Page 192 of Fighting the Forbidden

“That’s okay.” She hurries to keep up with me. “You’ll keep me warm.”

“You know it.”

The water’s tepid at best, but we climb in the shower anyway. I wash her clean, kissing every inch of her.

“What are you doing?” she asks.

“I want to be thorough.”

Her laughter echoes in the darkened bathroom. The water’s quickly turning ice-cold. I rinse us both off one more time before shutting the water off.

As I rub a towel over her skin, she follows my every movement with her eyes.

When I glance at her face, I find one tear silently rolling down her cheek. “What’s wrong, baby?”

She sniffles. “Nothing. I’m going to miss you.”

One of my T-shirts hangs from the back of the door, and I pluck it off the hook.

“Arms up.” I coax her.

I slip the shirt over her head and love the way it pools around her curvy frame. “It’s a crime to cover your beautiful body, but somehow you’re even hotter wearing my shirt.”

The corners of her mouth turn up in a sad smile.

I take her hand, leading her into the kitchen. My mind’s racing, rolling over all the things I want to say. I pour a glass of water and hand it to her. “Drink.”

Eagerly, she grips the glass and swallows while I down my own.

A shiver works over her body as she sets her glass on the counter.

“Let’s get back under the covers.” I turn her toward the door. “Unless you’re hungry?”

She shakes her head. “Chilly.”

In the bedroom, I flip the blankets back and settle her on one side, then search my closet for an extra blanket. I find an old, heavy but soft gray-and-white blanket with two kittens on the front of it.

Molly smiles as I spread it over her and rubs her fingers along the worn edge. “I remember this. You used to bring it when you slept at our house.”

I let out a sad laugh. “Yeah, probably.”

Once I’m under the covers with her, I wrap her tight in my arms. “Talk to me.”

“About?”

I brush my knuckles over her cheek. “Why are you sad? I wanted to make you come, not cry.”

She laughs softly. “I came.” She reaches under the covers and presses her hands between her legs. “I still feel all shivery and tingly.”

“Maybe I didn’t do a good enough job.” I throw the covers over my head and slide down.

“No!” She giggles and tugs on my arms. “Get back here. Give me a few minutes to recover.”

I kiss my way up her body again and pull her against me. “Talk to me.”

She’s silent for a few minutes, but I’m patient when I need to be.

“We’ve never been away from each other for so long,” she whispers.

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