Page 48 of Tasting Sin

I chuckled at her annoyance. “I’ll be back in a few minutes,” I told her, winking and reaching into my pocket for my phone. “I need to make a few calls.” She narrowed her eyes, like she wanted to ask me questions she already knew I wasn’t going to answer. Then, she thought better of it, nodding instead.

I’ll do it for you.

Chapter 29

Nellie

“You really didn’t have to come home with me,” I said, hanging my purse on the hook and turning to face him by the time he closed the door. “I’ll be fine. I promise.” I was glad he was here, though, and when Spice sauntered up behind us and chirped at him, I could tell he was glad too.

“Of course I did.” Ronan put his hands on my hips and stepped closer to me until I could smell the musky vetiver scent drifting off him.

I put my hands on his chest, leaning into him. “Ronan, I promise I’m fine.”

“I know you are.” When he tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear and smiled, my stomach flipped, and the butterflies raced to settle between my legs. “That’s not why I’m here.”

“Why are you here?” I swallowed. Part of me hoped he was going to pin me against the wall and kiss me as if he hadn’t spent all day helping me clean red paint off the front window. I didn’t want him to just be here to comfort me—I didn’t want comfort.

Ronan hooked his finger under my chin, lifting my face to meet his. “Because I didn’t get to do this earlier.” When he kissed me, I could taste the relief on his breath. I could feel it in my chest as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer. It was like he needed to feel my heartbeat against his to trust I was okay.

I whimpered against his lips, snaking my arms around his neck and weaving my fingers into his hair. It made Ronan kiss me deeper, and when I sucked on his tongue, running my own along it, he groaned. He broke the kiss, and I gasped for air like it was my first breath.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” he said, running his finger down my cheek. He stepped away from me, and I took a step after him, pausing when he put his hand up. “I’ll be right back.”

I froze in my place, like I was unable to follow him. “Where are you going?” When he was starting to walk away, I didn’t want him to leave. I reached out toward him.

He smirked but didn’t answer my question before he disappeared to the bedroom. I listened closely when I heard the bathtub turn on, straining my neck to try and see past the wall I already knew I wouldn’t be able to see him around.

When I slipped into the bedroom, I could see him through the crack between the door and the wall, preparing the tub. “What are you doing?” I asked, sneaking into the bathroom.

“I’m drawing you a bath.” He stuck his hand in the stream of water to make sure it was hot enough, turning the knob when he must’ve decided it wasn’t.

“Why?” I put my hand in the middle of his upper back, aching to feel his muscles flexing.

Ronan turned around and stood. “Because today was stressful for you, and I want you to relax.”

“Will you help me relax?” I asked, grabbing onto the hem of his shirt and starting to lift it. Once it exposed the muscles of his abdomen, I dragged my fingers behind the fabric to feel each ridge. He grabbed both of my wrists, briefly stopping the movement, and I whined.

“How do you want me to help you relax, sugar?” He didn’t stop me from pulling his shirt off over his head. His chest heaved, and the dove tattooed on his chest caught my eye. I traced the outline with the tips of my fingers before following the line of his scar while he inhaled.

I looked up at him and smiled. “I want you to make me forget.” His nostrils flared, his eyes darkened, and I swore I could feel his heartbeat increasing against his chest. I couldn’t look away from him. “Please?” I whispered.

“How can I say no to you when you look at me like that?” He leaned towards me so his lips hovered over mine, sucking in a deep breath.

“What do you mean?” I asked, stretching onto my toes and lifting my hands over my head when he took my shirt off. I could taste his breath again when he got closer, reaching behind me to unclasp my bra and letting it fall to the floor. I shivered. “Look at you like what?”

He chuckled. “Like you’re going to get as lost in me as I’ve already gotten in you.” I gasped, and a cool breeze from the vent made my nipples harden. “Don’t act like you don’t know what your doe eyes do to me, the way you look at me like I’m different. Like I’m good.”

“You are good.” I think. He was when I used to know him, at least until he left. He shook his head.

Ronan turned me in his arms, lightly drawing his lips down my neck and over the top of my shoulder. “I’ve never been good, sugar.” His voice was gravelly, like it clung to the side of his throat. “Not like you.”

“I’m not good.” Was I? He couldn’t say I was. He didn’t know anything about me. I met Ronan’s stare in the mirror while he planted small kisses on my skin.

“You are good.” He framed my chin with his hand, holding my stare in the piece of glass. “You’re everything that’s good.”

I shook my head before I tilted it to the side, exposing more of my neck. “What if I’m not as good as you think I am? What if I’m just an ordinary girl?”

His stare intensified, and my stomach fluttered with nervous butterflies. “Ordinary? Don’t you see what I see?” he asked, flattening his hand in the middle of my back and pushing me forward until I was bent over the counter. He traced my spine with his tongue before he nuzzled the hairs at the nape of my neck. “Everything about you is intoxicating. Let me show you.”

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