Page 59 of By His Play

I release the breath I didn’t realize I was holding the second the door closes behind him.

Needing to get out of these wet clothes, I let out a shaky breath and embark on the challenge of stripping down.

It’s harder than I thought possible, and I almost call Kieran back to help at one point. But I summon some strength from somewhere, finally abandoning everything in a soggy pile on the floor and stepping under the hot stream.

A blissful sigh falls from my lips, and I stand there unmoving as I soak up the warmth.

Spinning around, I close my eyes and tip my face toward the water.

Tonight was…I shake my head, unable to find a word that sums it up.

Painful. Beautiful.

Everything I needed.

Kieran is everything I need.

He seems to know exactly what will help, and tonight was it.

And dancing on the bandstand.

There is a photo on the mantlepiece of Grams and Gramps doing the exact same thing a few decades ago.

He made me feel so close to both of them tonight.

Tears fall as I think about their lives and how quickly their presence has been wiped from the world.

I manage to clean up, but I move slowly, enjoying the escape the shower provides me.

It’s not until the water begins to run cold that I finally reach for the dial and shut it off.

With a huge fluffy towel wrapped around me, I make my way to my room to find some pajamas.

I’m dressed and sitting at my vanity, brushing my hair, when his footsteps move closer.

I look up just in time to see him fill my doorway with his massive frame.

My breath catches at the sight of him standing there in nothing but a pair of tight boxer briefs.

Holy hell.

My mouth runs dry and I fight to swallow.

“Finished in the bathroom?” he asks, as if he hasn’t just knocked me on my ass.

It’s not the first time I’ve seen him wearing barely anything. But it’s been a few years since I’ve seen it this up close. It’s usually on a screen on some advertising campaign.

Dragging my eyes up his body, I find a smirk playing on his lips.

Asshole did that on purpose.

“Y-yeah,” I stutter like a teenage girl with a stupid crush.

He nods once and then disappears, leaving me with burning cheeks and a racing heart.

It was the same when he slid his hands to my ass earlier. Something I haven’t felt in a very long time shot through my body, leaving my nerves tingling and my blood heating.

The shower starts running thirty seconds later, and I shamelessly imagine him pushing his thumbs into his waistband of those tight boxers and letting them drop down his legs.

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