Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 70574 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70574 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
“I’m…I’m…I can’t wear that,” I finally whispered.
“What do you mean you can’t wear it?” Eli asked with a frown. “I pulled them out of your luggage.” He picked up one of my Louis Vuitton pieces of luggage and asked, “This is your luggage, isn’t it? I mean, your name is on it.”
I refused to be intimidated by him. “Of course, it’s my luggage,” I snapped. “As you pointed out, you can clearly see my name on it. I simply don’t intend to wear my usual attire when I’m around you. It makes me…uncomfortable.” Shit, that sounded stupid. And weak. And wimpy. And lots of other things that pissed me off. This cruise was supposed to be my coming-out party. It was going to be when I quit worrying about what others thought, stopped worrying about my age, and tried to live life to the fullest. I couldn’t do that bullshit in front of Eli—he knew me.
Eli crossed his arms over his impressive chest. “Why would you purchase it if it made you feel uncomfortable?”
Good question…one I didn’t intend to answer.
“None of your business. I’ll pick something else out to wear,” I said as I started toward my luggage. Panic gripped my insides—everything I’d brought was similar to what Eli had laid out on the bed. I’d truly meant to force myself outside of my own boundaries…my own comfort zone. The only way I’d seen to accomplish that was to only pack shit I wouldn’t normally wear. If I’d packed my knee-length board shorts, I would have worn them every day.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
He blocked my path to the suitcases. “I think you’ll look hot in what I’ve laid out, angel. Give it a try. We’re only going to the breakfast buffet. If you start to feel uncomfortable, we’ll come back to the room and change. Agreed?”
Instead of agreed, my mind was screaming abort.
My mouth, however, answered, “Fine. I’m starved. I don’t have time to argue with you.” I shoved him aside and made my way over toward the bed. “Turn around, Eli. I’d appreciate some privacy to get dressed!” I snapped irritably. There was nothing worse than having well-laid plans backfire in your face.
He grinned. “I’ll do even better than that. I’ll step out on the balcony while you get dressed. Fair enough?” he asked.
“No peeking,” I said to his broad back as I watched him disappear through the sliding glass doors.
Why did he have to be so fucking gorgeous and I had to be so…inexperienced? I wasn’t ugly—guys generally loved how I looked. They just didn’t like how socially inept I was. I was wasting my time. No matter how good the pink speedos made my ass look, there would be no hiding the fact that I didn’t fit in…that I wasn’t knowledgeable in the art of seduction or fucking.
Frustrated, I yanked the tags off the speedos and slid them onto my body—keeping the towel safely wrapped around my waist until the swimming trunks covered my ass. Well, shit. I’d forgotten that the back of them were made of lace. Perfect…just fucking perfect.
Hoping that no one would ever get the chance to see them, I quickly slid into the white, stretch booty shorts and shoved my head and arms into the holes of the T-shirt. Without even glancing at the wall made of mirrors, I already knew I looked like somebody that belonged in a strip club, gyrating on a stripper pole.
Except I didn’t know how to gyrate…or strip…or work a pole—stripper or otherwise.
Once dressed, my stomach growled irritably, reminding me that I was starved to death. Before I could yell for Eli to return to the room, he slid the doors open and stepped back inside. His eyes, all gray and stormy, swept up my body…down again…up again…and then a feral smile turned his lips upward.
“Very sexy, angel. I like.”
“It’s not for you,” I snapped. While I hadn’t bought the new clothes expecting Eli to ever see them…they had been purchased with him in mind. The tiny red devil with the gorgeous black wings that sat on my left shoulder had whispered how fucking sexy I would look and how regretful Eli would be that he never got to see me as the man I’d grown to be. The tiny white angel that sat on my right shoulder, wimpy with droopy wings, had merely chuckled at my expense.
Eli answered with a nonchalant shrug. “Maybe they weren’t for me, but I sure as hell am going to benefit from the purchase. Like I said, angel, you are one sexy motherfucker in those skin-tight pastels. I may have to strap my cock to my upper thigh to keep it from making an appearance while on deck.”
For the first time since I’d walked out of the bathroom, I noticed that Eli had changed clothing as well. When I’d left him to shower, he’d been wearing some black boxer briefs and a black T-shirt that had The Topping Is My Favorite written across it. Now he was wearing some black leather shorts that were molded to his perfectly shaped rump like a second skin and a red mesh top that could easily be seen through. He looked so fucking edible that I felt my cock try to do a happy dance inside my speedo. Instead of complimenting him, though, I said, “Leather is stupid for swimming and the sun. Those are going to melt onto your body and you’ll never get them off.”