Page 10 of Forever Mr Black

The huge bath is swamped as the tall, broad length of him fills every inch of it, and he sinks down into the water. I adjust to make room for him as he positions his long legs outside mine.

He pushes wet hands through his hair, slicking it back. “Are you sure you’re okay after today?”

“It’s been eventful, but I’ll live.” I rest my head back against the bath once more and glance around the room. “It’s been sort of cathartic, telling you about Theo. Even though we all know how much better we feel when we talk about stuff, it’s still hard to do. I feel somehow lighter now that I’ve told someone and admitted what he did.” I shake my head. “But no more talk of him tonight.”

Art nods slowly and breaks out into a grin. “Okay. Do you want to hear a confession?”

“Always.”

His eyes hold mine across the sea of bubbles. “This is the first time I’ve shared a bath with anyone.”

“So, you’re telling me, you’ve never done this with any of the other women you’ve slept with?” I say sceptically.

He frowns, but the smile still on his lips tells me he’s seen the funny side. “No.”

“How come?”

Art puts his arms along the sides of the bath and rests his head back. “At the risk of sounding like an arsehole, I just had sex with them. There was no place for romantic stuff like this.”

The fact that he’s never done this before makes me smile. “And how are you finding it?”

His eyes lock with mine. “The view’s to die for. Shall I tell you something else?”

I lift my head, intrigued. “Of course.”

“I’ve obviously never had sex in the bath before either.”

He tilts his head to the side, and I recognise the flash of need in his eyes. I grow hot, and it’s not because of the warm water. I know what he’s getting at.

“But I’m still on my period,” I remind him.

He frowns as if he doesn’t understand what the problem is. “So?”

I draw my knees up to my chest and wrap my arms around them. The one time I suggested it to Theo, he branded it disgusting and made me feel unclean. I never dared mention it again.

“I didn’t think men liked that.”

A smile twitches at the corner of his mouth at my clear unease in talking about it. “I really don’t mind that. It’s perfectly natural.”

“Of course it is.”

“Listen, Sophie, it doesn’t bother me in the slightest. I want you. All the time, always. But I understand if you don’t want to, and that’s fine. We can wait.”

I wasn’t the one who had the issue with it. Theo did. And Art’s not Theo.

“I want to.”

He flashes a wicked grin and shifts towards me. The water splashes up the sides of the bath as he slides his hands beneath my knees and opens my legs wide, lifting them up so my feet rest on the edge of the bath, and I lean back against the side. He settles in between my legs and holds the edge of the bath to steady himself as I wrap my arms around his damp shoulders. He’s already deliciously hard.

“Do you want to hear another confession?”

“They’re coming thick and fast today,” I tease.

His eyes devour my breasts peeking from beneath the water. “I’m kind of relieved you don’t have a problem with it because I wasn’t sure how I was going to manage to keep my hands off you for a whole week each month.”

I press myself against him and push my breasts against his chest, kissing him on the lips. A week is far too long not to have him inside me. “Ditto.”

“God, you’re beautiful,” he whispers against my mouth.

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