Tell Me You Want Me (Search and Seduce, #2)(35)

Her blood heated and tingles surged up her spine just as—

Ring! Ring!

Dex’s cell went off on the bedside table. He growled but kept licking.

Ring! Ring!

“You should get that,” she breathed.

He shook his head. “I’m busy.”

Oh, and she wanted him to stay busy, but his phone rang again.

“What if it’s an emergency?”

Now he really growled as he slowly kissed up her stomach and reached over her to get his phone. She liked that he seemed so interested in her. Liked he couldn’t get enough. She and Dex might not be much more than odd friends with a trainer/trainee understanding, but he was an amazing lover.

Hell, he was just plain amazing. Other men would have answered the phone because they wanted an excuse to get away from her. He was answering because he cared whether it was an emergency. Just like he cared about people around him. It was clear in how he spent his time and how he worked hard to keep people safe. He’d even hesitated to answer it, like he didn’t want to give her the wrong impression.

When he read the caller ID, he got off the bed and answered, “Hey, Mama.”

He gestured at Michelle to give him a minute, and she nodded.

It was sweet the way he answered his mother’s calls. The last time her mother had called was to tell her about her ex getting engaged. And just as Michelle had wondered if her mother could be any crueler, she’d tossed in some underhanded insults about Michelle’s “lifestyle.” A woman on her own. A woman without a country club. A woman without a husband to take care of her and tell her what to do.

God forbid there was a world beyond the Four Seasons. The sad part was that Michelle hadn’t figured out how to stand up to either of her parents. Not really, at least. They had a special power for making her feel small. Her best shot at being free was to get as far away from them as possible.

Which was why she liked Beaufort and her boutique so much. She could take pride in the life she’d built without worrying that her parents would show up on her doorstep to point out her many faults.

She watched Dex pace and say, “Yes, ma’am,” into his phone, and Michelle’s heart melted a little bit. He was a good boy. Kind and sweet and loyal. All traits that were becoming clear the more time she spent with him.

“See you soon, Mama,” he said and hung up. He ran a hand through his hair and looked at Michelle. She had a hard time meeting his eyes, because he was naked. In the morning light, he was all hard, tan muscles.

“Sorry to have to cut the morning short, but I’ve got to pick up some stuff for my mom. I can take you home if you’d like.”

Michelle swallowed hard, not sure how to handle this feeling. She wasn’t ready to say good-bye to him. Not yet. But that wasn’t part of this deal. And it was probably better that she back off when he had something so personal going on.

“Okay, no problem.”

“Shit,” he mumbled.

“Problem?” she asked.

“Yeah, I, ah, have a training type thing I want to do with you today. It’d also knock off one of those list items of yours. But I have to take care of this first.”

“I could just go with you?” she said before she realized the words had come out.

He frowned as if confused. “I can’t really train you until later, so you’d have to sit through a few errands and making a run to my mom’s.”

“That’s fine.”

What the hell had she just agreed to?

Okay, she couldn’t back out. Not now. But could she really go?

Think this through.

She had the day open, and this was just for training, right? So surely a few hours of running errands was okay until she could get back to her list. Because that’s what this was all about. The list and his hours. She needed to remember that.

He took a step toward the bed, a small smile tugging at his lips.

“All right then. Looks like we’re spending the day together.”

A day. The word made her chest twist a little. That was a big dose of time. But she could do it if it meant she took another step toward this independence she was chasing. And Dex had said today would involve crossing some major stuff off her list so…totally fine. Not a relationship. Not a big deal. Just sex and fun and progressing forward into her new Take Life by the Balls attitude.

He took another step, that grin widening and that cock growing.

She sat there, waiting for his response. He’d suggested it. Surely he wouldn’t back down now.

“If we’re starting today, we should start it right,” he said.

He jumped on the bed and hit her with a kiss and a little tickle just below the ribs. She laughed and squirmed.

“Uh-oh, princess, I know your weakness now.”

He tickled a little more, and she laughed. Her eyes met his, and yes…she had a weak spot. She was looking right at it. Rather, at him. And she had no idea what to do about it. Only that she knew if he could get her to open up with laughter simply with his touch, staying around him much longer couldn’t be good.

“Come on,” he said and tugged her up. With a smack on her bottom, he led her into the bathroom and turned on the hot water. “I’m going to have to finish my breakfast in the shower this morning. Any chance shower sex is on your list of things to do?”