Della pointed and whispered because she was being brave enough right now without saying vagina, too.

He shut his eyes briefly. “God…Della.” He opened them again. “Please just go back to bed.”

“No. I don’t care if I’m making a fool of myself.”

He shook his head. “You’re not… You’re being very sweet.”

Sweet? Sweet! God…the last thing she wanted was to come across as sweet. She wanted to be hot and irresistible and…sexy, damn it. She really needed new sleepwear.

“Fuck you, Tucker.” So much for calm and methodical. “Don’t patronize me.”

He blinked, obviously surprised at her profanity, but she didn’t care. She was about to propose something the polar opposite of sweet, and she resented how he tried to keep her in that box. “I’ve spent hours tonight test-driving three vibrators. I am not goddamn sweet.”

If she wasn’t very much mistaken, a dull kind of flush stained his cheeks. Okay, yeah, maybe she hadn’t exactly planned on saying that out loud, but she was tired of being polite, of playing the role of the poor, passive victim.

“What?” she demanded as silence swelled between them. “I have as much right as the next person to enjoy my body.” Thank you, Selena.

He shifted uncomfortably. “Of course.”

It occurred to her then that Tucker was the proverbial next person right now. “You do, I bet.”

Tucker looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here, but he answered nonetheless. “Yes.” The admission rumbled out, thick and husky.

Della tried not to think about Tucker with his hand wrapped around his dick and failed, the image growing in her head as steadily as the silence grew between them. Was he doing the same? Thinking about her touching herself? Or did that violate this ridiculous notion of sweet he’d attached to her person.

Irritation flared again, the silence like fingers down a chalkboard now. “Say something,” she prompted. She’d said enough for one night.

“You should go back to bed.”

Except that. Anything but that. “Damn it, Tucker.” She glared at him. “I’m not going to bed. Try again.” Clearly she hadn’t said enough for one night.

“I’m…” He rubbed a hand over his face. “Very happy that you’re…exploring and discovering what works for you.”

God, it sounded like his awkward sex talk again, and it pushed her over the edge. “Do you know who I thought about as I came?”

“Della.”

She ignored the warning growl in his voice. She was done with being meek and mild. “I thought about you. I want you to be the guy to show me all the things I’ve missed out on. To show me how good it can be between a man and a woman.”