“Don’t worry, Little one. We’ll show you how to relax and let yourself be pampered.”

“You guys don’t really seem the type to relax or be pampered.”

He smiled and she swore her heart stopped. Salem didn’t smile a lot, but when he did, he looked younger and sexier.

Lord, what the man couldn’t do with that smile.

“You’d be surprised.”

He turned away and poured some bubble bath into the water. Ooh.

She’d always wanted to use bubble bath. It looked so fun. She’d likely had baths with bubbles before as a child, but they were kind of a distant memory.

Wiggling around on the counter, she nearly slid off.

Salem turned and gave her a firm look. “Did I tell you that you could move?”

“Um. No.”

“Then stay where you are.”

She let out a small squeak and slid further back on the counter so there was no risk of her sliding off.

“That’s better. You could fall off and hurt yourself and we don’t want that. When I put you somewhere you have to wait until I come back and get you.”

Fall off and hurt herself?

Like that was going to happen. She was about four feet off the ground. How would she hurt herself?

But she also didn’t want to risk upsetting him, so she stayed where she was.

He tested the water temperature, swirling the water around before turning off the taps.

Then he moved back to her, cupping her face in his hands. “I really want to undress you.”

He did?

Her eyes widened as she stared at him.

“I want to strip you and place you in the bath. And then I want to wash every inch of your gorgeous skin. I wouldn’t miss an inch of you. I’d have to make sure that you were very, very clean. So I might have to wash you twice. Once with a cloth and once with my hands.”

Oh Lord.

She could picture that. All too clearly.

“Would you like that, Pet?” he murmured.

“I . . . yes. Are you going to do that?”

“I don’t know if you’re ready for that.”

Maybe not. But she wanted it. And that had to count for something, right?

“I want to be.”

He gave her a gentle smile. “I want that too. I’m going to let you strip off and get in. Then I’ll come check on you. But you might want some space and that’s all right. I know we’re a lot.”

He was being so . . . so reasonable.