Merry and Bright(20)

She slid her hands to her ass. “Not bad at all.”

“Liar.” He picked up her toothbrush and put it back on the counter, but she shook her head. “Wrong side.”

“Huh?”

“That’s the toilet side of the counter. Dentists recommend that a toothbrush be kept at least six feet away from the toilet to avoid airborne particles resulting from the flush. You just put it within four feet. I’ll have to throw it away.”

“I’ll buy you a new one. Enough stalling. Let me see.”

Resignation flashed across her face, as well as discomfort at the realization he saw right through her. “No,” she said.

“This isn’t the time for modesty, Maggie.”

“I’m fine.”

Uh-huh. And he was the damn tooth fairy. He peeked around her to catch sight of her in the mirror. The back of her camisole dipped low, revealing her shoulders and spine, lovely and smooth. And as he already knew, the panties were small, boy cut, and revealed more lovely, smooth skin. They rode low on her hips, yet slid up high enough to reveal the bottom curve of her sweet ass. She was holding said sweet ass but he could still see that one cheek was bleeding. “You’re not fine.”

She sagged, letting her shoulders fall as she dropped her gaze from his and pulled out a box of Band-Aids. “Okay, dammit, I’m not.”

All irritation vanished. “Come on,” he said gently, and grabbing the box of Band-Aids, pulled her into her bedroom. “You should really buy stock in these.” He sat on the bed and patted the mattress next to him.

Miserably, she shook her head. “I can’t sit.”

“Lie down.”

“Oh, God,” she moaned, still holding her butt. “I should have just stayed sleeping. Did you know that we burn more calories sleeping than we do watching TV?”

“Fascinating. Come on, it won’t be that bad.”

“That’s because it’s not you baring your ass.”

“True.” He patted the mattress again. “How about I close one eye, will that help?”

She let out a low, glum laugh, and crawled up on the bed. “Did you know that elephants are the only animals with four knees?”

“I did not know that.” He was trying not to know other things. Like she possibly had the sweetest ass he’d ever seen.

Slowly, carefully, she sprawled out on her tummy. “Did you know that every human spent about a half hour as a single cell?”

“Maggie, don’t be nervous.”

“Or that every year about ninety-eight percent of the atoms in your body are replaced?”

“Fascinating. Listen, it’s going to be okay, I promise.” One spaghetti strap of her cami had slid down over her arm. The hem had risen to mid back, revealing a strip of skin that he wanted to nibble. Her legs and feet were bare. He wanted to start at her toes and lick his way up to the world-class wedgie she had going on.

“Jacob?”

He cleared his throat. The last time a woman had lain on her belly for him, he’d been naked and about to have a very different experience. “Yeah?”

“Just look already!”

“Okay.” He very gently slid the material of her panties over one cheek, so that it further bunched in the middle. Her entire body was clenched so tight, she quivered. “Relax,” he said, stroking his finger over the already blooming bruise.

She let out a sound that might have been a laugh. “You pull down your pants and we’ll see if you can relax. What do you see?”

He saw two creamy cheeks that were so perfect he wanted to lean down and kiss them, divided by the bunched up silk that much to his regret managed to hide all the feminine secrets between her thighs.

“Jacob!”

Right. What did he see? Since she didn’t want to hear that he saw things that made him weak in the knees, he cleared his throat. “You’re already bruising and need ice.”

She wriggled around. “Any glass?”

“Hold still.” She had two long cuts from the broken plate. He probed them both while she hissed out a breath. “No glass,” he finally said, reaching for the Band-Aids. “All you need is a little TLC. . . .” He covered the wounds and then, because he couldn’t seem to help himself, he bent over her and did as he’d been dying to, and kissed the spot.

She gasped and rolled painfully to her side, her hair in her face, her eyes wide. “What was that?”

“I was kissing it all better. Did it work?”

“I . . .” She blinked and slid her hands beneath her to cup her bottom. “Yeah.”

Both cami straps had slipped down now. Her breasts were full, pressing against the thin material, her nipples two hard, mouthwatering points. Her gently curved belly was rising and falling with each breath, of which she took many. Her panties were snug, the effect being that the satin did little more than outline her every dip and nuance, and if he thought he’d wanted to nibble her ass, it was nothing compared with this particular area.

“Jacob?”

With difficulty, he lifted his gaze to her face.

“You really are different,” she whispered.

“From . . . ?”

“Me.”

That tugged a laugh out of him. “Yeah, and trust me, I’m very grateful for those differences.”