Other stuff? What the hell was I thinking?
I couldn’t just do “other stuff.” I wanted all of it. All of her.
Stop.
Damn, I hate that word. How the hell I’d stopped when she’d told me to a few minutes ago, I had no idea.
Alone in the shower, I lowered my head and braced my hands against the tiles, letting the cold water beat against my back. An image of her filled my head, and I groaned.
The sexy moans she made drove me crazy. She had a mole just above her left breast that I desperately wanted to lick. She was so…
Damn it all to hell. I needed to stop thinking about her. This was getting out of hand.
The water was cold, but I adjusted it to freezing.
Think of something else, moron.
I tried to imagine the smell of the locker room just after a game. Smells of sweat, feet, and piss. Yeah, that should calm me down.
Her long legs felt like heaven when they wrapped around me.
The freezing shower was not helping. Frustrated, I turned off the shower, grabbed my towel, and dried off. I headed straight to my gym room—a few doors down from her room—for a serious workout. It felt like I spent all day in there, not just two hours. Another cold shower in my gym bathroom and a quick hand job calmed me. But as I exited the shower, just the thought of her beneath me worked me up again.
Damn blue balls.
I had to get out of here before I did something crazy. Like take her against the wall. Or on the kitchen table. On the bathroom counter. In my bed. Anywhere.
It wasn’t just that I hadn’t had sex in a long time, or because I desired her so much it hurt. Making love with her was a way for me to express my feelings for her—and, if I’m being perfectly honest, it was also a way to mark that she belonged with me. I exhaled.
Slow. She wanted it slow. Slow was good. I could do slow. I was capable of waiting for her, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t do my best to show her how I felt about her and convince her that we belong together.
Looking around the bathroom, I realized I didn’t have any clean clothes to wear. Wrapping a towel around my hips, I grabbed my phone and saw a text from Justin inviting me to a party at his place tonight. Ignoring it, I was heading back to my room when I stopped in my tracks.
I saw Red dressed in my bathrobe, her ear plastered to my bedroom door, and I bit my lip to keep from laughing. Was she trying to eavesdrop?
Damn if that didn’t make me smile.
The bathrobe was too big for her. It covered her from neck to toes, the hem trailing on the floor. She must have found the robe in her room. I had a few clothes in there.
I watched her as she straightened up, clutched her hands together, and took a deep breath. Raising her fist, she was ready to knock on my door, but she paused and shook her head. Then she pressed her ear against the door again.
“Anything interesting?”
She gasped and jumped as she spun around and saw me, her hand flying to her chest.
“Caleb!”
I laughed. Not just because I caught her, but because I was remembering the time Cameron caught me doing the same in front of her bedroom door.
Her eyes glazed over as she took in my naked chest. She was as affected as I was. Good. When she looked at me like that, I felt like I needed to go back to the gym and work out again for another two hours.
Damn. I really needed to stop thinking about worshipping her body for an hour or two. Maybe I should go to Justin’s party. I couldn’t stay here with Red when just the sight of her put me on edge.
“Look,” I started, raking my hair with both my hands. “I need to get out of here for a few hours.”
She dropped her gaze, but I caught the flash of hurt in her eyes. I closed the distance between us, lifting her chin with my thumb and forefinger. I couldn’t help but notice how big my hand looked next to her beautiful face. She looked delicate, vulnerable.
“Red, I can’t be here with you right now. It’s not because I don’t want to be with you. It’s because I really, really want to.”