Page 81 of The Very Naughty List

When I open my eyes to reach for my shampoo, I come up short. It’s not on the shelf I’ve claimed as my own in the shower caddy.

“What the…?”

I frown, glancing around in confusion for a second before realizing that my shampoo bottle is on Reid’s shelf instead. Before I can question what it’s doing there, I hear the bathroom door open, and I open the shower curtain to peek out and see who it is.

My eyes are met with the tantalizing sight of Reid, fully naked as he pads across the small bathroom. I grin and pull the curtain open wider, inviting him inside.

“I thought you were asleep,” I say as he steps beneath the water with me.

He nods. “I was. I woke up and noticed you were gone, so I came to find you.”

“I’m glad you did. Now you can tell me why you stole my shampoo.”

Reid laughs as he takes the shampoo and squirts some onto his palm. I watch the inked lines on his chest move as he rubs his hands together to get a good lather.

“I might’ve used it the other day,” he admits, looking slightly sheepish.

“Really? Did you run out of your own?”

“No. I just…” He shrugs, and I raise an eyebrow.

“You just like the way it smells?” I finish for him, guessing where he was going with that.

His eyes flick down, catching with mine. The blue-gray color looks soft and warm in the morning light. “I like the wayyousmell.”

My heart gives a flutter. Sometimes the simplest little things he says knock me on my ass, leaving me feeling breathless and a little off-balance and completely unsure of how to respond. Before I can say anything, Reid grins, jerking his chin in a circular motion.

“Turn around so I can wash your hair.”

“Bossy,” I mutter.

I turn around just like he ordered, although I take my sweet time doing it.

“Sassy,” he shoots back, giving my ass a little slap with a shampoo covered palm when I move too slowly for him.

I chuckle, feeling more at ease as we slip into the comfortable dynamic that’s sprung up between us over the past week or so. It’s a lot like how we used to interact, but with a new undercurrent beneath it that makes sassing him and riling up his bossy side even more fun.

“Are you gonna sing for me?” he asks as he starts to wash my hair.

The sensation of having my scalp massaged by his strong fingers is so divine that I almost melt into a puddle. I’ve never had anyone wash my hair before, except at the hair salon. And this is so much better than that.

“Mm, maybe,” I murmur, letting my eyes drift closed. “But I think today might be an out of the shower singing day.”

“Good.” He chuckles. “I like those.”

Ever since my karaoke experience, I’ve been getting a bit bolder. I haven’t sung in front of a crowd again, but I’ve started singing around the house. Not just in the shower, but while I’m doing dishes or cooking in the kitchen, or playing with Bruno in front of the fireplace. The guys seem to love it, and I do too. I feel like I’m getting back a piece of myself that I lost for too long.

We stand together in silence for a few minutes, Reid gently lathering the shampoo through my hair, and as my mind wanders back to that night at The Old Oak and everything that came before it at the Christmas ball, I bite my lip, a question burning on the tip of my tongue.

“Can I ask you something?” I say quietly.

“Sure.”

“Why didn’t things work out with you and Sutton? I mean, you guys were together for a while, weren’t you?”

“Yes, we were.”

“So why did you break up? What ended it?”

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