Playing With Fire (Tangled in Texas, #2)(69)

“What are you doing?”

“I’m doing you a favor. Don’t worry, I’m not going to touch you, and you can stop whenever you want, but the only way you’re going to learn about a man’s naked body is by seeing one in person. And I’ll be damned if I trust anyone else to do this with you.” He opened the button on his jeans and slid down the zipper. “Consider me your willing test subject.”

My gaze dropped to the small line of hair running into his pants. His lack of underwear had my cheeks heating again. He tossed his hat onto the couch and then pushed his jeans down with one hard shove.

I gasped and my hand flew to my chest. “Are you insane?”

Without a word, he stripped off his jeans and socks, leaving him completely nude and wielding a very large, rock solid erection. I tried to keep my eyes on his face as he paraded through my living room in the buff and made his way through the open door to my bedroom.

He was completely comfortable with himself as he crawled onto my bed and lay down, propping his head with my pillow. “You coming?” he asked.

It was a disarming gesture, one that left me speechless. But I had to admit that he provoked my curiosity. Maybe it was the lunacy of the situation or the psychological thrill of doing something so sinful. Or maybe it was just the way he, with his tight muscular ass, had climbed onto my bed while he offered up his delicious body for exploration. In any case, he had issued me a challenge.

I edged closer to the bedroom door, keeping my eyes on his. “Cowboy, I don’t think—”

“That’s the problem right there. Stop thinking.”

My gaze drifted downward. “Sort of hard to do when you aren’t wearing underwear…or anything else.”

“I go commando all the time,” he said nonchalantly. “Not a big deal. Now come in here and take a good look. I promise to keep my hands to myself.”

“I…I can’t.”

He picked his head up to get a better look at me through the open doorway. “Anna, you said you wanted to learn, right? Just pretend this is an art class, and I’m your nude model.”

With his spectacular chest, wide shoulders, and his other manly attributes, that wasn’t so hard to picture. But this wasn’t an art room filled with other artists all staring at the man on my bed. It was just me. Us, actually…in a terribly intimate setting. And if he was the one lying spread-eagled under the glaring, dome-shaped light in my bedroom, then why did I feel like I was the one who was exposed and vulnerable?

“Yes, but…”

A smile played on his lips as he leaned back and put his hands behind his head. “Reckon you have yourself a live study at your disposal.”

To his credit, he was in excellent shape. And definitely willing. But I wasn’t entirely comfortable staring at his naked form spread gloriously across my sheets. Especially when he was visually excited. Then again, if he didn’t feel ashamed, why should I?

I bit my lip, feeling painfully inhibited. “I can do anything I want?”

“Darlin’, you have my permission to do whatever your little heart desires. Well, within reason. No crazy bondage shit, okay? I don’t like the idea of being trussed up like some rodeo calf. Now get over here.” He patted the spot next to him on the bed.

I walked slowly into the room, keeping my gaze locked onto his, rather than his other male parts as I neared the bed. He smiled at me. “Sweetheart, it’s okay. Really.”

“If I do this, I think my moral compass is going to go way off the mark.”

He chuckled. “Nah. You’re overanalyzing it. Just look at it this way. If I’d have slept with you when I had the chance, you would’ve already done a lot more than this.”

“True, but still…”

Cowboy reached out and took my hand, pulling me down into a sitting position next to him. “Let me earn your trust, Anna. The bastard who hurt you didn’t deserve it, but I want to show you that I do. I’m not him, and I won’t hurt you. Ever.”

“I know that. It’s just…well, I don’t know what to do.”

He gave me a wink, then flattened my palm against his chest. “Start here,” he said, guiding my hand down to where his erection curved over his belly. “And work your way down…to this.”

Holy hell.

I jerked my hand back. “Um, maybe we should start a little slower.”

“Suit yourself,” Cowboy said, laughing at my reaction.

“If you’re trying to embarrass me, it’s working.”

“Darlin’, I’m not trying to embarrass you. All I want is for you to feel more comfortable with me and less self-conscious about yourself. Trust me when I say that there’s nothing you can do here that’s wrong.” Cowboy rested his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes. “Just think of it as therapeutic massage,” he instructed.

“Am I being graded for this, teacher?” I asked.

He smiled. “Don’t worry. I’m grading on a curve.” Then he cracked one eye open to make sure I got his stupid joke. The humor helped ease the stress and humiliation coursing through my veins.

I shifted closer, folding my knees beneath me. My hand reached back out to touch his stomach, but I hesitated.

“Do you want me to talk about the weather or something to calm your nerves?”