“It doesn’t have caffeine; it’s the green can.”
“Read the label,” I said, realizing how tall Wheeler was when I didn’t have my heels on, which put me at eye level with that gorgeous Adam’s apple of his. I was standing against him, and yet I could feel the distance between us. “Well, what does it say?”
“You read it.”
“I’m busy with the patient. I’ll have a sip if you tell me it’s caffeine-free.”
“Never mind.” He set the can behind him on the cabinet.
I peered beneath the towel and the bleeding had stopped. After tossing it in the sink, I took a step back and looked at him. Something occurred to me that hadn’t before. “You can’t read, can you?”
“I can read. What do you think I am, an idiot?”
“No… but neither am I.”
Wheeler reached for the can and held it out. “It says Dew.”
“Spin it around and tell me what the tiny letters on the back say.”
He cracked open the can and put it in my hand. “It says drink me.”
“Hmm,” was all I replied, turning back to the bed. I sat on the edge and took a small sip before setting the can on the floor by the wall. “Why don’t you get along with your twin?”
“Brother. Twin is incidental.”
“Such resentment.”
Wheeler sniffed and stalked forward, hands tucked beneath his armpits. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“Of course I wouldn’t. I’m just a stripper.”
His eyes flashed up and I caught a glimmer of something in them that looked like regret. “That’s not what I meant. No one understands.”
“Neither of us seems to have anyone we can confide in. As much as I love Lexi, she’s still so human. She will never grasp the reasoning behind why I’ve kept my animal hidden for so long, and for that reason, I’ve kept a lot more hidden from her. You seem like you have way more bubbling inside than that can of soda. If it’s one thing I’m known for, it’s keeping secrets. After all, I’ve been doing it my entire life, so I understand the importance of privacy. You’d be amazed at some of the things I know about the men in this town.”
He smirked, and one of his brows sloped down at an awkward angle. “That I don’t doubt. Men seem to lose common sense when their pants are down.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Who said their pants were down? I don’t sleep with my customers. What a travesty most people believe such a thing. Yes, there are girls who do, but dancing is just a job. When I’m not at work, I’m just an ordinary woman.”
“Ordinary isn’t the word I would have chosen.”
“Okay then. Sexy,” I purred with a sly grin.
Wheeler intrigued me, and after the scuffle with Ben, I could no longer resist the urge to learn more about him. Maybe now that he knew about my panther, it made it easier for me to want to open up. But mostly I felt like he had a lot of buried emotions beneath his gruff attitude that no one in the pack seemed to have noticed.
“Tell me,” I said.
“Tell you what?”
“Confide in me and I’ll give you honest advice. I’m proposing a unique opportunity for two people to be completely open with each other without any judgment or fear of it leaving this room.”
He shook his head, staring at the floor as he paced around. “That’s not a good idea.”
“Tell me your secrets, Wheeler, and I’ll tell you some of mine.”
My voice softened, and I realized what I’d longed for. A sense of intimacy during the lonely nights at home when I wanted to complain about my job, my dark secrets, or even my tired feet. I just wanted to have someone there to listen. Strangely enough, Wheeler was the only person I’d ever felt an inexplicable desire to tell all my secrets to, and maybe that’s because he didn’t come across as someone who would feed me a line of bullshit.
“I’m not a guy who sits around and shares his feelings. This isn’t a daytime talk show.”
I wasn’t about to let Wheeler win this battle. “Switch off the lamp and crawl into bed with me.”
He licked his bottom lip and watched me from behind heavy brows.
“Fine. Just stand there and grow roots then. And wipe the smug look off your face. I’m not offering anything but conversation.”
“In bed.”
“If it makes it easier, I’ll start and you can see how serious I am. You have a wicked tongue, but I can see you’re not the kind of man who spreads gossip. So maybe that’s why I trust you a little more than anyone else. I’m asking you to lie with me because I’m sleepy, and…” My voice softened. “I want to know what it feels like to lie in bed with a man and just talk.”
Wheeler’s mouth opened as if to say something.