Page 41 of A Package Deal

Fuck, I wanted this woman.

Had wanted her since the day I met her. I’d married her to help her out with the custody battle, but if I was truly honest, I’d wanted a reason to keep her near me. Some caveman version of myself had wanted to make her mine so I could protect her. And here I was pushing her up against the barn wall and sticking my hand down her pants like a teenager with only one thing on his mind. I needed to protect her alright. From me.

I cupped her jaw and pulled her away from my chest, dropping a kiss on her forehead. “Let’s get you back inside.”

Stepping back, I let go of her face and grabbed her hand instead, lacing our fingers together, flicking the lights off for the night, and leading her out of the barn. We didn’t say a word as we walked across the grass and then up the stairs to the front door. I opened the door and let go of her hand to guide her inside. My hand found her lower back, like I had to keep touching her or I wouldn’t continue to exist. I was walking like a bowlegged cowboy, but if she noticed, she didn’t say anything. I led her straight to the bathroom where I got the hot water going and poured in a hefty dose of Epsom salts.

“You don’t have to?—”

I spun around and gave her a sharp look. She clamped her lips together, a flush still hovering on her cheeks.

“I want to, Em.”

Her gaze dropped to my crotch, which only made the situation worse. When she lifted her gaze, a question in her eyes, I shook my head. “That’s my problem, not yours. I know you’ve worked hard today and your muscles ache. I’m the one who gave you a ridiculous amount of work to do in too little days. Please let me take care of you. It brings me joy.”

Her eyes softened. “I’m sorry for accusing you earlier. I’m…well, I’m sensitive about my business being my own.”

“I won’t hurt you or your business, Em. Not ever.”

She looked at me for several long moments before stepping closer. Holding my gaze, she brought her hands up to my chest, resting them there before she went up on her tiptoes and kissed my cheek, the left first and then the right, her lips barely brushing my skin like a butterfly’s wings. My heart was pounding, but I forced myself not to touch her. I already attacked her in the barn and showed my hand. I wanted her so fucking badly and she knew that now.

She dropped back on flat feet and stared up at me, something heady and endearing like trust in her eyes. “I trust you, Warrick.”

I felt the weight of her statement. Felt the truth behind it and the absolute honor that she’d gifted me her trust when it didn’t come easy for her. When her trust had been shattered by the person who was supposed to take care of her.

When I lifted my hands, they were shaking. I tugged on the hem of her T-shirt, giving her warning before I pulled it up and off her head. I let the material fall to the tiled floor before I dropped to my knees before her. She sucked in a sharp breath, but I had no intentions of forcing anything else on her tonight. Instead, I attacked her boots, pulling on the laces until they were loose enough to pry off her feet. Her socks were next, followed by her jeans. I kept my gaze on my task and refused to take in every soft curve of her body as it was exposed. When she let me slide the panties I’d bought her off her body, I had to grit my teeth so hard I was surely grinding away precious enamel.

I stood on wobbly legs, reaching around her slight body to undo the bra clasp at her back. She rested her head on my chest, stepping her almost naked body closer. Basically, she was trying to kill me. I was two naked breasts away from a goddamn heart attack. I slid the straps of the bra off her shoulders and stepped back, turning away before I lost control of myself and took what she was offering.

“Warrick?” she asked softly.

I stared at the towel bar attached to the wall for all I was worth. “Yeah?”

“Want to join me in the bath?”

I squeezed my eyes shut as my dick hardened painfully. “More than anything, Emmerleigh. But not tonight.” Not when this trust between us was still so new. She had to see with her own two eyes that I put her first.

Water splashed and Em let out a sigh as she sank into the water. I waited a few beats and then I grabbed a washcloth from the cabinet and stepped over to the tub.

“Lean forward,” I said gruffly, hellbent on taking care of her, even if I died from lack of blood flow to vital areas of my body. She obeyed without a single argument and that made it even worse. What would it be like to finally sink into her heat? With her looking up at me with those bright blue eyes, giving me permission to do unspeakable things to her body?

I ran the washcloth over her back, her arms, her legs, and over her breasts. Her nipples were beaded tight, dusty-rose points that begged for my fingers, my mouth, my complete attention. Still, I moved on, grabbing the shampoo and gently washing her hair. The groan she let out when I dug my fingers into her scalp had me biting my lip so hard I drew blood. I just wanted to make her feel good and somehow that had turned into a torture session for myself.

When she was clean and rinsed, I held out a fluffy white towel. She stood, water droplets sliding over her silky skin. I turned my gaze to the sink while she stepped out of the bath and let me dry her off.

“Where are your pajamas?” I didn’t recognize my own voice. I sounded like someone was strangling me.

“In the bedroom on my pillow.”

I threw the towel on the floor in the corner of the bathroom, planning to pick it up later, and took her hand again, leading her out of the bathroom. Trying to stay quiet, I turned the knob to the guest bedroom slowly, peeking inside to confirm Georgia was asleep. We both crept in, silent except for the occasional groan of a loose plank of wood flooring. Em grabbed her pajamas, but then let me take them from her hand. I could barely see her in the dark, but her quizzical expression was obvious.

The more she gaped at me as I dressed her in her tank top and shorts, the angrier I got. Who the fuck had she been with before? Why the hell had she never been bathed or dressed or finger-fucked without the expectation of her taking care of the man afterward? Why hadn’t this Cayden person done things for her, just to make her life easier?

I pulled back the covers on her bed and she climbed in, still staring at me like she was trying to figure me out. Leaning over her, I brushed damp hair away from her neck and spread it out over the pillow to dry.

“You’re looking at me like Bessie looks at me,” I whispered, needing a distraction.

Em smiled. “Still trying to figure you out, I guess.”

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