Page 28 of Cooped Up for Christmas

My room was the only one with a private bath. It made sense that he would ask to use it if the other bathrooms were occupied. Didn’t it? And who was I to hog all the amenities?

I stepped back and ushered him in. “Sure.”

“I’m, ah, not interrupting anything, am I?”

I glanced around the room, searching for the hidden lover and bottles of Malbec, just breathing. “Nope.”

“Great. Great.” He stepped inside and closed the door and then we both just kind of stood there awkwardly.

“Well,” I said. Or maybe that was all I could manage.

Have I mentioned my room was small? It was. Small. And he was so big he took all the space. He very definitely took up all the oxygen. My head spun.

Panic rose within me, along with its best friend, retreat. All I wanted to do was run. “The bathroom is here,” I blurted as I pushed past him to open the door and wave in the general direction of the shower. “Let me know if you need anything. Okay? Great.” I spun around and headed straight for the bed, but then realized that might have some double entendre, so I grabbed my book off the bed, and sat in the chair.

And…the chair faced the bathroom door. Great. Now I had a perfect, front-row-view of Cooper standing there, all sexy in a tee shirt and jeans, and chuckling. At me.

“What’s so funny?”

“What do you do if you need to pee?”

What? What on earth was he saying? Then his meaning clicked in. “I can wait until you’re finished showering.” Duh.

His laugh filled the room. “No. I mean, wearing that.” He gestured at my person. “What do you do if you need to pee?”

Ohh. He meant my sexy flannel onesie. “Easy. Snaps.” I leaned back, opened my legs, and showed him.

I probably shouldn’t have done that. It hit me just a nanosecond too late to stop.

His expression froze, framed as it was in the V of my legs. A muscle clenched in his cheek. His fingers tightened on the knob. “Oh,” he said with a nod. “Clever.” But his smile didn’t reach his eyes. It barely reached his lips. “I, ah… I’ll try not to take too long,” he said as he stepped inside the bathroom.

“No worries,” I responded. “Take your time.” But he probably didn’t hear me, because he’d already closed the door.

My feet hit the floor with a thud.

Hoo boy.

Yeah. There I sat, staring at the bathroom door and listening. Just listening. It made my blood heat to know he was so close. Just beyond that slim barrier.

Never mind what happened to my blood pressure when I thought of him sliding out of that black tee shirt. Shimmying out of those tight jeans. Thumbing his skivvies down…

Oooh. Boxers or briefs? It made my mouth water.

What did he look like now? Naked?

Not skinny, that was for sure. He’d be layered with muscle. I wondered if I could fit my fingers around his bicep. Ah, but that would only be a ploy, wouldn’t it? A trick to slake the desire, rising from the depths of my soul, to touch him, skin to skin, just once more.

I closed my eyes and remembered how it felt, how he smelled, the feel of him entering me slowly, filling me fully, and—

My body wept.

Oh. Good. Lord.

Had I ever been this ready? This hungry? Had I ever wanted something so much? With seemingly every fiber of my being? I couldn’t think of a time. Not ever.

He was right there. Right. There.

Naked.