Page 17 of Men or Paws

I felt like a total perv.

Plus, I didn’t even like Rocco.

I was acting as if I had never seen a man in a swimsuit before.

Luckily, he wouldn’t notice my ridiculous gawking since my eyes were well-hidden behind my dark sunglasses. Still, I just needed to stop.

Rocco stopped directly in front of me, dripping, like some pipe on him had burst. “You’re early.”

“You’re wet,” I blurted out for some ridiculous reason.

He grinned. “You’re right.”

We stood there in an awkward silence, except for the drip, drip, drip of the water falling from his body. Seriously, where was all that water coming from? And was he waiting for me to say something else? I was waiting for him!

He placed his hands on his hips, widening his already-broad shoulders, like a male peacock spreading his feathers to court the female.

Wait, where did I get that from?

I’d obviously been watching way too much of theNational Geographicchannel.

Rocco did look much bigger in person than he appeared in his movies, which didn’t make sense since everyone knew the camera usually added ten pounds to a person. He looked taller, too.

Quit analyzing and start talking before he thinks you’re a weirdo.

“You told me to not be late,” I finally said.

Rocco nodded. “I was implying that you should be on time. I had planned on showering before you showed up, so you caught me by surprise. Call me crazy, but I like to keep my abs clean, so you can’t tell they’re fake.” He smirked and gestured to his midsection.

Don’t look, don’t look, don’t look.

That had to be a trick to get me to take a peek, but I wasn’t going to fall for it.

Keeping my head up, I did my best to act like a respectable woman, choosing to focus on something above his neck, like his strong jaw line. Not that it helped at all since another drop of the endless water fell from his chin, traveled down his chest, navigating the crevices of his ten-pack abs, and then disappearing inside his swimsuit.

I swallowed so hard I was sure he heard it.

Maybe it was best if I just gouged out my eyes and called it a day.

I glanced back up at Rocco.

Surprise, surprise, he was grinning.

I fidgeted, tucking some hair behind my ears.

Oh wait, it was already behind my ears.

Why was he making me nervous? I was supposed to be immune to him after what he had done to me in the restaurant, not that he would ever remember since he was most likely a full-time jerk.

Then again, I hadn’t planned on seeing him half-naked this morning.

Rocco should’ve had the decency of wrapping a towel around his manly goodness or at least choosing something much more appropriate and normal to wear, like a hazmat suit.

He cocked his head to the side. “Are you okay?”

“Fine!” I said, starting to wonder if that extra cup of coffee had been a bad idea.

“You look a little on edge. Is my constipated voice annoying you?”