Della grinned like a loon, and her heart sang as she quickly shimmied out of her clothes. But she didn’t get naked. She’d been to Frieda’s today and bought some lingerie, so she kept it on and arranged herself on her side close to the edge of the mattress, her head propped up on her hand. Reaching for the bedside lamp, over which she’d placed a piece of gauzy red fabric, she switched it on, a pink halo forming around the shade.

A noise from the doorway alerted her to Tucker’s presence, his eyes taking an even slower exploration of her body than earlier. “Holy fuck,” he said. Closing the door, he flicked off the overhead light, the room suddenly glowing soft pink.

“You like?”

He sure as hell seemed to as he prowled ever closer. Della had loved the purple set the second she’d laid eyes on it. Alternate panels of satin and see-through gauzy fabric were not only tactile but played peek-a-boo with her nipples and her pubic hair, teasing at what was underneath.

“I do.” He pulled up beside the bed. “You’ve been to Frieda’s again, I see.”

She nodded. “For you.” Sure, she got what her friends had said about lingerie being for her, but they were crazy if they didn’t think the way Tucker was looking at her right now wasn’t totally, 100 percent for her and her ego.

“You look…” He trailed off as his hand ventured forward, his index finger stroking over a creamy swell of one breast, whispering over the nipple before falling away.

Easing onto her back, she arched a little and said, “Why are you wearing so many clothes?”

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

Watching Tucker undress never got old. The way he toed off his shoes the same time he reefed his shirt off his head tripped her pulse. The way he tore at his belt buckle and ripped down his fly thickened the blood in her veins. The way he stepped out of his Levi’s and his socks stopped the air in her lungs.

The way he didn’t take his eyes off her the whole time made her weak everywhere.

And then there was the reveal of his chest and his abs and his legs. Taut, tanned skin stretched across solid muscles. Wide shoulders, powerful arms, strong quads. Light brown hair dusting his thick forearms and legs.

Gah! Give the man an ax and be done with it.

And then there was that happy trail heading south from his navel down to where his underwear prevented any further viewing. Yep, his underwear, unfortunately, had stayed—as usual—despite the huge erection testing the stretch of the fabric.