Under Your Skin by Shannyn Schroeder Page A

she dropped the basket. Turning, she saw Kai sitting up.
    He yanked the earbuds from his ears. “What are you doing?”
    Her heart thundered. “Your mom asked me to do a load of laundry.” She pointed at the basket at her feet as if he didn’t know what dirty clothes looked like.
    He stood and walked toward her. A patch of dark hair rode across his pecs. She stared at his body as he moved. Tattoos decorated his skin. Across his ribs, on his upper arm, his shoulder. Without looking, she knew she’d find more on his back.
    Standing in front of her, he was close enough that she could trace a bead of sweat that trailed down into the waistband on his shorts. His breathing was slightly faster than normal. At least he had the excuse of lifting weights. All she’d done was walk down the stairs and ogle him. He bent and she shivered as his body lowered.
    He grabbed the basket and held it to the side. She tilted her face up. He stared into her eyes, but then his gaze traveled over her whole face, landing on her mouth. The look was so intense that she could almost feel the phantom pressure on her lips.
    He jerked back. “You shouldn’t be carrying this. You’re pregnant. It’s not part of your job.”
    God damn she hated hormones. She’d almost had herself convinced he was going to kiss her. All he really wanted to do was yell at her. Typical.
    She inhaled deeply. Then she snatched the basket from his hands before speaking. “You hired me to take care of your mom. She asked me to do a load of wash. This basket weighs less than the groceries I carried in yesterday. I’m fine.”
    Turning her back to him, she walked to the washer and started dumping clothes in. She couldn’t wait to have this baby so she could have her body back. She’d never had a problem controlling her hormones around guys. If she was attracted to a guy, it was usually mutual. There were signals , for crap’s sake. This whole pregnancy thing threw everything out of whack.
    Even now, as she messed with the dials on the washing machine, she felt like he was staring at her. When she turned, he was.
    â€œI’m not trying to be an asshole. I don’t want you to hurt yourself or the baby doing stuff around here.”
    â€œI’m fine. I don’t overdo it, which should be evidenced by the fact that I fell asleep on your couch last night.”
    â€œOkay. You know what you’re capable of. Don’t do too much on account of us.”
    His words did all sorts of new things in her. To have a man trust that she was smart enough to take care of herself meant something. He didn’t view her as a weak, inferior being as she often felt her brothers did. She smiled. “I’m going to the store. You want me to get you anything?”
    â€œNah. I’m good.” He returned her smile and the tension between them dissipated.
    â€œI’ll be a while since I have to go get books for your mom too. Do you know what kind of books she reads?” She didn’t know why she said it, but her mouth got away from her.
    He shook his head.
    â€œShe reads romance. And not the longing looks from across a ballroom and maybe some hand-holding kind either.” Norah leaned a little closer and lowered her voice. “She made me read a sex scene to her last night.”
    The look on Kai’s face was priceless. Even under the golden hue of his cheeks, a blush rose. “Christ, I’m sorry.”
    Norah bent over on a peal of laughter. “If you could see your face . . .” Those were the only words she could handle because laughter stole her breath. She laughed until tears streaked down her cheeks. Her stomach grew tight and a little uncomfortable, so she straightened. Rubbing both hands on her belly, she took slow, deep breaths. “Sorry. I just had this image of her asking you to read to her before bed.”
    In truth, the deep, rumbly sound of his voice would be