Page 62 of Gracefully Yours

“I’ll take care of her,” I agreed.

I always would.

* * *

Unfortunately,the worst part of leaving the lodge to head back to the house had been getting her back in her wet jacket and boots. By the time we pulled up to the front door of the rental, she was shivering again.

Shivering wasn’t a bad thing, though—it meant her body was trying to warm her up. We just needed to speed up the process.

“Baby, we need to get you out of those wet clothes and into the shower to get warm.” I swallowed, thinking about how I was going to have to peel her clothes off of her.Shit. I shouldn’t be thinking those thoughts right now.

I walked over to the bathroom and turned on the shower water, warming it up for her.

“Okay,” she mumbled, fumbling with the zipper on her coat before I stepped in to help her the rest of the way.

Her coat came off, and then her ski pants and sweater, leaving her in just the thermal under layer that had clearly failed to keep her completely warm in the snow. The cold had seeped down to her bottom layer.

“Do you want me to…” I looked at the door, wondering if she wanted me to leave.

“It’s okay,” she whispered, leaning against me. “It’s nothing you haven’t seen before, right?” Charlotte gave a weak chuckle.

I let my fingers rest against the hem of her shirt, waiting for her slight nod before I pulled it off of her. After helping her out of her leggings, she stood there in just her panties and lacy bra, body still shaking from the aftereffects of the cold.

“Can you—” she asked, turning around, exposing her bare back to me besides her bra, which I quickly unclasped.

And then—creamy skin. Those little pink nipples, and—fuck—was I staring at her tits? I looked away, my cheeks burning.

“Is your ankle okay?” I asked, keeping my eyes diverted from hers as another tantalizing thought flickered through my head.

“Yeah,” she said, voice low. “It’s fine now. It doesn’t really hurt as much anymore. Like Hunter said, I just need to rest.”

I was still going to have her ice it once we got her warmed up and by the fire in the living room.

“I’ll just leave you to it, then.” My voice was rough, and I hurried towards the door, eyes practically squeezed shut as my hand gripped the doorknob.

What the hell was I thinking, trying to help like that? She still blushed when we talked about kissing, and I’d gone and seen her practically naked.Fuck me.

All I wanted to do was to take care of her. To make sure she was okay. I wasn’t trying to take advantage of her. I never would. I just…

Shutting my eyes, I tried to shake off the image. Of her wide, gray eyes connecting with mine as she let her bra fall into the pile of soggy clothes on the floor. The way she didn’t even try to cover herself as my gaze met hers. It was too much. All of it.

“Daniel,” she called, her voice husky. “Aren’t you going to warm me up?”

I turned around, finding her standing under the stream of water, her hands covering her nipples. The rest of her body—her slender curves, her pale skin—was all on display. For me.

I blinked. Surely, I was imagining it, right?

“Please,” she whispered, and she didn’t have to ask me twice.

Tearing my ski clothes, I stripped down to my underwear in a matter of seconds, stepping into the shower with her in only my boxers.

She bared her back to me as I moved in next to her, grateful that this shower was bigger than some. Not as big as the one in my bedroom at home, but still more than enough that we could both fit in it safely.

I brushed my fingers over a wet shoulder, brushing her hair off to the side before placing a kiss there. Charlotte moaned as I sucked on her skin as the warm water continued to rain down around us.

“Yes,”she practically hummed, as I replaced her hands with mine, running my thumbs over her hardened nipples.

I spun her around in my arms so I could kiss her, needing to taste her lips. It had been too long since yesterday. Too long since I’d tasted her strawberry lip gloss on my tongue.

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