Page 88 of Worth the Fall

“Today?”

“Ever.”

He laughed. “Yes, baby. We have to go to work.”

He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my lips as I pouted, even though the nickname made my heart do funny things inside my chest.

“I’m not sure I can walk,” I said with a laugh of my own, but I could feel the soreness in my thighs.

Thomas stretched, the muscles in his arms flexing with the movement, and I swore I started drooling. “I’ll go start the shower for you. Put that body under some hot water.”

I waggled my eyebrows at him. “Are you joining me?”

He glanced over his shoulder. “Can’t. Clara will be home soon.”

My body tensed. “Should I go? Do you want me to be here when she gets back?”

I wasn’t sure why I started freaking out. I adored the sweet girl, but I had no idea how to be a parent or what Thomas thought would be the best course of action. All I knew was that I didn’t want to mess it up.

Thomas eyed me. “Do you plan on breaking up with me anytime soon?” he asked.

I wanted to throw myself at him and tell him that I was never breaking up with him, but I refrained and channeled my inner sarcasm instead.

“Notsoon, soon,” I teased, still unable to wrap my head around the fact that I was Thomas O’Grady’s actual girlfriend.

“Well, in that case, I think it’s okay if you’re still here when she gets home then. We’ll only screw her up a little bit when you dump me next week.”

“Oh good. I was worried we might ruin her forever or something.”

Without warning, he toppled toward me, pinning me beneath his stupidly hard body. It honestly wasn’t comfortable, but who cared about comfort anyway? Not me. Not anymore. Not right now. That body was mine for the taking. Rock climbing and all.

“We’re not breaking up, just so you know.” He pressed a quick kiss on the tip of my nose. “But I’ll pretend it’s on the table if it makes you more comfortable and less likely to run.”

I struggled to formulate the perfect response, but he pushed out of bed and padded toward the bathroom, still completely buck naked, before I could. His nakedness ruined my ability to think straight. I heard the water turn on, and I couldn’t wait to get my body underneath all that heat. Throwing the covers off, I stepped onto the floor and stretched my arms overhead. And when I tried to take a few steps, I started laughing at the literal pain I was in.

People talked about being sore after sex or feeling like they’d ridden a horse all night, but I’d never been able to relate. At least not to this level. I felt like I was finally part of some not-so-secret sex club. The kind where you needed a full-body massage to work out all of theworking outyou’d done the night before.

When I finally managed to make it into the bathroom, Thomas was standing there, one hand underneath the showerhead, testing the water temperature, while the other fiddled with the lever.

“It should be good.” He stepped away and held my naked body with a heated stare.

Typically, I’d be a little uncomfortable, standing there in my birthday suit, thinking about all my imperfections and things that weren’t quite up to model standards, but Thomas made me feel anything but.

“Go put some clothes on. You can’t just walk around all godlike, looking at me like that, and expect me not to mount you,” I warned as I stepped inside the waiting shower right after I threw my hair up in a messy bun on top of my head.

The second the water hit my shoulders, I moaned out in pleasure from the warmth and the feel of it. The pressure was downright delicious.

“Brooklyn,” Thomas growled, but I could no longer see him. The glass doors had fogged right up, hiding him from view.

I knew when he left because I heard the door shut quietly. I stood there, letting the warm water beat on my back before spinning around so it could hit the front of me as well. And when the bathroom door opened once more, I went to ask Thomas if everything was okay, but he stepped into the shower before I could.

My eyes dropped to his chest before following it down. “I thought Clara was coming home?”

“She is.” He stepped closer. “Patrick said they’re leaving in ten minutes.”

“Ten minutes?” I laughed. “Last I checked, you didn’t do anything in ten minutes.”

“Figured it was worth a shot since all I do when I’m in this shower is fantasize about having you in it.”

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