Heart attack. He was obviously having a heart attack, and he was going to die right here on Naked Mountain. Would Bill even bother to dress him for the funeral or would he just toss his naked butt in a nice comfy hole in the ground? Did nudists have burial rituals?
He was acting insane. He rolled the condom off and tossed it away. He cleaned himself up and got ready to walk out there and explain to Nell that he’d had a great time, but she should go back to her room. They needed to keep things casual.
Yes, that was what he would do.
He opened the door, ready to very gently herd her out. And his heart did that stupid-ass flutter thing again because Nell’s eyes were closed, and she had an arm wrapped around his pillow while she slept. Strands of chocolate brown hair covered her shoulders and a nipple peeked out.
He turned off the light and slipped into bed, moving her arm so she was cuddling him instead of the pillow. It was nice. Warm. Comfortable. It was better this way. It was her first time. She required some tenderness. He eased down, feeling his every muscle sinking into the bed.
She was only his for a few nights, a week, maybe. Perhaps two. He could stick around for a couple of weeks, but that was all. Maybe even a month. Yes, he could work it so he could have a month.
He could stay here with Nell. Maybe eventually he would get used to sleeping with her.
He yawned. Something about the heat of her body and the soft skin against his own was having a drugging effect, and he was slipping into sleep.
But he was going to have to see a doctor, because there was definitely something wrong with his heart.
Nell came awake slowly, turning over underneath the blankets. She felt the sun on her face and blinked in the morning light.
Not her room. She was in Henry’s room. And she was naked. So very, very naked. She reached out carefully, letting her arm creep behind her. Nothing. She was alone in bed.
Had Henry left? She sat up, holding the covers to her breasts.
“Good morning. There’s a pot of hot water over here. I have Earl Grey, oolong, and green tea.”
Henry was sitting at the desk, and sure enough, there was a tray beside him with a white ceramic pot and two mugs. It looked like he’d found some muffins.
He turned in his chair. He seemed to be working on a computer. His lips curved up in a small smile. He was devastating when he smiled. “The muffins are vegan. Blueberry and raspberry. I thought you might like them.”
She nodded slowly, not quite sure how to handle the fact that he was wearing a T-shirt and sweatpants and she was totally naked. Where were her clothes? Should she take a shower? She definitely needed to brush her teeth.
“Nell?” Henry stared at her expectantly. “What tea would you like?”
Tea. He was offering her tea. She loved tea. “Green.”
He sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. He looked very different with his clothes on. He looked almost normal. When he’d been naked, with his glasses off, he’d been superhero hot, but he was back to sweetly attractive. Except his chocolate brown eyes went frosty. He was even hotter when he got his caveman on. She knew it was wrong, but she went all soft and gooey on the inside when Henry went dominant. “What is wrong with this picture, Nell?”
She had no idea. She pulled the blankets up, feeling every minute of her awkwardness. Maybe she should just brazen her way through this. She spied her clothes across the room. Or she could just run to the bathroom and start the shower.
“Nell, I asked you a question.”
And she hadn’t known the answer. She didn’t like not knowing the answer. She always had the answer. She’d been the champion of debate team. “Everything seems fine to me, Henry.”
“Why is that blanket around your neck? I have the heat up in the room. It’s nice and toasty. Come over here and get your tea.”
“Can you pass me my clothes?”
“No. That’s not the way this works. We’re alone so you’re naked.”
She stared at him, feeling a frown cross her face. “You aren’t naked. That doesn’t seem fair, Henry.”
“This isn’t about fair,” he replied, not giving her an inch. “This is the way it is, Nell. I want to watch you walk around naked. When we’re alone, I want to know you’re available to me.”
“Again with the not fair.”
“It isn’t about fair, Nell. And it is fair when you think about it. When we’re not alone, I’ll do pretty much whatever you want me to as long as it doesn’t put you in danger. Why do you think I brought the vegan muffins? I ignored the bacon. I love bacon, Nell, but I think you would prefer I eschew it around you. I prefer you leave off your clothes. It’s a trade.”
When she really thought about it, it was a very good trade. Henry wasn’t a tiny man, and he seemed to have a very good metabolism. He’d eaten two burgers and a whole bunch of fries the night before so she was sure he could have eaten a lot of bacon. She was really saving a pig when she thought about it. Sure, she was potentially scaring him off. He’d seen her the night before, but that had been during sex. Men probably saw a woman differently when they were in the sex mode. This was the tea mode, and he might notice her cellulite.
She had to balance her need to stay sexy around Henry with her deep need to save a pig. Pigs were intelligent creatures, but they were also known to eat just about anything. Pigs weren’t the nicest creatures in the world, but that didn’t mean that they should be horrifically murdered and then cut apart for various meats. But her boobs did sag.
“I would give a lot to know what you’re thinking right now.” Henry’s smile had moved from a little uptick of his lips to a brilliant, sunny thing.
“I was thinking I might be able to save a pig by showing off my boobs.” It was a good cause.
“Yep. You should really get up and come over here and sit in my lap, otherwise I might just go and devour the first pig I see.” He patted his lap. “I’m utterly willing to give up meat to obtain your submission.”
There was a word she’d never liked before. Submission. “I don’t know that I like the thought of submitting.”
“Only because you’re thinking about it the wrong way. You think submitting makes you weak, but I know it takes a strong woman to submit to a real man. It’s an exchange and like all exchanges, you get something out of it. You promise me that when we’re intimate, you’ll obey me. I promise you that just about every other time, I’ll follow your lead.”
That was practically insane on his part. She couldn’t see him in her world. Except she would love having him there. “Henry, I’m into some crazy stuff.”
“Yeah, I know.” He gestured toward the computer he’d been looking at. “Did you really need to protest that kid’s birthday party?”
He had her computer? “That’s private.”
“Nothing is private anymore, Nell. Drop the sheet. I have some questions for you.” He picked up a very delicious-looking muffin. “Come on, baby. You know you’re hungry. I didn’t turn up the heater before we fell asleep so this place was arctic this morning. I woke up to my penis trying to crawl back into my body, but I braved getting out of bed just to feed you.”
She glanced out the window. The world was covered in white. The storm Stella had predicted had come in, and she bet the room had been mighty chilly before Henry turned the heat up. And she noticed that she had been carefully tucked into the blankets. Henry had put another blanket around her body while she’d been sleeping, making sure she was warm and comfy. He might be a rat fink computer thief, but he’d been incredibly tender the night before, and, it seemed, this morning as well. And he had it all toasty and warm in the room which she would usually protest, but this morning she was feeling a little selfish. She had Henry all to herself for this brief time. The earth would forgive her.