Page 20 of The Cabin-A Reverse Harem Romance
“Careful, Nolan,” she said. “I promise I’m not going to bite. Hard.”
Chase scowled at me, shooting me a warning glance. Yet, he was wearing nothing but a towel, allowing trickles of water to run down his bare chest. I only noticed because Elise noticed. She’d perked up, sitting in bed and staring at him like a ravenous animal. I had a lot of trouble believing that wasn’t planned on his end of things.
“Maybe you should put some clothes on,” I said.
“Thought you two would be downstairs already,” he said. “Sorry about that.”
I wasn’t sure if he was being truthful or not. It was hard to tell. I doubted he’d want to come on to Elle, though. Doubted he wanted to tempt her like that. It really didn’t seem like something Chase would do. If he noticed the way her mouth was watering as she checked him out though, it didn’t show in his face. He sat down on the end of the bed, the towel riding down low and showing a hint of his ass.
“Jesus Christ, man,” I said, throwing a pillow at him.
He chuckled, sounding way more amused than he should have been. Elle was staring at him, her gaze moving over his mostly naked body, her eyes slightly wider, and her lips parted a bit. She looked like a woman who was starving, sitting in front of a sumptuous feast. Chase, like the rest of us, was still in great shape. Being in the Army, we learned to work hard and push ourselves to the limits. None of us let up on the workouts even now.
Footsteps pulled me away from Chase’s little show. Two sets of feet were coming up the stairs. Trevor appeared first, and a look of absolute horror and disgust crossed his face.
“Fuck, man,” he said, shielding his eyes.
“Not like we haven’t seen each other naked before,” Chase mumbled.
“But there’s a lady in the room now,” Sean piped up from behind Trevor.
Chase glanced back and winked playfully at Elise. “I don’t think she minds. Not the first naked chest she’s seen before. Won’t be the last, I’m sure.”
“I don’t mind,” Elise confirmed.
Sean grinned, shaking his head. “Unbelievable.”
“What?” Chase asked, reaching down for his shirt on the floor, and pulling it on over his head.
“While the two of us slept on a fold-out couch, you guys were up here getting naked with Elise.”
“Not me,” I said, raising my hand to protest. “Just Chase.”
“For fuck’s sake, I’m not naked,” Chase said.
He stood up, the towel still wrapped around his waist, his shirt hanging just above it. However, when he stood, his hand slipped and so did the towel, baring most of his ass for a split second. Elise let out a surprised squeal followed by a peal of laughter that seemed to come deep within her chest. She was doubled over now, her face red – though, if it was red with excitement, lust, or embarrassment, I couldn’t tell.
“Sorry,” Chase grumbled, hurrying into the bathroom.
Elise was still doubled over in laughter, completely oblivious to the fact that Chase actually seemed embarrassed by his little faux pas. Had it been Sean or Trevor, there’d have been no shame. They probably would have strutted around butt naked, without a care in the world. They didn’t mind being ogled. In fact, I thought they relished it. Chase though, was still a little more modest than our other two friends.
Trevor’s arms were crossed in front of his chest, his brow furrowed in what appeared to be annoyance at our antics. Sean had a wide grin stretched across his face as he plopped down onto the bed next to Elise.
“I doubt it’s the first ass she’s seen, Chase,” Sean said, chuckling to himself.
“First time she’s seen one of our asses though,” Chase mumbled, coming back out in a pair of jeans. “And we should be better than that.”
“I highly doubt –” Sean started to say something, raising an eyebrow at Trevor as if the two guys shared some inside joke the rest of us were unaware about. “Never mind.”
“No, what?” I said, sitting up in the bed, casting a curious look at Sean.
Sean shrugged, but didn’t meet my gaze. “I just figured there’d been a time or two where she’d seen our asses, either swimming, or –”
His grin grew wider.
Trevor, on the other hand, looked even more pissed, and Elle looked downright uncomfortable. The air in the room was suddenly infused with a tension so thick, it was almost oppressive. The strained silence spun out for several long moments, nobody quite knowing what to say to fill the void.
“I’m going to make some coffee,” Trevor growled, finally breaking the silence, and took off down the steps, plodding heavily.
“How are the roads looking?” Elise asked, after clearing her throat – though her cheeks were still flushed a bright pink, and a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Think we’ll get out today?”
