The Naughty List Bundle - Kylie Adams [201]
His hands shook as he stared at her shoulders. “I’ll be as gentle as I can.”
He lifted the tube of cream and realized it was cool. Lizzy must have been keeping it in the refrigerator, just as Sawyer had suggested. He squeezed a large dollop onto his fingertips, then very carefully began smoothing it over her skin. Her head dropped forward and she shivered.
“Cold?”
“It’s supposed to be.”
“I’m not hurting you?” Her skin was so delicate, even without the sunburn.
“No.”
There was a tiny quaking to her voice that made everything masculine in him sit up and take notice. Velvety soft curls on the back of her neck got in his way, and he used one hand to lift them while spreading the cream with the other. Her neck was long and graceful, her hair somewhat lighter here, more like a golden strawberry blond. “Feel better?”
“Mm. Yes.”
Gabe looked at her arms, saw they were pink and stepped to her side. He lifted her arm and said, “Brace your hand on my abdomen.”
She jerked her hand as if he’d suggested she cut it off. She held it protectively to her chest so he couldn’t take it again.
Gabe smiled. “C’mon, Lizzy. Don’t be shy. I just want to put the cream on you, and I’m even wearing a shirt. There’s no reason to act so timid.”
Her spine stiffened. “I am not acting timid! I’m just not used to how you…how you constantly…”
He could imagine what she’d eventually come up with, so he decided to help her. “How informal and comfortable and at ease I am? Yeah, that’s true. Touching someone isn’t a sin, sweetheart.” He pried her arm loose, being careful not to hurt her, then pressed her hand to his abdomen. His muscles were clenched rock hard, not on purpose, but in startling reaction to the feel of her small hand there. “See. That’s not so bad, is it?”
A tiny squeak.
Gabe lifted a brow, still covering her hand with his so she couldn’t retreat. “What was that?”
Lizzy glared at him and said, “No. It’s not…awful.”
Laughing, Gabe released her and reached for the cream. “Now just hold still.”
He could feel her trembling as he spread the sticky aloe cream up and down her slender arm. She felt so soft, so female, which he supposed made sense. It even made sense that his overcharged male brain immediately began to imagine how soft she was in other, more feminine places, like her inner thighs, her belly and lower.
He felt himself hardening and wanted to curse. Like a doomed man, he continued with his ministrations, torturing himself, but enjoying it all the same.
With only one hand to hold it, her sheet started to slip. Gabe froze as she made a frantic grab for it, his breath held, but she managed to maintain her modesty.
Sighing, he went to her other side, determined to behave himself. He was not a boy ready to take his first woman. He was experienced, mature…There was absolutely no reason for all the anticipation, all the keen tension.
His voice gruff, he said, “You know the drill.”
She looked away from him even as she thrust out her arm. Nervously, she said, “I have to admit I’m a little surprised to see you so fully dressed. I was beginning to think you didn’t own any shirts or slacks.”
He looked at his white T-shirt and faded jeans. The jeans were so old, so worn, they fit like a second skin—which meant that if she bothered to look at all, she’d see he had an erection. Again.
But of course she didn’t look. Gabe studied her averted face and smiled. “Are you disappointed that I came fully clothed, Lizzy?”
In prim tones, she replied, “Not at all.”
He didn’t quite believe her. Sure, he felt the tension, but then, so did she. She was practically vibrating with it. Yet she’d deny any attraction. Most women came on to him with force; this tactic was totally unusual…and intriguing.
She turned her face even more, until her chin almost hit the chair back. Gabe bit his lip to keep from laughing. Elizabeth Parks was about the most entertaining woman he’d ever met. It was probably a good thing she wouldn’t be here long or he’d get addicted to her prickly ways.
But until she left, he told himself, he might as well put