Sandcastle Beach (Matchmaker Bay #3) - Jenny Holiday Page 0,99

redo it when she renovated the inn?”

“That is a very good question,” Maya said as she threw her keys on the dressing table. “The answer, I’m pretty sure, has something to do with emotions and possibly also teenage Eve and Sawyer getting it on in this room. So I prefer not to think about it.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, that’s a wise move.”

“This room is—” Her brow furrowed abruptly, like she had just thought of something unpleasant.

“What?” he asked.

“Maybe we should have gone to your place.”

“Why?”

“Forget it.” She turned her back to him. “Stop talking and unlace me.”

“I’m not going to do that,” he said as he pulled one of the dangling ends of the corset cord and undid the bow.

“Seems like you already are,” she said, her tone arch.

“No.” He reached his fingers into the mass of laces and wiggled them in order to loosen everything in one go, gratified by her resulting sharp intake of breath. She wasn’t as blasé as she seemed. “I’m not going to not talk this time. I want us to talk.”

“We just did. If you want to have some big analysis of this, I don’t think—”

“No.” He slid one of the laces from its hole, the resulting swishing sound making his dick plump up. “I want to talk while we’re doing this.” He yanked the other lace, which made an even louder sound as it scraped against the eyelet. “I want to tell you that this corset is making me crazy. I can’t tell if I like it better on”—he held it closed against her torso—“or off.” He pulled it open and tossed it onto the bed.

“Oh,” she sighed as realization dawned. “That kind of talking.”

“Yeah, you’re good at talking. As much as I enjoyed myself the other night, which for the record was very much, silence is not really your thing.”

She pulled the flowy blouse off with a matter-of-fact efficiency that should not have been sexy. “And here I thought you preferred me silent.”

He glanced at her breasts before forcing his eyes back up. “It’s a situational thing.”

“Is it?” She took off her bra. “While we’re putting things on the record, this is necessary under this costume. This is not the kind of bra I normally wear.”

“For the record?” He tried to keep his eyes on her face, but damn, knowing her breasts were finally free was like a magnetic force pulling his gaze down.

“Yeah. Next time, I won’t be wearing this ugly thing.” She flung the bra onto the floor.

That was enough to pull his gaze up. “Next time?” He raised an eyebrow. He wasn’t sure why. The impulse to challenge her was stronger than his instinct to produce a contract for her to sign promising there would be a next time.

“After the show tomorrow?” she asked. “After I change after the show, I mean?” Was he mistaken or was there a touch less breezy confidence in that question?

“Yep.” He had no idea if Carter would be able to close tomorrow, but he’d shut the whole damn bar down if necessary.

“Not that I’m really much of a lingerie person,” she said as she kicked the bra, which had landed at their feet, away. Again he thought he detected a note of uncertainty in her tone. “I’m a plain-black-undies-under-my-jeans kind of person. I mean, you know that, right? Like, you know what you’re getting?”

His chest flooded with something he was pretty sure was affection. “I know what I’m getting,” he confirmed. In fact, as much as he enjoyed the Beatrice look, he couldn’t wait for the return of Maya. Maya of the Converse sneakers and Shakespeare T-shirts.

He stripped off his T-shirt. Maybe if he lost some clothing, she’d feel less vulnerable. She smiled. It must be working. He unbuttoned his jeans. She stepped out of her skirt, and the smile grew.

Then it turned a little wicked. “I’m having a brain wave,” she declared. And God help him, she grabbed the corset from where it had landed on the bed and wrapped it around herself.

“Oh shit.” His half-hard dick sprang to attention.

“You say that a lot.” She turned around and, holding the corset to her chest, presented him with the laces again.

“You sure? You couldn’t breathe in this thing the other night.”

“Don’t tie it tightly, but it’s, uh, possible those breathing problems had another source.”

He was glad she couldn’t see the grin that felt like it was going to crack his face open.

She turned around after he tied her back up, and the smile slid