“Hmm?”
“Your T-shirt. Take it off.”
The command in my request was unintentional, but Toby reacted like a dream. He sat up and ripped his T-shirt off, revealing the tanned torso that had haunted my sleep in recent days. Up close, it was even more imperfectly perfect. There was a scar above his left nipple. I traced it with my thumb, revelling in the answering flex of his hips. “How did you get this?”
“Pellet gun. Shot myself by accident.”
“When?”
“Ten years ago.”
“You country boys are wild.”
“Nah, just unsupervised when the waves were too rough to ride.”
“I’d like to see you do that.”
“Do what?”
“Ride.” I meant the waves, obviously, but the loaded syllable wasn’t lost on Toby. His cheeks flushed, though with desire or embarrassment, I couldn’t tell. And because he was a fucking adult who was capable of speaking up if the conversation made him uncomfortable, I went with desire and gave his nipple a long, slow pinch.
Toby made a strangled sound. I glanced at his face. His lips were pursed together in a thin line, and his jaw was tight with tension.
“Don’t do that.”
More worry clouded his lovely gaze. “Do what?”
“Stop yourself reacting. Let yourself be noisy. There’s nothing hotter than the sounds people make in bed.”
“People?”
“Yeah. People. I like all kinds.”
“Me too.”
“I figured.”
“You did?”
“Yeah. I was listening the other day, and I’ve thought about you a lot.”
Understatement. I pinched his nipple again, and this time his head fell back. He moaned, low and soft, and more desire coursed through me than I knew what to do with. I touched him everywhere I dared until I could no longer ignore the bulge in his jeans.
My hands skimmed his waistband. He jolted, and his eyes flew open. “Don’t worry,” I whispered. “I’m not going down there unless you want me to.”
“I want you to... I’ve done that with girls.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. I like it. And I like doing it to them too. I think—”
“What, Toby? What do you think?”
He shrugged and bit his lip. “It feels weird to say it when I’m here with you, but I think I like that more... doing it to them more than having it done to me. I like how it feels.”
“To give someone pleasure?”
“Yeah.”