Page 56 of Slow Burn
"Not a problem."
If she noticed the strain in my voice, she didn't show it. Bouncing on the balls of her feet, she smacked her hands together. "Great! I won't be long." Turning she sprinted for the stairs. I couldn't tear my eyes off her ass even if I tried.
My fingers itched to squeeze, and my mouth tightened with the need to bite.
"Oh!" she skidded to a stop so abruptly there was no way she missed the way I was checking her out when she spun around. "If you could make yourself useful and get the popcorn going, that would be awesome."
"Geez, you're bossy." I was smiling even as I said it.
Grinning, Maddie pivoted before meeting my gaze over her shoulder. "Don't pretend you don't like it." And then she was off again, darting up the stairs and disappearing from view.
My fingers trembled slightly when I dragged them through my hair and released a slow breath. Shaking my head, I ambled to the kitchen. I had to open and close a few cupboards before I found a bag of microwave popcorn.
When it was done, I grabbed two drinks of water from her fridge and settled on the chaise part of her sectional. Because her television wasn't on, I could hear the sound of running water coming from upstairs.
She was up there.
Naked.
Dragging a lathered-up sponge all over her body.
I threw my head back against the soft cushioning and pulled a breath through my nose. I held it for a fewseconds before slowly blowing it out through my mouth. Yeah, it didn't help. My entire body still vibrated with the need to stomp up the stairs and replace the sponge with my hands.
Or my mouth.
Probably both.
I was well on my way deeper into fantasyland when Sheldon hopped onto the couch, his sudden presence giving me a small reprieve from the movie playing inside my head. He turned around and around before flopping down and snuggling up against me.
I smiled.
Who the hell knew a little creature that resembled an overgrown rat could paw his way into my heart? With a sharp shake of my head, I dug my fingers into the soft fur on Sheldon's head and scratched behind his ear.
Something that could only be described as a happy sound came from him before he tried to snuggle even closer to me.
"I think you bewitched my dog."
Hearing her voice, my head snapped up and my mouth went dry. Maddie was sashaying toward me looking like she'd just stepped out of one of my dreams. The small sleep shorts and loose-fitting tee she seemed to favor at night gave my fingers inches upon inches of skin to itch over.
The way her damp hair spilled over her shoulders had my mind running in a million different directions. All of them ending with the strands tightly wound my around my fist and my mouth crashed to hers.
But I couldn't do any of that, it wouldn't be fair to Maddie to bring my kind of fucked into her life.
Pushing thoughts of Maddie and her sinful mouth to back of my mind for the time being, I shrugged my shoulders and dryly stated, "Maybe he just likes my roast beef."
She made a noise but said nothing, sauntering to her TV unit instead. I couldn't keep my gaze from following her even if I tried. Something I very much regretted when she bent over to pull a stack of DVDs from the cabinet below the TV.
I bit the inside of my cheek so hard; the irony taste of blood filled my mouth. My hands curled into tight fists at my sides while I scanned the couch for a throw pillow. Anything to keep her from seeing my tented jeans.
"Okay." Blissfully unaware of me turning ten different shades of blue, Maddie flipped through the cases in her hand. "Oooh, we should start with this one." She murmured the words more to herself than me which was a damn good thing. I didn't believe I'd be able to string two words together let alone a coherent sentence.
After she popped the DVD into the player, she snatched the remotes from the coffee table and plonked down next to Sheldon. She was so close to me, if I stretched out my arm across the top of the couch, I'd be able to brush my fingers over the back of her neck.
I wanted to do just that.
Instead, I focused on the opening credits rolling over the screen while the band begged someone to be their baby. My eyebrow arched high. Whatever bumping andgrinding the people on screen were doing, it sure as shit wasn't dancing.
"Uh, what exactly are we watching?"
