and lets out a sigh. “Definitely not. I guess that makes it above your reading level. Sorry about that.”

“Touché.” Lowering my head, I get back to applying sunscreen on my chest, but it doesn’t soak in the way it should. “What kind of stuff is this? It won’t go away.”

She stretches out on the built-in bench and bends her knees so she can prop her book against her thighs. “It’s thegoodkind of sunscreen. Don’t be such a baby.”

Lip curled in annoyance, I survey the white layer coating my skin, holding my greasy hands out at my sides.

With a sigh, she sets her book down. Then she hauls herself up and comes over to me. “Want some help?” she asks as she shuffles closer.

“Uh—”

Without waiting for my response, she grasps my bicep where I’ve missed a massive spot and goes to work, using her thumbs to massage the sunscreen into my skin.

“Fuck,” I bite out, my eyes threatening to shut. “That feels good.”

“You work too hard. Your muscles are probably due for a good massage.”

I grunt in response, noncommittal. As much as I don’t need her hands on me right now—thanks to my dick that still hasn’t settled down—I can’t find the words to tell her to stop.

In fact, words fail me entirely when she comes around in front of me and crouches, hands on my chest to work it into my skin.

Her proximity makes my brain short circuit. Her eyes are a unique shade of green with gray and specks of gold. I’ve never seen anything like them.

“Your eyes are pretty,” I blurt like a teenage boy who doesn’t think before he speaks.

Her hands still on my chest, and she meets my gaze. “Thanks.”

I clear my throat, hands on my knees in a death grip. “You’re welcome.”

What the hell is wrong with me? I’m forty-four years old and I’m getting tongue tied over a twenty-seven-year-old. She’s the same age as my daughter. Yes, I was only eighteen when I became a parent, but that doesn’t make it okay to lust over a woman so young.

I stand abruptly, causing her to wobble and nearly fall back on her ass. Before she can tumble, though, she catches herself with a squeak.

“Sorry, thought I heard my phone,” I lie.

“It’s okay,” she says, popping up and capping the sunscreen, shaking her head and wearing a wry smile. When she looks up, she scans my face, then moves lower until…

In my haste to get away, I’d forgotten why I was sitting and covering myself.

Izzy breaks out in a wide smile. “Aw, at least some part of you is happy to see me. Hi.”

And then she waves. At my dick.

Head dropped back, I groan. “Can you not?”

“He’s waving at me. Why shouldn’t I return the greeting?”

I press the pads of my fingers into my eyes, wishing I could disappear. Instead, all the move does is make my eyes burn. Because of course they’re still covered in a layer of sunscreen.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I curse. “That burns.”

“Hold on.” Izzy’s hands are cool on my heated skin as she guides me to sit back down. “I’m going to pour water in your eyes. It’ll be cold, but it’ll help.”

I appreciate the warning, because it’sfrigid. There’s no stopping the way I jolt when my senses register the temperature.

“It was in the freezer,” she explains when goosebumps pimple my skin. “It’s all I have, sorry.”

On the plus side, the ice-cold water does wonders for calming my boner.

---