Page 18 of Hoax and Kisses
“Thank you.” I take them and put them on the bench behind me. When he doesn’t move, eyes stuck to the porch, I say, “You need anything else?”
“No, nope, that’s all. All good.” He hikes a thumb over his shoulder, exhaling sharply. “Better get back, huh? Cool. Bye.”
At last, he looks up at me. His face is flushed, his pupils blown, but a frown crosses his features.
“Were you crying?”
“Huh?Uhhh, no. I mean, why?” I press my palms to my cheeks. “Okay, yes. I was. But it was nothing.”
Perfect. Now he knows that in a matter of hours, Sticksville has broken me.
His frown deepens. “Are you okay?”
I tighten the towel around my body, and his gaze slides to where my breasts are pushed together.
My heart rate picks up. “Yeah, I’m fine. A bit tired.” I force a smile, but his attention hasn’t returned to my face. It’s now stuck on my thighs… “Uh… Matt?”
He snaps his head up, his cheeks turning pink beneath his beard. “I’m sorry. Sorry, I, uh… There was a drop of water going d—” He exhales sharply. “Fuck. I wasn’t expecting to find myself in front of a half-naked woman.”
I laugh, but the sound is hollow. It’s stuck in my throat, caught somewhere between embarrassment and horniness.
“You were rather insistent with the knocking, and I was getting out of the bath.”
Sulking and crying over my loneliness and life.
His gaze softens, as if he sees right through me. The expression changes his whole face. Like this, he reminds me of a big teddy bear. His features are gentle and smooth, framed by long strands of dark blond hair, and the crinkles at the corners of his eyes make me want to reach out and brush my fingers over them.
Would he be gentle with me too? Would his large hands be soft on my skin? Or would they be rough and callused?
The thought sparks another, and I pause.
Maybe,maybe, I don’t have to spend the rest of this miserable evening alone, drinking the cheapest bottle of wine I found in the cabinet, then crying myself to sleep. Maybe I can have a wild one-night stand with a perfect—and hot—stranger. Maybe I can let loose for once in my life. Let my hair down and live a little, without worrying about theappropriatething to do. Oh, there’s not a single appropriate thought running through mymind right now. And the man standing in front of me, drinking me in, doesn’t look like he’d turn me down if I made a move.
Suddenly, I’m consumed by a need to know if I’m right. If he’s that perfect mix of sweet and spicy his demeanor gives off.
“Well…” He clears his throat again, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Good night, then.”
I run my hand not holding the towel, through my hair and sweep it neatly to one side, exposing my shoulder. “Yeah, thanks. You too.”
Neither of us moves. Neither of us speaks. Chills race across my skin, and Matt’s gaze follows the trail with razor-sharp focus.
I want his mouth to trace the same path.
Lip caught between my teeth, I tilt my head. “You’re not leaving?” I ask, a bit breathless.
“Do you want me to?”
Easy answer. “No.”
He swallows hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing with the motion. When he speaks, his voice dips two octaves. “And what exactly do you want, Zoey?”
Maybe that’s why I’m here in Sticksville. To give myself a peek at what it’d be like to live a life completely different from mine.
To see what happens when I don’t act like myself. When I don’t have to be careful or responsible or perfect. When I focus onmyneeds, for once.
I inhale slowly. “You.”
Chapter Six
