Exposed Exposed (Dom Nation #1) - E. Davies Page 0,22

was what it made me.

Christ, there was no way of saying that without sounding like a total wacko.

My hands trembled as I pulled on an old T-shirt, then caught myself and yanked it off again, dumping it inside-out back in the drawer. I had company, for God’s sake. I should choose something nicer than my paint-stained rags.

Something that Rex would want to wreck.

Hah. Rex, wreck. Does he call himself Rex because he wrecks boys like me? I grinned. However screwed-up it was, I kind of hoped so. That was a great reason to choose the name.

Or his parents had given it to him and it was all quite coincidental. Less interesting and more likely.

Thanking myself for suffering through a recent clothes-shopping mission, I chose my new, navy blue pj pants and a soft white T-shirt.

On the way out of the bedroom, I stopped in the hall mirror and took a long, hard look at myself.

I didn’t like what I saw. There was no way around that. Rex was young and fresh-faced and in his prime, and I had deep lines around my lips, a harsh nose, and graying hairs in my stubble. My skin was roughened from sun and wind.

Age had toughened my appearance, unfortunately for me. But it hadn’t touched my nature. I was still fragile and helpless and stupidly hopeful that this—this brief thing, this fling—might turn into more.

Even if I couldn’t hold a candle to everything Rex was, and never would.

“Everything all right?”

I nearly jumped out of my skin as Rex’s voice filtered upstairs, sounding close.

“F-Fine, sorry! Sorry, I’m on my way down now.” Worry pinched my chest. What if he was impatient waiting for me? Or he needed to know where the bathroom was? Or he’d wanted me to dress down?

I hadn’t considered that. There was still time to run and grab my skimpiest underwear.

But Rex peeked around the bottom of the stairwell, his face lighting up in a smile as he saw me. “Oh, it’s no rush,” he said. “I was just wondering where your mugs are. I found the green tea.”

I stared at him dumbly and then hurried down the stairs toward him. “You did?”

“It wasn’t exactly hiding,” Rex said with a teasing grin, and I blushed. Had I sounded like I was scolding him for rummaging around my kitchen?

Even more anxious, I shook my head. “No, I wasn’t implying—”

Rex laughed and held out a hand as I stumbled to a halt at the bottom of the stairs. He wrapped an arm around my waist. “Whoa there. I’ve got it. Just tell me which cupboard they’re in.”

“They’re, uh, in the second drawer down.”

Rex stared at me like I’d lost my mind. “Drawer? Who the hell keeps their mugs in a drawer?”

My cheeks heated up as I folded my arms. “I do,” I told him tartly. I’d invited him into my home to demean me, not my kitchen layout. “Like I just said.”

Rex grinned and raised his shoulders in a quick shrug, something of an apology. “Good point. Okay, I’ll go make the tea.”

My stomach lurched. Isaac had never brought me a drink. Ever. Crap. I was really falling down here. It was my job to serve Rex, not the other way around!

“God, I’m sorry. I should have offered you a drink—”

Rex cut me off with a shushing noise, and I flinched and then held very still as he raised a hand toward me. He pressed his finger to my lips, his eyes alight with something… playful.

It didn’t feel like play to me, though.

My whole body rolled in a pleasurable wave. The soft brush of skin on my lips formed a prickle that darted, lightning-sharp and twice as quick, straight through my chest. It settled in my belly, at the base of my cock. Hot and ever-present and impossible to ignore.

I licked his finger, closing my mouth around the tip. His nail scraped the inside of my lip and the edges of my tongue. I dragged my tongue in a circle around it, just once.

“Oh.” Rex gave a sudden, rough gasp. Then he pulled his hand away and tilted his head, as if weighing me up.

I held my breath—waiting. Hoping. If there was a test, I wanted to pass it. A bar to clear, I wanted to soar over it. If he’d asked me to prove myself, I’d have done it in a heartbeat.

Instead, Rex’s expression was inscrutable. “Naughty,” he said and then pointed toward the living room. “I’m bringing you tea. Sit there and