Tempting the Best Man - By J. Lynn Page 0,30
the towel all the way over there, folded neatly on the shelf above the toilet? She gripped the edge of the tub, wondering if she should pretend to be asleep.
Like that was a stellar plan.
And like all stellar plans, it backfired in her face.
The bathroom door swung open, and Chase’s broad shoulders filled the gap. Her mother would’ve called those shoulders door busters and damn if she wasn’t right.
Madison squeaked and frantically started moving the bubbles up over her chest. Seconds later she realized how stupid that was, considering he’d seen her goodies only a few hours ago, but hell, she wasn’t holding peep shows.
“Why did you bust in here?” she demanded, striving to sound calm and unaffected by the fact he was near and she was naked.
Chase folded his arms. “I called for you, but you didn’t answer.”
“So the next logical step was to bust into the bathroom?”
He shrugged. “I was worried you were hurt.”
“In the bathroom?”
“With you, anything is possible.” He stared at her, not even attempting to look anywhere else like most guys would. But Chase wasn’t most guys. He was a walking contradiction.
Her gaze narrowed. “Gee. Thanks.”
Chase said nothing as he stalked into the bathroom and leaned against the his-and-hers sink.
Madison’s heart rate skyrocketed into uncharted territories. “Um, can I help you with something?”
His lashes lowered, and she knew where his gaze went—to the rapidly thinning bubbles—and heat zinged through her veins. “I’m not sure,” he said finally. Then his eyes settled back on her face. “We need to talk.”
“Right at this very moment?”
“What’s wrong with right now?”
Was he daft? “I’m in the bathtub, Chase, in case you haven’t noticed.”
“Oh, I’ve noticed.” His voice dropped low, husky, and sexy as hell.
And her body went right into take-me-now land. God, there needed to be an anti-sex pill or something for when she was around him. She eyed the towel across the room and sighed. “Can it wait until I’m done?” They had a few hours left before dinner, so time wasn’t an issue. Being in the bathtub was, however.
“I’ve seen you naked before, Maddie.”
Her mouth dropped open. “You have not seen me completely naked, thank you very much.”
His eyes glittered. “Actually, once before I have, when you were like five. You ran through the house buck-ass naked when you had chicken pox.”
“Oh, dear God, why do you remember these things?” She was going to drown herself, right here in the tub.
A half smile appeared. “It was kind of traumatizing.”
“Yeah, well, this is traumatizing, so we’re even.” Since it appeared he wasn’t leaving, she scooped more bubbles over her breasts. “Okay. What do we need to talk about?”
“You. Me. What’s been going on between us.” He said it so matter-of-factly she thought she’d misheard him at first.
But she hadn’t.
She sunk her hands under the water as she stared at him. He seemed transfixed by where her hands had gone. “There’s something going on between us?”
Chase’s expression was unreadable as he nodded. “First off, I didn’t mean to…insult you about the not…going there thing. That came out the wrong way.”
Unwanted hope sparked in her chest.
“Pretending nothing happened between us within the last twenty-four hours is as stupid as pretending nothing happened three years ago. We can’t keep pretending.”
Madison’s head bobbed.
“And I think it’s obvious that I’m attracted to you.” His gaze dipped again, and the bubbles were almost gone. Parts of pink flesh peeped through. “That I want you.”
Her breath stilled as her heart galloped. Okay. Wow. This was so unexpected, she had no idea what to say or do.
Chase’s eyes were like chips of heated blue ice that melted her as he continued. “You’ve gotten under my skin, and I’ve done everything to ignore it, because caving to it…it isn’t right.”
She blinked. “Why? Why isn’t it right, Chase?”
He moved to sit down on the edge of the tub, so close to her, his presence swamped her. “It’s not what you think, Maddie.”
She had no idea what she thought anymore. “Then tell me.”
Drawing in a short breath, his gaze moved to where her feet popped out of the water, the nails painted a crimson red. He didn’t answer.
Unsure if his lack of response was a good thing or not, she lowered her feet under the water. It was growing colder and she was going to be pickled if she stayed much longer.
He shook his head, that half smile back again. “Wanting what I want from you…it’s never going to work out. You know my history. You know…what I grew