Page 35 of Enchanted

Unable to stop myself, I clicked the shutter again. There were so many responses I could give to that.

I bet you can.

What kind of motivation?

What if I don’t want you to behave?

Not a single one of those was appropriate. I couldn’t cross that line. I wouldn’t.

Although, with a flirtatious Rami half-naked and covered in oil, that line was becoming blurrier with each minute that passed.

His arm still wasn’t in the right place. Fuck. I’d hoped to get through this without needing to put my hands on him, but that wasn’t going to happen. “Can I touch you?”

Rami’s smirk deepened like the cat who’d got the cream. “Anywhere you’d like.”

I rolled my eyes as I strode over to him. “The mouth on you, honestly. It’ll land you in trouble one day.”

His tongue appeared again and I fought not to shiver. “Trouble or Heaven. Either works for me.”

I flushed all the way to my roots. Stupid fucking genes. Honestly, I loved being a redhead most of the time, but right now, I’d give my arm to stop blushing like this.

“I’m sorry,” Rami groaned, slapping a hand to his face. “I can’t help it. I really am harmless, I swear. I’d never touch or do anything to you without your consent. I can even stop the flirting.”

Like before, seeing his nerves relaxed me. At least I wasn’t the only one embarrassing himself. “You’re fine. I’ll let you know if it bothers me.”

He peered at me from between his fingers. “Promise?”

“Promise. I keep blushing because it’s been a while since anyone has flirted with me.”

Rami lowered his hand slowly. “How is that possible?”

Was he joking? I gestured at myself. “Um, because I look like this? You might think I’m cute, but it’s not the word most people use.”

He sat up, narrowing his eyes. “It’s not the one I used either—I believe I called you hot. Cute implies something you want to snuggle. Something adorable.”

I pressed a hand to my chest in mock offence. “Are you saying I’m not snuggly and adorable?”

He flashed his teeth in a broad grin. “Oh, you’re both those things, Ethan. But you’re hot too. By which I mean, I’d love to strip you out of those clothes and see how far down your blush goes.”

My jaw swung open as my brain screeched to a halt. Did that really just come out of his mouth?

Seriously, what was I meant to say to that?

You could offer to let him.

Thankfully, Rami continued, saving me from having to come up with a response. “But obviously I can’t do that, because you have a boyfriend. Which is actually what I meant in the first place. Does he not flirt with you?”

His mention of Dave had me finally clamping my jaw shut. “Um, not really. But we’ve been together for, like, nine years now. It’s not like that in a long-term relationship. Things…settle.”

“Settle.” Rami crinkled his nose as though the word tasted sour. “If you say so.”

Maybe I was reading too much into the frown on his face, but somehow, I didn’t think I was. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Just that Dave and I must be very different.” He shrugged as he reclined back on the chaise longue, reminding me that I was meant to be doing a job. “If you were my boyfriend, there wouldn’t be any settling. I could spend a thousand years with you and not stop flirting.”

“You barely know me.”

“Exactly, and I already can’t stop. Now, are you going to touch me, or was that your way of flirting?”