Page 60 of Ex-SEAL Bad Boy

I don’t want her to feel like our relationship is in any way transactional.

I want her to be successful and own her own business, if that’s what she wants to do, to have her own place.

But, I know she’s independent; I don’t want her to feel like I’m taking pity on her, or worse, paying her to be my mistress.

I guess I’ll just have to play it by ear.

Sophia wants to call her family to tell them she’s safe, but I ask her to reconsider.

We’re only thirty minutes away, and I’m concerned that if they know we’re on our way, they’ll have a “welcoming committee” waiting for us when we get there.

I know what we’ll be subjected to as soon as news of our return gets around, but I want to at least get some preliminaries out of the way.

“You know this is going to be hard,” I say.

We’ve both been so distracted by the news and alone with our thoughts, neither of us have taken our showers.

“Aside from the police and the media, Liam has to know about us,” I continue.

“What are you going to tell him?”

“The truth. I know sometimes that’s not my strong suit, but I’ve never lied to him as long as we’ve been friends.”

“I want to be there,” she insists.

I nod in assent.

On one hand, I have this macho streak that makes me want to do this man-to-man on my own, but the reality is that this concerns her too. It would be unfair to leave her out.

He also has to know that this was a mutual agreement—all of it.

I’m unsure of what kind of reaction that will draw.

I try to imagine how I would feel if the roles were reversed, but I can’t. Having been an only child, I have no frame of reference.

Joining Sophia in the shower, I enjoy the feel of the hot water cascading down my sore body.

I smile as I watch her soaping herself up, her back turned to me.

I reach both hands around her, nuzzling the back of her neck affectionately.

That is something else she has brought out in me, the ability to enjoy the closeness of a woman without it necessarily being sexual.

Her hands cover mine, resting on her smooth belly.

“You make me want to be a better human being,” I whisper softly into her ear.

She suddenly turns and draws me into a deep French kiss.

It’s long and deep and all-consuming.

We stand there in a tight embrace for a long time, until the stream of water begins to cool noticeably.

I finally turn the water off to prevent us from freezing.

I sense something has changed between us.

It’s like our relationship suddenly leveled up.

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