Page 28 of Baited

He nodded. “’Fraid so, darling.” He took another sip of his coffee. “I don’t sleep with drunken women. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have refused. But believe me, when we do sleep together, you can bet your ass you’re going to remember it.”

“Jerk.” Her heated cheeks flamed and embarrassment tingled all the way down to her toes. Her lips threatened to pull into a smile but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of catching her blush. She picked up her denim shorts and hurled them at him. They hit him in the face, sloshing his coffee on his hand.

“Ouch.” He set his coffee down and wiped his hand with a napkin. “What did I say?”

“First of all, we won’t be sleeping together.” It took all of her resolve to muster those words with conviction. A small part of her wished he weren’t so noble and she could have gotten sex with Ethan out of her system last night. But then, she wouldn’t have remembered it and what good would that do her? “And secondly, don’t talk about my ass.”

“You just shot yourself in the foot. If you want your shorts you’re going to have to come and get them.” His eyes sparked at her as he folded her shorts over his knee.

She narrowed her eyes into slits. His lips hooked into a coy smile and she fought the spiraling of desire in her loins.

“And for the record,” he spoke evenly, amusement still glinted his eyes. “If you don’t want anyone talking about your ass, maybe you should sleep with pants on. I had to cover thatass of yours about three times since I woke up, because you kept kicking the covers off.”

If her face had been warm before, now it was on fire. She often slept best when half-covered with blankets. He was telling the truth. The constant drumming inside her head grew deafening.

“You—”

“Asshole, I know.” His smile waned. “You already expressed your dislike for me last night.” He stood and dropped the shorts on the bed next to her. “Why don’t you get dressed so we can talk? I’m missing leg day.”

The reference to his gym workout made her stifle an eye roll. But a fizzle of unease settled in her belly. Had she told him she disliked him? Well, maybe her drunken attitude was a blessing. She could have said something much worse—like the awful things he did to her insides when he smiled at her. Or the way her skin tingled every time he touched her. With his back to her, she eased off the bed and wiggled into her shorts.

Her knees wobbled beneath her. She grasped the nightstand for support, straightened the shirt, and then looked down. Oh shit.Shit, shit, shit.She wore no bra. And she’d been talking to him for the last ten minutes like that. She squeezed her eyes shut and fisted her hand in her hair.

“You done?”

Her eyes opened and landed on the breadth of his back. Even though he stood across the room, he was still only a few feet away. She needed a shower. Her tongue ran over her teeth. Gross. Her breath probably reeked. Dammit. Had he noticed? What did it matter? She was a hot mess and it was probably for the best that he saw her like this. Maybe it would diffuse that heated look in his eyes.

Then again, this was Ethan. With her luck, it would probably turn him on.

“You can turn around.” Hastily, she folded her arms over her chest to shield her nipples from his view. “What are you doing here anyway?”

He turned, coffee still in hand, and sipped. “You were pretty messed up last night, Riley. I wasn’t going to leave you here by yourself.”

“No, why did you follow me in the first place? I can’t see you wanting to party on the beach.”

His eyes shifted away. Her gaze sharpened on him. His free hand rested on the back of his neck. “I—”

Her breath sucked in. “You came to spy on me, didn’t you?” She’d had a feeling, but seeing him stumble over his words confirmed it. “Why would you do that?” She hissed. “That’s creepy, Ethan.”

He frowned at her. His gaze shot to hers. “Creepy? You know what’s creepy? Watching you take shots from a stranger. That’s creepy. You were about to go home with him, dammit. And the sooner we talk about what’s really going on here, the better. You’re endangering yourself and I want to know why.” His hand opened and closed at his side. The smooth lines of his face turned to stone. His eyes flashed at her.

Oh no. She wasn’t having this conversation with him. He knew about Hanna, she read it in the steely determination on his face. It didn’t matter. This was the exact distraction she couldn’t tolerate. Some macho guy butting into her life thinking she needed protecting.

“There’s nothing for us to talk about. I don’t care who told you I was at the party, nor do I care about what you think you know about me.” She took a step closer to him. Anger vibrated down to her toes, but she kept it in check. “I’m going to shower. You can let yourself out.” She turned on her heel, entered the bathroom, and shut the door.

“You have a lot of nerve,” he called. His words hit her back. She ignored him, and locked herself in the bathroom.

She turned the shower on the hottest setting, and rested her hands against the sink. What had happened last night? Her eyes raked over the bathroom, then zeroed in on the toilet.

Oh god. She slammed her palm against her forehead. She had puked… twice. And dammit, he had watched her. The memory of his warm touch on her bare back singed her. Her toothbrush rested beside the sink. At least she had brushed her teeth after getting sick. But what had happened after that? She turned away from the vanity and pulled a towel off the rack. She tugged the shirt over her head and tossed it to the floor. It landed next to her black bikini top.

Her breath sucked in. Had she stripped in front of him? Steam swirled around her like the fog of her brain. No, no. She wouldn’t have done that.

Would she have? She swallowed. Ethan’s roguish, and slightly pained smile flashed though her mind.

He had stopped her from stripping. Then, she had told him that she’d needed the distraction. Her eyes rolled to the ceiling. There was nothing she could do now except save face. She needed to distance herself from him. Sooner or later, she wouldn’t be able to keep up this fight. Her body hummed at the prospect of having sex with Ethan. Those strong, long fingers on her body could do a lot of things. Things she badly wanted to indulge in. The image of his hot, wet mouth on her danced through her mind. No. She couldn’t give in to temptation. Not now. Not when she was so damn close to finding Hanna. She’d shower, thank him for seeing that she’d gotten home—even though he’d once again ruined her damn plan—and maybe that would make him back off once and for all.

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