#Junkie (GearShark #1)(23)

I was staring at the TV, trying to pay attention to what the announcers were talking about, when Drew walked in.

The scent of soap tingled my nose, and I glanced over. His chest was still on display, and there was a white towel wrapped around his waist. Droplets of water clung to the ends of his hair, and when he turned to riffle through his duffle, there was more water on his lower back.

I picked up my glass and took a sip. Suddenly, I was parched.

“Room’s all yours,” he said.

“Sure you don’t want the bed?” I asked.

Still turned away, he pulled on a pair of gym shorts and slid them up under the towel. I glanced away, and I heard the movement of fabric. Seconds later, he dropped down on the end of the sofa, in nothing but the shorts.

He wasn’t wearing underwear.

“I’m good. I’ll just snag a pillow off the bed and call downstairs for some blankets.”

I got up, picked up the phone by the wet bar, and called down for the blankets. Since I was getting the bed, it was the least I could do. I grabbed a pillow off the bed. When I came back, Drew was at the wet bar with a glass of water in his hand.

I stopped in the doorway, unable to not look at him.

I liked the way he looked.

There. I said it.

I really f*cking did. Just admitting it to myself seemed to make me feel lighter. As if carrying around the burden of trying not to admit I found him visually appealing weighed me down.

I wondered how much lighter I would feel if I admitted some of the other things I tried to hide.

Drew lowered the glass. It made a low thump on the stone countertop. He turned his head so our eyes met.

Have I mentioned how blue his are? The color of a sky on a perfect summer day. The kind of day that didn’t come around very often. Perfection rarely does.

Currents of electricity passed between us. It was unmistakable. It was like he knew I was checking him out. He knew and he liked it.

Drew’s body pivoted toward mine. I watched his ab muscles contract with the twist of his torso. One hand rested on the countertop and the other flexed at his side.

Embarrassed I was basically checking him out, I forced my eyes up, only to see his were no longer on mine either.

He was staring at my chest.

I had an insane urge to puff it out. But I didn’t. I held myself back.

Suddenly, I felt itchy all over. My skin was vibrating and tingly.

“T…” he said.

He was the only one that called me that.

There was a knock on the door. Drew stiffened and went to answer. When he was gone, I deflated like a balloon with a giant hole.

I expected him to get an armful of sheets and close the door.

That wasn’t what happened.

Drew’s deep voice spoke and was followed by a light giggle. The kind of giggle that made me roll my eyes.

I hung in the doorway (totally like a creeper) and watched as one of the hotel staff came into the room, carrying a large stack of white bedding.

“I’ll just set it down in here for you,” the woman said. She was likely in her early twenties, with blond hair, a big rack, and green eyes. I would bet money she was wearing colored contacts. No way her eyes were naturally that green.

If they were, then her hair was naturally blond, too.

Ha.

“Thank you,” Drew said, still over by the door.

She turned, giving me a view of her profile. It was enough to see she was totally checking out him and his basic nakedness. It was also very clear she liked what she saw.

“Do you want me to make up the couch for you? It pulls out into a sleeper.”

“I think I can handle it.” He smiled at her. I wanted to kick him. “Besides, I’m sure you have lots of work to do.”

“Actually,” she purred, prowling across the room toward him. “I get off in just a few minutes.”

“Sweet.”

“Maybe you’d like me to come help you make the bed then?” She ran a red-painted nail up his chest.

I jerked out of the doorway and stepped into the room. “Here’s a pillow,” I said loud. Then I stopped like I was surprised to see the woman there.

“Oh, hey,” I said. “You bring the sheets? Thanks. We needed ‘em.”

The woman’s eyes flared a little. Then her mouth opened and closed. Good. I hoped she was wondering about us. About Drew.

Only skanks hit on men they didn’t even know two seconds after laying eyes on them.

“I’m sorry. I thought you were alone,” she said.

I made a sound. “Yeah, ‘cause one guy needs all that extra bedding.”

Drew’s eyes narrowed on me over the blonde’s head.

She laughed lightly and her eyes turned calculating again. Clearly, she’d put together we weren’t sharing the same bed since we needed extra sheets.

Guess she wasn’t as dumb as she looked.

“So should I come back?” she asked, her voice low, for Drew only.

I still heard her. My back teeth came together, and irritation along with the feeling I was being poked with a branding iron pushed me across the room.

“If you know what’s good for you, you won’t,” I half growled, reaching around Drew to open the door and stare pointedly at the girl.

She marched out into the hall and turned back, her hair flinging as she moved.