don’t mind that I’ve been staying overnight. Hardin has asked me to stay again,” I tell her and try not to make eye contact.
“No, of course not. You both are adults, and I trust you’re being safe.”
Oh God. I know my cheeks are a deeper shade of red than the bulbs we just planted. “We . . . uh . . . we don’t,” I stammer. Why am I talking about this with Hardin’s soon-to-be stepmother? I am mortified.
“Oh,” she says, equally embarrassed. “Let’s go inside.”
I follow her into the house, where we both take our dirty shoes off at the door. I can see into the living room, where Hardin is sitting on the edge of the couch and Ken is in the easy chair. Hardin’s eyes immediately find mine and relief flushes through them.
“I’ll make some late dinner while you get cleaned up,” Karen says.
Hardin stands up and walks over to me. He seems glad to be out of the room with his father.
“We’ll be back down soon,” I say and follow Hardin up the stairs.
“How was it?” I ask as we enter his room.
Instead of answering me, he wraps his fingers around my ponytail and brings his lips to mine. We stagger back against the door and he presses his body against me. “I missed you.”
My insides liquefy. “You did?”
“Yes, I did. I just spent the last few hours with my father in awkward silence, and then sharing a few even more awkward comments here and there. I need a distraction.” He runs his tongue along my bottom lip and my breath catches in my throat. This is different. Welcome, and very hot, but different.
His hands travel down my stomach and stop at the button on my jeans.
“Hardin, I need a shower. I am covered in dirt,” I say, laughing.
His tongue runs along my neck. “I like you this way, nice and dirty.” He gives me that smile with those dimples.
But I gently push him back and grab my bag before heading to the bathroom. My breathing is ragged and I’m a little disoriented, so when I try to close the bathroom door only to have it stop midway, I’m confused. Until I look down and I see Hardin’s boot.
“Can I join you?” He smiles and pushes his way into the bathroom before I can answer.
chapter seventy-one
His fingers grip the bottom of his shirt, pulling it over his head, and he reaches behind me to turn on the shower.
“We can’t just take a shower together! We’re at your father’s house, and Landon and Dakota could be back anytime,” I say. The idea of seeing Hardin completely naked under the shower makes me squirm but this is too much.
“Well, then I’m going to take a nice hot shower while you stand there and overanalyze.” His pants drop to the floor, along with his boxers, and he steps past me and into the water. The bare skin on his back is tight, pulled against the muscles there. He faces me, his eyes moving up and down my covered body, the way mine are on his naked one. The water covers him, making his tattooed skin glisten. I don’t realize I’m staring until he closes the curtain abruptly, hiding his perfect figure.
“Don’t you just love a hot shower after a long day?” His voice is muffled somewhat by the sound of the water, but I can still catch its smugness.
“I wouldn’t know; some rude naked guy stole my shower,” I huff and hear him chuckle.
“A sexy rude naked guy?” he teases. “Just come in before the hot water goes away.”
“I . . .” I want to, but taking a shower with someone is just so intimate, too intimate.
“Come on, live a little. It’s just a shower,” he says and opens the curtain. “Please.” He reaches his hand out and my eyes scan his long, inked torso, gleaming from the water sliding down his skin.
“Okay,” I whisper and undress while he watches every move I make. “Stop staring,” I scold him and he pretends to be wounded, placing his hand over his heart.
“Are you questioning my nobility?” He laughs and I nod slowly, trying to fight my smile. “I am insulted.”
He reaches his hand out to help, and I can’t believe I’m actually doing this, showering with someone. I try my best to cover myself with my arms as I wait for him to move from under the water.
“Is it weird that I love how you’re still shy around me?” he