skin. Years of having to change on the beach sans a modesty screen except my towel had taught me well.
He made a soft sound of disappointment and summoned the matching bra.
“Did you memorize my entire closet?”
A sensual smile snuck onto his face. “Only the interesting bits.” He tilted his head and studied me. “I bet you can’t put this one on too without losing the towel.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Challenge accepted.”
After securing the knot above my breasts, I slung the bra underneath the towel, around my waist, fastened it by touch alone, turned it around so the cups would hold my girls—all done either by reaching through the overlapping ends of the towel without opening it, or feeling through the fabric—and then pulled the straps out from under the towel one by one, wiggling my arms into each. With a snap, I brought the straps in position and put my hands on my hips, flipping my hair over my shoulder.
“Color me impressed,” Azazel muttered, his voice rich and seductive like dark chocolate.
“Pants?” I asked, ignoring the flip in my stomach.
A pair of black jeans appeared in his outstretched hand.
Easy peasy. I had them on within a few seconds, the towel still secured around my chest.
He held out a black tank top with wide shoulder straps, one of my favorites. The crew neckline emphasized my chest just right, and the material hugged my curves perfectly.
“I expect this one will be trickier to put on,” he said with a grin.
He was right, of course. A T-shirt would have been the safer bet, especially one with a wider cut. I could have easily put that on without losing the towel too early, but with a skin-tight tank like this…
Eh.
I shrugged, turned and slipped my arms into the tank, pulling it over my head too. Loosening the knot, I let the towel fall to the floor around my feet at the same time I dragged the tank down over my chest. Adjusting the material around my waist, I faced Azazel again.
He was leaning back in the chair, his heated gaze fixed on me. His sprawling posture and the rugged leather armor made him look like a barbarian king observing his latest conquest.
“I never knew,” he said in a velvet murmur, “how enticing a reverse strip-tease could be.”
My lips twitched with the urge to curve into a smirk.
He rose to his feet, his massive frame dwarfing me, and yet the shiver tingling down my spine knew nothing of fear. I craned my neck to meet his gaze, and he brushed a finger over my lips.
“Although,” he purred, “I’d much rather watch you do the opposite.”
My cheeks heated at the mental image his words evoked, warmth flooding decidedly sensitive places in my body. “Like you could sit still long enough to not just burn my clothes off.”
The corners of his eyes crinkled, his power a pulse in the air. “Challenge accepted.”
Desire was a siren call in my blood, still I stepped back and cleared my throat. “So, the hounds. Why are we going to see them again?”
“So you can pick one,” he replied, accepting my change of topic without calling me on it.
“Pick one?”
“To keep.”
My brows drew together. “As a pet?”
“Pet, guard, guide…” He waved a hand. “You’ll need protection if you’re to explore my house alone. A hound will be enough of a deterrent to the inferni and anything else that might see you as a snack.”
I didn’t miss the double meaning in that last word.
“Okay…” I bit my lip. “But...does it, like, have to be a hellhound? I’m really not that much of a dog person.”
He raised a brow.
“It’s just—” I flailed. “Dogs are so slobbery. The ones I met all tried to lick me. Like—everywhere.”
He crossed his arms, raised one hand to his chin and shook his head, his eyes wide. “Can’t imagine why.”
I cast him a sidelong glance. “What about that hellcat in my rooms? Can’t I have that one as my guard? It looks big and vicious enough.”
He sighed. “Mephistopheles is...too capricious for guard duty.”
“Mephistopheles?” I stared at him in disbelief. “Seriously? Like that demon in Goethe’s Faust?”
“He’s been around longer than that poet.” He shrugged. “If I remember correctly, he got bored here and visited Earth for a while, which is how he must have inspired the character’s name. He was quite smug when he came back. Took a century for him to not bring it up at every opportunity.”
I rubbed the bridge of my nose. “The hellcat that spit