the planes of his back, which gave way to his solid behind. And damn his legs. Long, thick with muscle I imagined came from hiking or mountain climbing. He was the picture of strength, and my second time looking at his naked form was no less awe-inspiring than the first.
My nipples pebbled into hard buds that stabbed through the thin lace of my bra. The silk fabric of my dress did nothing to disguise my physical reaction to him. I couldn’t make myself move, not even when the water turned on.
Holt’s face appeared in the doorway. I ignored the disappointment that I couldn’t see any more of him.
“You still standing there?” He knew damn well I hadn’t moved if that smirk was any indication. “I’m sorry. Guess I should’ve extended an invitation. But you wanted your boundaries, right?”
“You apparently don’t know what that word means. Enjoy your shower.” I lifted my chin and strutted from the room with an extra sway to my hips. Tit for tat and all.
Once I couldn’t feel his eyes on me any longer, I picked up my pace. I breezed through the kitchen, picked up my purse, keys, and phone. No way in hell was I doing roommate night or whatever he called it. Not when all I’d be able to think about was him . . . naked . . . and wet.
I leaned against the wall as I waited for the elevator. Wasn’t he the one who was supposed to be having illicit thoughts? Instead, it was me who had soaked panties and heart palpitations.
Nope. I was going out. And if all went to plan, I wasn’t coming back home to face more of this tension. How had this suddenly gotten so complicated?
Chapter Four
Holt
“Easy?”
The apartment was quiet. Too still.
I readjusted the towel around my hips and went in search of her in the kitchen. No luck. If her missing purse was any indication, she’d bolted.
Had I scared her? In a creepy, pervert kind of way?
I’d meant to keep my clothes on, but that red dress had me going straight out of my mind. I was torn between wanting to leave it and those sex-kitten shoes she was wearing on and getting her naked as fast as possible. For the first time in my life, it was well and truly a toss-up.
Fuck me, I was hard again just thinking about those pouty lips and what they’d feel like on me. Anywhere. I’d take anywhere.
I grabbed a beer out of the fridge. If I was a pervert, I’d still turned her on. Those crimson stained cheeks and dilated pupils didn’t lie.
Damn it all to hell. She made it easy to forget she’d been abused. In what way and by who, I didn’t know, though I was determined to find out.
That right there—my inability to keep my clothes on around her—was exactly why I hadn’t come home last night. Look where it had gotten me. Alone. No Baker anywhere to be found. And wasn’t that why I’d moved in with her in the first place? To make it impossible for her to avoid me.
Clearly, I didn’t think this through.
I tossed my towel on the bed and shoved one leg into my jeans. What did I want from her? A relationship? I laughed, a mirthless sound. God, no. Sex? God, yes. But it was more than that. I didn’t know for sure, just that I wanted. And whatever that something was, I wanted it from her. Only her.
Three months in and I’d already screwed up. Hence, I was here by myself wondering where she took off to.
I yanked a gray Henley out of the clean clothes hamper I’d yet to fold and pulled it over my head.
My brother was going to kill me, but I had to call in a favor. I hoped Trish was on board to help me out.
This wasn’t her kind of place.
The thought was rich, considering I didn’t really know her at all. But the thumping bass and throngs of bodies mashed together weren’t Easy. She’d like a dim bar with a softer music so she could actually have a conversation.
I scanned through the backlit club. This wasn’t my kind of place, either. Leather and lace abounded on men and women who hopped around like the music pumped straight into their veins.
Suddenly, I felt like an old man. There was a time when I would have eaten this scene up, been right in the thick of it with all these people. Now, I