Page 54 of Bared

It was time to rip that flag down.

It was time to strip away everything he perceived about her—except the needy flesh and soul-deep feeling that were truly, honestly her.

It was time to do it…now.

Jayd crossed her arms, grabbed the T-shirt by the bottom, and swept it all the way off.

At once, she trembled from head to toe.

At the same time, Brickham erupted with a new rumble.

She did not stop quivering. But she did want more of that sound. Ohhh, so much more.

One determined breath later, she reached up and then back, targeting her bra clasps. With double the purpose, Brickham seized both her wrists.

“Leave it on,” he dictated. “If I see your nipples now, we’ll never get to the best part.”

Jayd managed a coy look. “I thought we were already there.”

“That was the good part.” His lips lifted. His gaze was smokey and his jaw was clenched. “This is the best part.”

Her throat clutched around halted air. Stopping everything above her waist did bewildering things to the areas below it. Her intimate triangle, now bared to the night air and his rapt gaze, pulsed in ways she had never known before. She was soft but hard. Languid but aching. Naked and needing…

“The best part,” she echoed with a dazed sigh. “Which means what?”

Tell me, Brickham. Please. But better yet…show me.

“Keep your hands all the way up here, Pixie. Over your head. Grab these cabinet handles so you don’t accidentally disobey.”

“We could never have that.” Though her tone teased, the effect vanished with her shivery exhalation. Could she be blamed? Even just looping her fingers around the handles was doing distinct things to her libido. Entrancing, erotic things. Her breasts pushed uncomfortably at her bra. The petals at her core were throbbing and swollen.

“Certainly couldn’t,” Brickham confirmed, using his newly free hands to pull open some drawers to her left. “Because the best part is also the funnest part.”

“Which is why you have now opted for perusing the utensils?”

“More like…treasure hunting. Aha.” His triumphant bark coincided with his roguish smirk as he removed a few items from a larger drawer. Jayd could not see any of them due to the man’s broad frame but the clinks of colliding stainless steel were recognizable enough.

What in Creator’s name was he up to?

Brick did not keep her in suspense. Which she wasn’t sure to deliver thanks or confusion for, watching as he placed his “aha” stash atop the counter.

A rubber-paddled spatula.

A big pair of tongs, its steel ends cut into ridges.

A rolling meat tenderizer, its triangular nubs giving the device some terrifying new meanings.

“Oh, my.” She dotted it with a rough gulp, only to forget all about her trepidation as Brickham exposed the last item in his hands.

“A cookie cutter?” It was impossible to veil her perplexity, earning her the man’s sleek smirk in return.

“Hmmm. Not just that.”

“Sir?”

“It’s a heart.”

“But made out of steel.”