Page 46 of Sweet Passions at Bayside
“I think that should be me making it up to you. She dropped her gaze to his very noticeable arousal. “MaybeIshould answer the door.”
He kissed her shoulder. “Not naked, you’re not.” He grabbed his T-shirt from the chair by the window and pulled it over her head. When she stood, it fell to the middle of her thighs. She looked adorably hot. He liked seeing her in his shirt almost as much as he liked seeing her in his bed.
“I’ll tell them you’ll be right out.” She took a step away, and he grabbed her hand, guiding her back, until she stood between his legs.
He slipped both hands beneath the T-shirt and pulled her forward.
“Oh my,” she said dreamily. “Or…maybe we should ignore them.”
Another loud bang brought a curse from both of them, followed by laughter.
“Go take a fast icy shower. I’ll tell them you’ll be right there.”
As she stepped away, he hauled her back again. “You arenotgoing out there without underwear.”
She looked down, as if she hadn’t noticed. “Your shirt covers me.”
He narrowed his eyes and she bit her lower lip.
“This is another one of those Emery-is-oblivious times, isn’t it?”
She wrinkled her nose. “I told you.” She peered over his shoulder at the tangle of sheets. “I have no idea where my pajama shorts are.”
He pushed to his feet, stripped the blankets off the bed, and retrieved her silky bottoms. He held them open for her to step into and said, “I’m not a prude, but wearing underwear around other guys isn’t negotiable.”
“What if I’m not wearing underwear under my skirt when I’m out with you in public”—mischief sparked in her eyes—“if the sole purpose of said nakedness is for easy,discreetaccess?”
“I’m going to need an hour-long cold shower.” He smacked her butt and she left the room giggling.
Underwear wasn’t negotiable, but he had a feeling there was a host of Emeryisms he’d have to get used to. As he ducked into the bathroom and stepped beneath the cold water, he wondered how many times a day he’d be biting his tongue.
An hour later, as Dean, Drake, Rick, and Matt neared the end of their run, Dean was still fielding questions about Emery. “I don’t remember you guys ever giving me the third degree like this about any other woman.”
“No other woman has ever answered your door wearing your shirt before,” Drake pointed out.
“Yeah, well, I was lucky she put that on,” he said, biting back the reminder of how nonchalantly she’d almost answered the door buck naked beneath that shirt. “She doesn’t always think things through.”
Rick and Drake exchanged a glance he couldn’t read.
“Spit it out,” Dean said as the resort came into view.
“I was all for this the other night, but then she picked up that guy at the bar,” Drake said carefully. “And now she’s answering your door wearing your shirt. We don’t want to see you get hurt.”
He’d finally gotten that jerk out of his mind. That guy didn’t matter. She was with him now. “I’m a big boy. I can handle myself.”
“You just said she doesn’t think things through, and although Des loves Emery like a sister,” Rick said, “she’s alluded to the fact that Emery is pretty uninhibited. Think about it. That’s all we’re saying. I can count the number of women you’ve had in your place on one hand, and they’re all related to us in one way or another—sister, sister’s best friend, mother…”
“You’ve had my wife in your place?” Matt asked with a teasing glare. “Something I should know about?”
Dean shook his head. “You were there, too. Halloween barbecue.”
As they came to the resort grounds, they slowed to a walk. “Listen,” Dean said. “I know Emery is a whirlwind, and I understand why you’re concerned. She’s nothing like the women I’ve gone out with, and there was that guy at the bar, but that’s because she’d put me in some sort of friend zone. She was in complete denial about what was going on between us.”
“In Emery’s defense, friends to lovers is a hard bridge to cross,” Matt said. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I held back from being with Mira until I was sure I had the time and energy to devote to her. It took me a year to finally ask her out, and it only took me a few weeks to ask her to marry me. When you’ve met your soul mate, youknow. In Dean’s defense, I wish I hadn’t wasted that year.”
“Sometimes crossing bridges bites you in the butt,” Drake ground out. “I’m glad it didn’t for you and our sister, and I hope it doesn’t for Dean and Emery.”
Another strained look passed between Rick and Drake, and then Rick turned his attention back to Dean.
