Page 78 of On Merit Alone
“I’m not,” I bit out, but I sucked a lip into my mouth, dropping his eyes. “I just don’t know if we should.”
Peeking back up at him, I watched as Ira gestured down to himself with his eyes before pinning me with a look. “My cards are on the table, remember? Meet me wherever you feel comfortable.”
He was talking about more than just his lack of dress, and I knew that, but I couldn’t think of it right then. I’d come to this spot to take a break from the way he was making me feel. And now, even though I somehow felt closer to him and more open than I was trying to be, I was also having a lot of fun. And enjoying the fact that he was playing around with me. That he wanted me to play back. That he was comfortable enough to take his clothes off with me and ask me to do so in return.
It didn’t make any sense. This is what I’d been running from in the first place, but… but if he was willing to take this on my lead, like he’d implied multiple times before, I could concede a little.
Nodding, I said, “Okay.”
With steady hands, I gripped the bottom of my T-shirt and slowly lifted the fabric over my head. There was a split second of darkness where the cloth of the shirt passed by my eyes that I wondered what he’d think of my body. But I got my answer a mere moment later as I brought the shirt clean over my face only to see those gray-brown eyes looking black as he stared me down from a few steps away.
He must have been holding his breath, because when he finally breathed again, it was in a curse. A biting hiss of a curse fell from his lips as he shook his head and scrubbed his face. He groaned, his voice coming out choked. “You’re going to fucking end me with that, Six. Goddamn.”
“Sorry?”
“You wear that under all your outfits?”
My skin tingled, flushing with heat under his appreciation. My heart skipped to its own happy beat, and I couldn’t help smirking. “Never seen a bra and panties before, King?”
He shook his head, his eyes eating up every line of my body hungrily even as he worked to compose his face. Coughing, he tried to take it down a notch, but every time he wrenched his eyes away, they would slowly trail back to my body once again. “I just didn’t expect the color… or the lace… or the triangles?”
I laughed outright as his voice squeaked at the end like he was at a loss for air. In reality, it was a reasonable enough sports bra, and while the strings of my thong were a bit thin, they were a stretchy, durable lace fabric that was comfortable to play in. And I did wear stuff like this under my uniform often, though he didn’t seem like he could handle that bit of information yet, so I just gave him time to work it out himself.
“Had enough or are you gonna take your next shot?” I asked.
“Can I, uh…” He cleared his throat again. “Can I walk it off first?”
“Walk…” I started, confused. I stopped quickly, my lips sucking into my mouth as I giggled. My eyes shot to the obvious bulge in his briefs. “Oh. Um… no?”
“Evil,” he said, but as requested he retrieved the ball and started his way toward the net.
At a full speed run.
All of a sudden, Ira was soaring through the air, looping the ball through the hoop in a fast and furious dunk.
My jaw dropped. And then I was sputtering out a laugh so deep I couldn’t control it. I had to look deranged because as he reappeared by my side, he started laughing too.
“What?” he asked.
“That is so unfair!” I guffawed. “I can’t dunk and you know it.”
He grinned, looking like a little boy in his mischief. His eyes trailed down my body again, as if he couldn’t help himself. “No?”
“No!”
“Damn.” He shook his head. It took me a second to realize he was still looking at my body. Admiring me with a light of desire I wasn’t quite used to in his gaze.
“Would you stop?” I asked, actually a little embarrassed.
“Impossible,” he answered.
“Ira.”
“Merit.” He whistled again. “You’re fucking beautiful.”
I rolled my eyes, starting to walk away. Ira groaned, but then jogged to catch up with me. Before I knew what was happening, his hand was skating down my arm and our fingers were lacing together in a soft tangle. Half-naked and bare to see, and the gentle touch of his fingers on mine is what brought a gasp from my lips.
“What are you doing?” I asked as he used our joined hands to tug me along.
