Free Sucker Punched by Kelley R. Martin

inquisitive and intent.
    I feel like a slide under a microscope.
    Swallowing, I follow the outline of his pecs under the white cotton stretched tight in front of me. Flashes of what’s underneath flick through my mind like the scenes from a movie, my skin burning where he touched me, kissed me.
    Is it possible for skin to have memories? Because mine remembers everything. 
    Every kiss of his lips. 
    Every touch of his fingers. 
    Every scrape of his stubble. 
    Every flick of his tongue.
    Every thrust of his hips.
    Taking my eyes off him completely, I look away and exhale a shaky breath. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed this about me, but I’m not the smoothest person.” A nervous laugh bubbles up, like I’m subconsciously trying to prove my point.
    I can feel his eyes on me. My skin, in turn, heats another million degrees. I’m going to spontaneously combust if I’m not careful.
    “I disagree.” He tilts my face up, forcing my eyes to meet his. “You feel plenty smooth to me.” 
    His thumb brushes my bottom lip, making my eyes squeeze shut. I can’t think around him as it is, and when he goes and does that , it’s like system overload. 
    Slipping out from between him and the table, I sigh. “I don’t know how to respond to that. I have no witty retort that resembles anything like flirting.” I bite my lip, wishing I could make him understand. “Some girls can flip their hair and have guys eating out of the palm of their hand. I flip my hair, and I’m liable to smack somebody in the face as they walk past me. I’m just not graceful. I’m awkward and insecure, and I’m sorry, but I don’t know the proper etiquette for bathroom sex with a stranger. I freaked the fuck out, okay? Leaving seemed less embarrassing than trying to make awkward small talk.”  
    “Who says we had to talk at all? We could’ve gone for round two. And then three, and four.”
    I doubt the guy banging on the door would’ve appreciated that.
    “But for what it’s worth, I like how awkward you are.”
    So he did notice. Awesome.
    But he’s got to be telling the truth, right? I mean, I obviously did something right to land a ride on Blake’s saddle. 
    That little insecure part of me won’t shut up, though. It has me sheepishly asking, “You do?”
    “Of course I do. It makes you easy to read and I like that, I like seeing how I affect you. Your skin flushes. Your breathing changes. Every time it happens, I can practically see what dirty things you’re thinking, and I love it.”
    Well, shit.
    His lips curve into a smile. 
    Damn it, I’m probably doing all of those things right now.
    Before I can get too embarrassed, Blake’s phone dings. He pulls it out of his pocket and scowls when he reads the screen.
    “Is everything okay?”
    He slips it back into his jeans without responding to the text. “Declan’s not even here and he’s trying to cock-block me.”
    “Does he know that we. . .?”
    “He threatened me with severe bodily harm if I laid so much as a finger on you, so no, I didn’t tell him. Savannah might’ve, but I kinda doubt it.”
    I cross my arms, trying not to smile. “Why didn’t you heed his warning if you took him seriously enough not to tell him?”
    “Are you kidding? Look at you,” he says, gesturing to me. “You’re fucking gorgeous, Duchess. There’s not a goddamn thing in this world that can stop me from trying to lay all ten of my fingers on you. Or in you.”
    The grin that curves his lips and flashes his teeth is so perfect, so sexy, that I have half a mind to tell him I’d like both, please.

    “You okay?”
    Shaking her head, Savannah closes the lid and flushes the toilet, clutching her stomach. She still looks a little green around the gills as she turns on the faucet and rinses out her mouth.
    Poor thing. Her and Declan showed up not even fifteen minutes ago, and as soon as she stepped into the house and smelled the food, she hauled ass to the bathroom and promptly threw