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Tully wasn’t like the others.
He wasn’t like anyone I’d ever met.
He learned of my phobia and fixed the problem. When he knew my aerial booster would need to go on the roof, he made a bracket for it and MacGyvered it to the roof. He just scooted himself up on to the roof, banged and clanged, swore a bit, sang off key at one point, but he fixed my problems.
No requests, no point to be made, no accolades.
He was incredibly easy to be around.
And him asking me about my favourite dinosaur? It was so unexpected and purely an exercise in helping me relax. I hadn’t expected to be sharing a bed with my guide on this trip, and him asking me if I’d shared a bed with a man before was purely him scoping for information. I’d clearly not been as stealthy in appreciating his shirtless torso as I’d thought I’d been.
He’d noticed me staring, obviously. And he wanted to know what that meant, because...
Well, I wasn’t sure why.
Because he’d shared a bed with men before. And he wasn’t talking about camping, that much was clear. No, he’d asked because he’d wanted to know if I was gay or bi or... if I’d be so inclined?
Or if I’d be interested?
Hm.
He was definitely not my usual type. I’d always found myself in the company of fellow academics, those who I’d met and talked science with, and sometimes took to my bed, or me to theirs. It was never anything more than a calculated exchange.
But Tully was different. Wild, carefree, kind, and funny. Gorgeous.
And sleeping next to him had been disconcerting.
He’d fallen asleep long before I had, and I’d found myself watching him. The way the night illuminated his features—the waves of his hair, the rise of his cheekbone, the purse of his lips.
He’d even smiled when he dreamed.
So yes, this was presenting a rather peculiar problem. Because if he wanted to know if I was interested, I wasn’t certain if I could lie and say no.
My mind was running all kinds of diagnostics on that scenario.
“Somethin’ wrong with the laptop?”
His voice startled me. “Oh, uh...”
I put the pen down on the table—I wasn’t even aware I was holding it—and tapped the space bar on the keyboard. I’d zoned out for so long it had shut down. “No, it’s fine. Have you finished already?”
“Yep,” he said, sipping his water. He was already sweating.
Already shirtless.
The way his chest glistened...
When his smirk became a grin, I knew I’d been caught staring again.
Dammit.
He smiled as he lifted his bottle to his lips. “The netting is over the water tank that feeds the shower. That water comes off the roof and the gutter guards should help, but frogs are pesky little buggers. I also added some dish soap to the tank to keep the mozzies out. The larvae can make you sick, so just be sure to only drink boiled water.”
I nodded. “Yes, thank you. And thank you for putting the netting up. I really do appreciate that.”
“No problem.” He nodded toward the bathroom. “You can have a shower now. Amphibian-free, I promise.”
I grimaced at the memory from last night. The big green slimy thing had been ready to jump...
