Page 42 of Hot and Bothered
I set the bag on the kitchen table and opened it, peering inside.I found scraps of familiar red silk and lace.Lizzy had given me the negligee.
Oh my god.
She had said Evan owed her one.
My face flamed. I put my hands to my cheeks, my heart beating fast as I imagined putting the thing back on and watching that hungry look appear in Evan’s eyes again.
I had originally thought this outfit was the kind of thing a girl wore to seduce someone. And it certainly had seemed to work, from the few moments I’d had with Evan before he’d had to reluctantly take off.
Was I ready for that? Evan and I had agreed to go slow, and so far we had. Aside from that evening on the sofa, we had mostly stuck to kisses and snuggles. He had been patient with me, and I was grateful to him for that.
However,I couldn’t deny my imagination had been inventing a dozen different scenarios that didn’t involve patience in the slightest. Every brush of his fingers, every touch of his lips, every significant look we shared… All of it made my insides tingle and ache, and had me wondering if maybe patience was actually overrated.
But even if I was ready, was I even capable of doing something like this? Being the seducer? Being the one to entice and tease?
I took the thin fabric in my hand and sat heavily on a kitchen chair.
I wouldn’t even know where to begin.
17
Evan didn’t come home for a few more hours, so I puttered around the house for a bit, tidying things up, putting things away, and doing the dishes — I’d actually learned to stop dropping things — before I settled onto the sofa for a re-read of my favorite book.
I had considered trying to make dinner but decided against it. For one, I didn’t know when Evan was going to come home and I didn’t want to risk the food sitting around getting cold. For another, I still really sucked in the kitchen, and unless I wanted to feed the both of us a bowl of cereal for dinner, it was better if I waited until he came home. Maybe we could finally order those burritos he had talked about.
I had just gotten to the good part, where the girl who talked to ghosts got tangled up with the sexy, mysterious mercenary, when Evan walked through the door. I put the book down and jumped to my feet.
“I’m glad you’re home,” I told him as he put away his shoes in the hallway closet. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, it’s fine now, all good,” he said. “How did the rest of the photoshoot go?”
My eyes unconsciously wandered over to the bag sitting on the kitchen table that still contained the lingerie. I hadn’t known what to do with it, so I’d kept it there for now. I fought down a flush.
“Everything went well,” I told him. “There wasn’t any more twirling.”
“Good,” he said with a grin. “Because I’d hate for you to be sick before burrito night.” He brandished a take-out box with a flourish. “Dinner is served.”
Now I was really glad I hadn’t decided to make soggy cereal.
“You’re always making me dinner or buying me food,” I told him. “I’ll have to make it up to you someday.”
“Why don’t you show me one of your favorite foods next time?” he asked. “Unless it’s some kind of fancy caviar and escargot because then I think I’ll pass.”
I made a face. Sure, my family was well off — okay, very well off — but it wasn’t like we ate that way all the time. Only on special occasions, or when my parents threw fancy parties, or when an important person came to visit or…
Okay, I supposed we did eat that kind of thing quite often.
“That’s not my favorite food,” I told him.
Evan came over and wrapped his arms around me for a welcome home hug. It warmed me to my very core. I rested my head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat. Just the soothing thump-thump-thump was enough to make my head go woozy. Not to mention that earthy-sweet smell of his. It was only a faint whiff, but the scent tickled my nose and made my insides go mushy.
“What is your favorite food, then?” Evan asked. His fingers pressed into the small of my back, making it hard to concentrate long enough to answer.
“Birthday cake,” I replied. “With vanilla frosting and rainbow sprinkles.”
He pulled back to cock his head at me.
“That’s an interesting favorite food,” he said.
