Boycotts and Barflies (34 page)

“Yeah, I know.” Ryan laughed as he slipped behind the door across the hall. Grace let the door to the guys’  room fall shut on its own. She could hear the sound of water gently splashing, probably as Michael shifted around in the tub. What the hell are you doing, Grace? You go through that door and you will be in a small, confined room with a very wet and naked M ichael. That could be

a really bad idea, she told herself as she paced the room. Are you serious? Who  the hell cares? Get your ass in there, girl.

Listening to her less than angelic side, she put her hand over her eyes and  walked through the bathroom door. She peeked down at the small piece of the  floor she could see under her hand and found his clothes lying on the bathroom  floor. Grace quickly grabbed the button-down shirt he had been wearing in the  262

car and carried it with her as she blindly staggered over to the counter that she  knew was directly across from the tub.

“Hi,” she said casually, trying not to think about the fact that he was totally  naked only a few feet away. Her heart started to pound in her chest the more  she thought about it.

There was a big splash of water as Michael realized someone was in the  bathroom with him. The hum of the jets and the bubbling water had made her  entrance rather stealthy. “Oh, it’s you. Thank God! I thought it was Ryan, which  would have been really awkward.” His laughter echoed through the bathroom. “Um, why do you have your face covered?”

Her mind started spinning out of control. Does that mean he wants me to look at him? What if I see him naked? That wouldn’t be good. It would actually be phenomenal, amazing, life-alteringly great. But, then again, she knew she’d lose the bet.

“I’m trying to give you your privacy. I just wanted to say hi, and maybe steal

your shirt if you don’t mind. Meg repacked my suitcase and didn’t tell me so

when I grabbed a bag from the car, it had all her stuff in it, and I don’t want to

go out in the snow for my clothes, and oh yeah, I’m not wearing a bra.” Grace

had a verbal explosion of nerves.

“Please take your hand off your face so I can see you when you’re talking to me.

Relax, there are a bunch of bubbles in here, you won’t see anything.” She could

hear the laughter in his voice as it dropped to a husky rumble. “Unless you

want to …”

“Keep your penis covered, Michael. Do we understand each other?” Grace

warned before she slowly removed her hand from her face.

“I promise. As long as you keep your breasts covered, we should be fine.” Not

trusting  him fully, Grace peeked carefully between her fingers to find him

sitting in the tub, the jets causing the water to bubble and move around him,

making the water extremely blurry and keeping all his bits covered. His chin

was resting on his hand along the e dge of the tub; his piercing blue eyes raked

over Grace’s body, taking her breath away. He sat up and ran his hand through

his already wet hair; then he held his arm out to the bubbling water. “Care to

join me?”

Grace closed her eyes and prayed for strength when she heard the seductive

tone of his voice. “Michael, you need to behave, please,” she pleaded with him.

She took a deep breath before she opened her eyes, only to find him holding

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his hand out to her, beckoning her to come closer. You have no other clothes;

do not jump into that tub, Grace! Don’t do it … She took his hand and knelt next  to the tub, their fingers intertwined as she sat facing him, occasionally getting  splashed by the thrashing waves created by the Jacuzzi jets.

“So, how many more hours now?” he asked casually, like he wasn’t sitting there  completely naked as he gently kissed each of the fingers on her hand and began  to move his lips higher up her arm.

“One hundred twenty-five, but who’s counting?” Sh e made a feeble attempt to  feign indifference, but if he only knew how many times in the last few days  Grace had glanced at her watch to calculate how much time was left in the bet,

she’d be mortified. When he lowered her hand she let it dangle in the warm bubbling water, making sure to keep her eyes on his face and not let them drift  down and look into the water.

“So what were you saying about your clothes?” he asked, breaking Grace out of  her trance.

“Meg decided to unpack my bag to make room for all the  things she bought, so  she crammed all my clothes into two suitcases and filled the third with her  extra stuff. When we got out of the car, I grabbed the one with her stuff in it. Now I have no clothes, so I may need to borrow a shirt of yours later, if you don’t mind. I might steal this one now, if that’s OK?” The black button - down  shirt that she’d picked up off the floor was still in her hand.

“You can take whatever you need. Everything in my suitcase is clean.” He  waved his arm toward the bathroom door, s miling. Grace also remembered  that he had made it very clear back in Spokane he enjoyed seeing her in his  clothes.

“Thanks. I’m going to leave and give you some privacy. I’ll stop over later and  grab a T -shirt from you.” Grace stood up to leave but from su ch an angle, she  could make out the outlines of his long legs in the water. She followed them up  toward his body, and then slapped her hand over her eyes. She could hear  Michael laughing at her bizarre behavior.

“Grace, sweetheart, did you peek?” His hand rubbed her leg while she stood  next to the tub.

“I’m sorry … Oh, just … Never mind. I need to go. Now.” Flustered, Grace leaned  down, her eyes still closed tightly, and blindly went to kiss him goodbye.

She felt  two very wet, warm hands on her face that pulled her toward him. “Open your eyes, Grace,” he whispered softly. She could feel his breath on her  lips and she knew when she dared to open her eyes they would be face to 264

fa ce. Stretching out, she put her arms onto either side of the tub to keep herself

from falling in. When her eyes finally opened, his lust- filled eyes greeted her.

“I love you.” Three simple words that set her body on fire. Three simple words

that melted her heart.

Then he kissed her.

The warmth of his lips traveled down to her chest, making her body tingle from head to toe. Grace tightened her grip on the tub, trying to control herself, but her resolve was wavering with every second that passed. The steam from the tub began to rapidly warm her body as he kissed her longer and harder than he had in a few days. By the time he pulled away, her heart was flying in

her chest. “OK, now you may go.” The slow, sensual curve of his lips was

intoxicating.

Grace needed  space and distance so she could think straight. She rolled her

eyes and stood up, once again shielding her eyes. There was a gasp from

Michael then she felt a cool sensation on her chest. She looked down to see the

front of her shirt had draped into the water when she was leaning over the tub,  kissing Michael. The cooler air away from the tub and the transparency of her  wet shirt left little to the imagination as Michael sat there, open mouthed,  staring at her breasts and now highly visible nipples. Quickly wrapping her  arms across her chest, Grace turned bright red.

“Oops.” Her eloquence reduced to scrambled babbling, that was all she could  manage to make come out of her mouth as she stood there mortified.

She glanced down at Michael, who was doing his best not to laugh, biting his lip  and trying to breathe slowly, but the twinkle in his eyes gave him away. “Do  you find this funny, Michael?”

“Funny, no. I find it absolutely hilarious!” And all the laugher he had been  trying to contain came spilling out of him, echoing off the bathroom walls. Funny? You want funny, Mr. Sexy Guy in the Jacuzzi looking all hot and  laughing at my accidental wet T-shirt contest? We’ll see who’s laughing

now. Grace glared at him as she picked up his black shirt off the floor and held

it between her knees.

She turned her back to him, raised her shirt slowly over her head, and glanced back over her shoulder at him as she held the damp shirt in her hand. Michael sat in the tub, stunned at the sight of her completely bare back as she balled up the shirt and chucked it into his face. She bent over and grabbed his shirt, sliding her arms into the sleeves, and pulling it up onto her shoulders. Still completely unbuttoned but with her breasts mostly covered, Grace turned to face him.

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“Too bad you’re in the tub; I was going to ask you to help button me,” Grace  said with a sexy little pout.

Before she knew what was happening, Michael stood up in the tub. Her eyes  immediately flew to his, never breaking his gaze as he stalked, dripping wet,  closer and closer to her. He stopped in front of her and ran his fingers through  his hair, which for some reason made Grace gasp out loud. The combination of  the water beading and dripping down his creamy skin, along with the

knowledge that he was completely naked while within touching distance made

her knees wobble.

“I wasn’t expecting this reaction. Y-you do know you’re naked, right?” Grace

asked, her voice trembling uncontrollably.

“Yep.” A single word was all he muttered, his eyes telegraphing his intense

desire.

“And you aren’t at all embarrassed?” With everything in her, Grace forced  herself to stay calm as his hands stretched out and touched the exposed section  of flesh between her breasts. Her body trembled uncontrollably at his touch  and the pleasure it promised. He gently took the two sides of the shirt and  began leisurely buttoning them together.

“Not at all,” he said as he glanced back and forth from the buttons to her eyes,  the smug grin never leaving his face. Grace dared to take a moment and admire  the way the water glistened on his shoulders, accentuating his thick muscles.  Her hands were clenched into fists at her side, fighting the urge to run her  fingers down the length of his muscular arm.

“Well, that’s OK. I think I’m flustered enough for the both of us,” Grace said  breathlessly as she leaned against the bathroom door, feeling lightheaded. Michael took another step toward her, finishing the last button, then standing  confident and sexy in front of her.

“Are you feeling all right, sweetheart? You look a little flushed. Maybe you  should come lay down … with me.” Grace froze. All bodily functions shut down;  she couldn’t breathe, move, or speak. She just stared at him as he inched his  face closer to hers. “What do you say?” he whispered as he wrapped his arms  around her waist, pulling her up against his wet, naked body and began kissing  her neck.

“Michael … I, um … wow …” There was no way for her to stop her incoherent  muttering as his warm lips continued kissing her neck and shoulders.

Screw the bet, she thought as Michael nibbled relentlessly on her earlobe.

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Chapter 21

Is that a yes?” he asked as Grace felt his hands slide down her back and come to rest firmly on the curve of her hips. He pushed her back into the door, their bodies crashing together creating an unforgettably wonderful friction between them. It was then that she realized he was just as aroused as she was.

“Oh, Michael.” The words came out of her mouth as a deep throaty moan.

Not only did she not want to fight him any longer, she didn’t even think it was possible. She wanted him with every fiber of her being and was ready to lose the bet just to spend one night with him.

His head immediately raised, his ice blue eyes locking on her. “Grace, I love you,” he whispered as she knotted her fingers deep into his wet hair. Her feet left the ground as he picked her  up allowing her legs to wrap tightly around his waist. The moment that they had been waiting weeks for was ruined by a loud slamming sound.

“Grace? Michael? Where the hell are you?” Ryan called from the other side of the door. “Oh, wait, never mind. I’ll leave. I’m not here. Carry on. Forget you heard me.”

Michael let out a groan at the sound of Ryan’s voice. Grace slid down his body, making Michael stagger back from the contact with his aroused groin.

When her feet hit the floor, she leaned back against th e door, gasping for breath.

“It’s fine, Ryan. We’re just … talking in here,” Grace stammered as she kicked the bathroom door with her heel in frustration. For a few seconds, she buried her face into her hands, desperately trying to pull herself together.  When she finally looked up, Michael had a white bath towel wrapped low around his waist. The beads of water were still slipping down his chest, leaving slick trails of moisture down to his chiseled abs.

Michael put plenty of  distance between them, while they both tried to regain their composure. “It’s all your fault, you know,” he said as he pointed an accusing finger in Grace’s direction. She opened her mouth to set him straight but he continued before she could speak. “I told you to keep your breasts covered. But then you go and get your shirt wet. Then, as if that isn’t bad enough, you take the damn thing off right in front of me,” he said, gesturing his hand in the air.