Shattered (Extreme Risk 2)

Why, why, why is there never an erupting volcano around when a girl needs one?

Chapter 17

Ash

I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone turn that particular shade of red before. Tansy’s a blusher—I knew that about her already—but even she’s never been quite this color before. It’s adorable and endearing and hot, in a way that has my muscles clenching and sweat slipping down my spine.

“It’s not what you think!” she tells me as she dives for the pillow.

But I get there first, grabbing the tablet and watching a little wide-eyed as the woman on-screen gets it from three guys at the same time. Wow. And I was worried about taking advantage of Tansy after she’d had a couple drinks … if she’s looking at this, maybe she’s more experienced than I thought.

“Give me that!” she all but screeches, ripping the tablet from my hands. As she does, she glances down at the screen and nearly chokes on her own tongue. “Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God!”

Scratch that. Maybe she is just as inexperienced as I thought.

She’s poking frantically at the tablet now, but the noises aren’t stopping. I find myself getting a little hard despite myself—not because of the porn, but because of Tansy’s wide, wild eyes and the way she keeps working her lower lip between her teeth. God, she really is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.

“Can I help?” I finally ask after a few more seconds of watching her struggle.

“No!” she whines, but then, in a direct contradiction, she thrusts the tablet at me.

I laugh—I can’t help it—though I try to stifle it. Judging from the way she’s glaring at me, I don’t do a very good job of it.

“Make it stop! For the love of God, just make it stop!” she wails, so I do, before handing the tablet back to her.

The room seems unnaturally quiet after the cessation of all that noise. I’m not sure what to do, what to say that won’t spook Tansy more, so I just stand there watching her watch me. At least until she groans and throws herself face-first onto the bed.

“Can you just go?” Her voice is muffled and I have to strain to hear it. “Please? So that I can die of shame in peace.”

I start to laugh again, but she’s so tense and she sounds so distraught, that I swallow every ounce of my amusement. Instead, I sit down next to her on the bed and run what I hope is a supporting hand down her arm. As I do, I try not to notice how soft her skin is beneath my fingers or how good she smells.

“Hey,” I tell her after the silence stretches between u

s. “It’s no big deal. Everyone watches porn.”

She responds with a muffled, “I don’t.”

I do laugh then, because, seriously? Isn’t that what she was just doing? “Um, okay.”

Tansy rolls over then, pillow clutched under her chest, and glares at me. I try not to think about how good she looks propped up on her elbows like that. Or how I’d like to see her in just that position, but naked, legs spread and eyes watching greedily as I go down on her.

“I’m serious. This is all my sister’s fault. She’s the one who sent me the stupid links. She’s the one who said I should—”

She breaks off abruptly and I find myself leaning forward, anxious to know what she was going to say. “Said you should what?”

It’s like she suddenly realizes how close we are, because she stiffens up. Shoves off the bed and crosses the room to the dresser. Starts fumbling around with all the stuff she’s got lying there. Jewelry. A water bottle. A couple of lipsticks.

“Nothing. Just …” She lets out a long sigh, then puts on a smile that almost looks real. “Did you want something, Ash?”

“Wow.” I blink at her, a little surprised by the abrupt segue. “That sounds an awful lot like, don’t let the door hit you in the ass on your way out.”

“No!” Her eyes go wide and she’s blushing again. “I didn’t mean—I just thought—” She closes her eyes, takes a couple of deep breaths. “Never mind.”

It’s fun to tease her, but now she’s gone beyond flustered, into frazzled, and I feel bad about that. I go to her, take her hand in mine and then pull her back toward the bed. I wait while she sits down and then settle down next to her.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” I tell her because I really am afraid that she’s on the brink of hyperventilating or something. “Just breathe for a second and then we’ll start over.”

She nods, but she still looks mortified, so I pull her into my chest. I cradle the back of her head and let her bury her face against my neck. She’s stiff at first, every muscle tight, but I stroke my fingers through her hair, rub her back, and eventually she relaxes.