That would earn their approval, no doubt. And Tyler already had her approval.
Even if he was pissed off. She studied him, realized he looked damn sexy when he was mad. The narrowed, glowing eyes, the tense stance that seemed to showcase every muscle in his very well muscled body. His arms were crossed in front of his bare chest, biceps bulging. One delicious hunk of man flesh that only moments ago she’d had her hands all over.
She wanted her hands all over him. Now. Again.
Hello! Parents waiting out in the kitchen.
Disappointment flooded her, but she went to him anyway. Smoothed her hands over his forearms, let them trail up to curve around his biceps. “Don’t be mad.”
His gaze softened the slightest bit as he looked down at her. “I’m not mad.”
“You were.” Her hands slid down his bare chest, and she shivered. God, he felt good. Solid and warm. “When they opened the door you were hidden behind it.”
He nodded once. “True.”
“And I couldn’t just blurt out your name because it would’ve been…awkward. And this is awkward enough right?”
“Yeah, it is definitely awkward now that they’re here.” He nodded again.
Her hands slipped down to wrap around the waistband of the underwear he must’ve yanked on when she wasn’t looking. “So go out there with me, we’ll present a united front and entertain them. Please?” She dropped a kiss to the center of his chest, felt his rapidly beating heart beneath her lips.
“All right.” He touched her, big hands wrapping about her shoulders and tugging her
close. “Sorry I’ve been such an ass.”
“It’s okay,” she whispered against his chest, pressing another kiss there. His skin was salty, delicious. Unable to stop herself she licked him.
Groaning, he tugged her away. “Stop. I can’t walk into the kitchen greeting your parents with a hard on.”
She giggled and stepped away, excitement bubbling up inside her. Normally she’d be full of dread. The very last thing she enjoyed doing was sharing her latest boyfriend with her parents. Their expectations were always high and her mother always had her married off to the poor guy immediately.
But she wanted to drag Tyler out to the kitchen. She wanted her parents to gasp their surprise. She wanted to see their pleased expressions when they realized she was actually with Tyler. That she wanted to be with him for a long time, to see where this would take them.
A sobering thought but true. Did he feel the same way? His angry reaction told her yes but he hadn’t actually said anything. Of course, maybe he thought he’d look like a damn fool for proposing something more serious between them. After all, they’d been together a whopping two days.
They’d known each other for years. She felt so at ease with him. And the sex was good.
Beyond good.
Beyond amazing.
Smiling, she reached out a hand after he threw on an old T-shirt and shorts. “Ready?”
His hand landed in hers, fingers entwining and squeezing tight. “Absolutely.”
To say that Julie’s parents were thrilled to see him was an understatement.
Her mother practically threw herself at him. And her father, Lou, smiled broadly as he pumped his hand in a vigorous shake. Despite the fact that they knew he’d just been in bed with their daughter, they looked pleased as punch. Clara had fussed over him, making him sit as she poured them a cup of coffee. She’d even forced Julie to split her sausage biscuit though he saw the disappointment written over Julie’s face when she reluctantly handed over his half.
It made him want to laugh. It made him want to pull Julie close and offer her a reassuring squeeze about the shoulders.
More than anything, the cozy domestic scene made him feel as if he belonged.
He hadn’t been able to help the anger that swarmed him when her parents had burst into the room and she hadn’t even mentioned his name. He knew he was being irrational. He knew he was an ass for acting that way. But the emotions had come anyway, intense and old, harbored from a long ago resentment that he guessed he’d never fully shaken.
When he’d been younger and felt like such an outsider. When he’d had such a terrible, agonizing crush on Julie that filled him with such longing his entire body ached. How he’d ached for her during those few summers. She’d been so elusive, almost like a dream that slipped through his fingers like sifting sand.
Now he realized he’d put her too high on a pedestal. That she was a flesh and blood woman, a woman who lived her life the best she could. A woman who wasn’t as perfect and ideal as he’d believed she might be.