bulged with the proof. I followed the line of his torso with my eyes, gliding down his solid stomach to the defined muscles that created an arrow from his hips down to his—well, you know. Talk about bulging.
My throat was dry, and a flush of heat swept my body.
“Holy shit,” he whispered as he looked me up and down, his eyes lingering on my bare legs. I resisted the desire to hug the robe closed entirely. Instead, in a moment of bravery, I pinched the edging, running my fingers slowly up and down the billowed opening. My knuckles grazed the swell of my breast, and my nipples tightened.
“This is beautiful. Thank you so much.”
“I know you have one already, but I thought maybe—”
“I love it,” I reiterated.
He cleared his throat, breaking the trance, and rushed to his nightstand where there was another wrapped present.
I put my hands to my hips. “You don’t have to buy me things, Tate.”
He closed his eyes, breathing silently for a moment while a peaceful smile tilted his lips.
“I love that you said that,” he whispered, the smile widening. “But this gift, especially, you’re really going to want.” Lacing our fingers, he guided me out of the bedroom, and I followed without further argument. He threw a grin at me from over his shoulder. “You got an A on your test. You deserve a reward.”
I rolled my eyes. My head was foggy, but not that foggy. “An A minus. And you only just found that out now.”
He stopped in front of the bathroom door. “I knew you would.” There was tenderness in his voice, and it cracked as he studied me. He turned away, forcing himself to break eye contact, and he fiddled with the doorknob.
I narrowed my eyes, giving him a sidelong glance. “What’s going on, Tate?”
“Well,” he started. “You wanted to know what I had learned in my…um…reading. And you’re tipsy, but not drunk. It might be a good time to try something new.”
My pulse jumped at the mention of the orgasm books. What could they possibly have said about my own body that I didn’t know already? Well, probably a lot, actually, considering I had no idea what I was doing half the time. What I didn’t know about orgasms could fill a library.
“One of the key things it said was that the likelihood of a man bringing your first orgasm is really low.” His lips twitched into a half smile as he continued. “As much as I would love to be the exception to this, the realistic approach is that you need to know how to please yourself before anyone else.” With his turn of the knob, the bathroom door swung open to a low-lit bubble bath, and a couple of candles in the corner.
I curled my arm around Tate’s waist, tugging him into my body. As he hit a button on his phone, soft music played through the speakers. “This is for us?” I blinked up at him as those steel eyes of his flashed an almost silvery blue.
“This is for you. And this—this is for you, too. I don’t know if you have one or not, but, well…it should at least help. And if it doesn’t happen tonight, that’s okay. I just want you to relax and enjoy yourself.”
I opened the second gift to find a small, waterproof Pocket Rocket. My face burned, and I was too mortified to look up at him yet. His chuckle from above made me snap my attention forward, and he raised an eyebrow.
“I didn’t want it to embarrass you…it’s just…I don’t know. Every girl should have one, right?”
Reagan had said the exact same thing to me once. But every time I went to buy one, I chickened out.
I dragged a deep breath through my nose and sighed it out. “You’re right—it’s really thoughtful. Thank you.” I turned the toy over in my hands. I had no idea how to use one of them, but holy shit, I wasn’t about to admit that to Tate. It had to be pretty self-explanatory, right?
“Here, let me.” He took the box from my hands and opened it, holding the small device out to me. “I already put batteries in and washed it,” he whispered.
Instead of taking it from him, I stepped back, slipping the robe from my shoulders. It fell, pooling by my feet. I moved to the tub, bending slowly to drag my hand across the bubbles. A sharp breath behind me was followed by a shuffle