Isn't It Bromantic (Bromance Book Club #4) - Lyssa Kay Adams Page 0,64
returned to her seat and lightly banged her forehead on the counter. Neighbor Cat meowed at her feet.
“What are you waiting for?” Elena asked the animal. “He’s about to get naked upstairs. Now’s your chance.”
A few minutes later, the water turned on overhead, which brought to mind an image of him naked. She really needed to get busy, because—a loud thud split the thought.
No. Oh shit. Elena ran down the hallway and up the stairs. “Vlad?”
His bedroom door was open, so she ran inside. The bathroom door was halfway shut. Oh, God, if he fell . . .
“Vlad!” She threw open the bathroom door.
And skidded to a stop.
Vlad was on the floor, one hand raised to ward her off. “I’m okay. I slipped. But I’m fine. I didn’t hurt my leg.”
Elena planted her hands on her hips. “I told you it was too dangerous.”
Vlad winced and lowered his hand.
And that’s when she realized.
He was nude.
As in naked.
As in, oh, sweet Jesus, the man was cut from stone.
Elena sucked in a gasp and spun around. “I’m sorry. I—I should have knocked. But I heard the thud and I was worried.” Her breath came in tiny pants. “What—what can I do to help?”
“Nothing. I’ve got this.”
“If you think I’m going to let you get off the floor alone, you are deranged.”
“I don’t want to put you in an awkward position.”
“If you don’t want me to see you naked, I can close my eyes and hand you a towel to put around you or something. I promise not to look.”
He made a frustrated noise.
She repeated it. “Vlad, we’re adults. This is ridiculous.”
“Fine,” he rasped. “Let’s just get this over with.”
Elena fortified herself with a deep breath and turned around. She locked eyes with the wall. “How do we do this?”
“Just let me hold your arm while I get into the water.”
Okay. She could do that. She waited with arms outstretched as he hauled himself from the floor and onto the edge of the tub. His bare legs brushed against hers as he reached for her hand for balance. Unbidden, her mind conjured an image of what she was purposely not looking at, and she had to close her eyes to chase it away.
“That bad, huh?” His voice had gone from annoyed to grumpy again.
“Huh?”
“You look like you’d rather die than catch a glimpse.”
“You didn’t want me to look.”
“That’s not what I said.” He muttered it under his breath.
“So you want me to look?”
“I want you to stop acting like you’ll turn to stone if you do.”
“Make up your mind, Vlad. Do you want me to look or not?”
“I want you to open your damn eyes before you fall down.”
She obeyed and found herself staring intently at a popping vein along his temple. “I told you this was a bad idea,” he said.
“Just get in the tub.”
“I need your hand again.”
“Right. Okay.” She needed to get her shit together. She was acting like a teenage girl with her first crush. Which he was, of course. Her first crush. Her forever crush.
He held on tightly as he turned around and lowered his good leg into the water. Then he let go of her hand so he could instead grip both sides of the tub. With ease, he lowered his body fully, relying on the strength of his thick, massive thighs to take all the weight off his lower leg.
“You’re looking.”
Flames burst from her cheeks. Elena turned around so abruptly that she stumbled. “No, I’m not.”
“I cannot help that I have a hairy chest.”
That’s what he thought she was staring at? His chest hair? And anyway, why would it be bad to stare at the thick blanket of dark hair that covered his sculpted pecs and dipped enticingly toward his defined abs?
She squeaked out a response. “There’s nothing wrong with your hairy chest.”
“Colton says I should wax.”
“Colton is a stupid American.”
He looked up with an apologetic grimace. “I’m sorry you have to do this.”
“Shut up and let me wash your hair.”
His grimace lifted into something resembling a smile. “You’re bossy.”
“And you’re stubborn.”
“I could have just called Colton.”
“So he can insult your chest hair again? I don’t think so.”
His smile became a chuckle as he relaxed. Elena squeezed a dollop of shampoo into her hands, rubbed them together, and then slowly massaged the liquid into his wet hair. Suds formed between her fingers, turning his thick, dark locks into foamy spikes. She spread her fingers wide to slowly scrub along his temples and then down behind his