He gave me a sly grin and zipped the divider back into place. My side of the tent went dark, but as I climbed into my sleeping bag, I realized I could now see everything on his side. It was a shadow, but a very detailed shadow.
He was facing me, standing very still. I wasn’t certain, but it felt like he was looking right at me. It was impossible to actually see me through the vinyl divider, but I sensed his eyes on me nonetheless. He reached down to the hem of his shirt and slowly lifted it over his head. The shadow of his body was broad at the shoulders but tapered to a narrow waist. Even though I couldn’t see the detail, I imagined what I knew was there. The ridges of his muscular abs, the hard plains of that carved V. My mouth was suddenly dry.
He stood there again for a long moment and then began to strip out of his pants. The sound from the slow unzip of his jeans made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. His thighs were thick and muscular; his boxer briefs hugged his legs like a second skin. I held my breath when his thumbs hooked into the top of his boxers, and he began to peel them off of his body. He bent to slip them off and then stood.
Holy mother of all cocky bastards. He was hung. The thing was dangling more than halfway to his knees. I took a sharp breath in, realized it was audible, and quickly slapped my hand over my mouth. I kept it there until he was completely dressed, afraid a moan might slip out.
When he was finally done, I watched him climb into his sleeping bag. He rolled onto his side and faced my direction. It made me wonder if he was looking at me. Then he flicked off the light.
“Night, Aubrey.”
AH-BREE
Perhaps I could have been imagining it, but his voice sounded as thick and needy as I felt.
“Night, Chance.”
I took a deep breath and shut my eyes, attempting to regain my wits. Then it dawned on me for the first time…had he just watched me give him the same show and returned the favor?
Where am I? That was the first thought that came to mind as I woke up. After a few seconds, everything registered. Sunlight attempted to permeate the tent. I lightly patted my bedside before my hand tapping on the ground turned frantic.
Where was the goat?
I jumped up out of my sleeping bag. “Chance!”
“Hmm,” he moaned groggily from behind the divider.
“The goat! He’s gone.” A rush of panic tore through me. “He’s gone!”
I zipped the divider down without a second thought.
“Relax. He’s here with me.”
“Baa.” The goat let out that single sound as if to confirm that I had overreacted. My pulse immediately slowed down as I held my hand over my pounding heart. “Oh, thank God.”
Chance sat up and ran his hands through his messy hair. Blinking when he looked up, he seemed to freeze. “Jesus Christ. Are you trying to kill me?”
I looked down at myself and crossed my arms over my chest. I’d run over so fast that I hadn’t thought about the fact that I’d only slept in my bra and panties. “Shit. Sorry. I was so panicked. I wasn’t thinking straight and didn’t put anything on.”
Utterly embarrassed, I returned to my side and spoke through the closed divider as I started to get dressed. “So, how did he end up over there with you?”
“You were out like a light. He started rustling around, trying to break through to my side. The bugger wouldn’t calm down until I let him over here. Slept next to me the rest of the night. Worst fucking breath I’ve ever smelled in my life.”
I couldn’t help but crack up at that.
“You think that’s funny, eh, Princess?”
“I really do.” After throwing my last item of clothing on, I unzipped the barrier again.
Chance was standing before me half-naked only wearing his tight boxer briefs. He glared at me. “Privacy much? What if I’d just walked in on you like that a few seconds ago?”
He’d never looked so sexy, with his bed head and that almost angry look. My eyes unapologetically trailed down the length of his torso, down the thin line of hair leading into his underwear and stopped on his…massive erection.
Oh, God. Now, it made sense why he was suddenly modest.
Clearing my throat, I said, “You…you’re…”
“Hard.”
“Yes.”
“It’s called morning wood. I can’t be responsible for how I wake up…especially under these conditions.”
“Sleeping next to a goat. Did it turn you on?” I laughed.
“I was referring to your impromptu striptease a few seconds ago. And now, you barged over here again before I had a chance to calm the fuck down from it.”