Page 26 of Daddy Next Door

"And?" he prompted when I fell silent.

"And I saw you. Coming out of the shower."

The confession hung in the air between us. Ethan's expression remained neutral, but something flickered in his eyes—interest, perhaps, or satisfaction at getting me to admit it aloud.

"That's a start," he said. "But I want details, Lily. What exactly did you see?"

Heat crawled up my neck and blossomed across my cheeks. I squirmed against the restraints, the movement involuntary.

"I saw you step out of the shower. You had a towel but you weren't using it yet. You were . . . you were naked. Water was running down your body."

Ethan nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving mine. "And you kept watching."

It wasn't a question, but I answered anyway. "Yes."

"How long?"

God, he wasn't going to let me off easy. "A few minutes. Until you left the bathroom."

His hand moved then, finally making contact with my skin – just his fingertips tracing the edge of my collarbone. The light touch sent a shiver through me.

"I'm going to undress you while we talk," he said matter-of-factly. "Since you've already seen me. It seems only fair, doesn't it?"

My heart stuttered in my chest. "Yes."

His fingers found the thin strap of my bra, sliding it down my shoulder as far as the restraints would allow. "Keep talking. Tell me what you were thinking as you watched me."

I closed my eyes, finding it easier to speak without seeing his reaction. "I was thinking that I should look away. That it wasn't right to watch you like that. But I couldn't stop."

"Why couldn't you stop?"

His hand moved to the front clasp of my bra, flicking it open with practiced ease. The cups fell away, exposing my breasts to the cool air and his gaze. I felt my nipples harden immediately, a reaction I couldn't hide.

"Because . . ." I began, then faltered as his fingertips skimmed the underside of my breast. "Because you were so handsome."

Something changed in his expression—a softening around the eyes, perhaps, or a slight parting of his lips. For just a moment, I glimpsed the man beneath the dominant persona he was projecting. Then it was gone, replaced by that careful control.

"What part of me did your eyes linger on longest?" he asked, gently tugging the bra out from under me and discarding it somewhere beside the bed.

The question made my insides clench with embarrassment and desire. I bit my lip hard enough to hurt.

"Your chest, at first," I admitted. "The way the water ran down it. The definition of your muscles."

"And then?"

I knew what he was asking. Of course I knew. "And then lower. Your stomach, your hips, your . . ." I couldn't finish.

"Say it, Lily." His hand drifted to my stomach, palm flat against my skin. "What were you looking at?"

"Your cock," I whispered, the word feeling foreign in my mouth. "I was looking at your cock."

His hand tensed almost imperceptibly against my stomach. "And what did you think when you saw it?"

The question sent a pulse of heat between my legs. I forced myself to meet his gaze. "That it was bigger than I expected." The words tumbled out before I could censor them.

Ethan laughed softly, the sound rich and warm. "Honest. I appreciate that." His fingers hooked into the waistband of my panties. "May I?"

I nodded, then remembered his rule. "Yes."

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