Page 17 of Sex, Lust & Lingerie

With a yank of the shower door, all six feet three inches of his gorgeous nakedness stepped inside the stall. I gasped.

“What are you doing here?”

He snorted. “What does it look like? I’m taking a shower.” He moved in closer to me so that we were face-to-face, sharing the hot, pounding water.

I eyed him from head to foot. There wasn’t one bruise on that god-like body. Not a single one!

He reciprocated by giving me the once-over. An infuriating, roguish smile spread across his face. “Those are some pretty gnarly bruises.”

“You should say you’re sorry!”

He arched his brows. “Sorry that I saved your lovely ass? How many times has it been…three, maybe four?”

Recounting all the times he’d come to my rescue, I clenched my teeth and my fists. Still clutching the sponge, I wanted to slap him with it. Before I could, he grabbed it out of my hand.

Gently, he circled it around each breast. I could feel my sensitive nipples pucker, sending the tingling sensation of arousal once again to my core. My breathing grew shallow.

I sucked in air between my teeth. “Stop it!”

Still washing my tender breasts, he leaned into me, strands of his drenched hair falling into his hooded eyes. “Come on, you don’t really want me to stop, Gloria.”

He was right. I stood paralyzed as the sparks inside me intensified. I could feel his erection pressing against my middle. He was turning himself on as he turned me on.

“I’m sorry about the bruises, angel.” There was genuine regret in his voice. “But no imperfections can mar your beauty…not even this one.”

I stiffened as he bent over and tenderly kissed my scar. The scar I wished I could rip off my body and throw away with the memories it held.

He released his mouth and his eyes lifted to mine. “It’s from a gunshot, isn’t it, Gloria?” I quivered as he ran his fingers gently over the shiny, raised flesh. It no longer had any feeling, but the ache it left in my heart never went away.

The spray of the shower cascaded over us like a summer thunderstorm. A bolt of lightning flashed through me, searing my nerves. “How do you know that?”

His eyes grew murky blue with pain. “My father. Remember? He put a gun to his head. I’m the one who found him. I’ll never forget what that bullet hole looked like. Never.”

“I’m sorry,” I murmured. I genuinely was. No child should have to endure that tragedy. Filled with both shame and sadness, I bowed my head. My eyes gazed down at the hideous scar just above my left breast. His long index finger continued to rub it gently.

“It almost pierced your heart, didn’t it?”

I said nothing. Emotionally, it did pierce my heart. The hole it left deep inside my soul had never closed up. Madame Paulette’s words rang in my ears. “Ma chérie, the scars that you don’t see are zee hardest to heal.”

Finally, I broke my silence. “I don’t want to talk about it. It has to do with something in my past that I’m trying to leave behind.” Tears threatened to spill from my eyes.

“Ah, the past that makes you who you are, Gloria. The past that you must let go of to move forward.”

His profound, insightful words tugged at my heartstrings. I hoped there’d come a day when I could close the door on my past but knew that was wishful thinking. It took all I had not to cry. I bit down on my quivering lip.

He gently tilted up my chin with his other hand. I met his soulful eyes—the eyes he rarely exposed but I loved most. I lost control. Tears escaped and mingled with the spray of the shower.

He tenderly brushed them away with the pads of his thumbs. “You’re crying, Gloria, aren’t you?”

With a sniffle, I nodded. “I’m sorry. It’s just too painful to go there.”

“We all have our secrets, Gloria. Even I have mine. When you trust me with yours, I know your heart will be mine.”

I fidgeted with his exquisite toi et moi ring, trying to make sense of his words. Before I could ask what he meant, the captain’s muffled voice sounded in my ears.

“Mr. Zander and Ms. Long, we will be beginning our descent into Van Nuys Airport. Please return to your seats and make sure your seatbelts are securely fastened.”

As I took a step toward the shower door, Jaime grabbed me by the elbow. In one smooth move, he spun me around and smashed his lips onto mine. The kiss was deep, passionate, and bruising. My mouth and my body sunk into it. I wrapped my arms around his broad shoulders, my wet breasts rubbing against his sculpted pecs. His powerful erection pressed against my middle as I felt a thick long finger slide across my cleft. He ran circles around my clit, turning it into a hard nub and sending a current of pleasure to my core.

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