Page 93 of Devious Kingpin
I swallowed. “Because you didn’t have that?”
I turned my head and met his gaze. My heart stilled and I knew the answer before he opened his beautiful lips.
“No.”
My hand flew to his and I squeezed it gently. “I’m sorry.” I meant it, too. No child should feel unloved. “And you’re right. It’s a commitment and a promise. I know you’ll be a great father one day.”
He took my hand and held it for the remainder of the drive home. It was quiet. It was comfortable. It felt safe.
As soon as we got inside, Dante headed straight upstairs.
I followed.
And it frightened me. It terrified me that I actually liked him. Two years of fighting this attraction, and now, I was spiraling out of control and craving him.
My muscles protested with each step, but for some silly reason, I refused to admit it. He was already at the top of the stairs and must have noticed or heard my grunt as I took the first step because he halted and turned around.
One look at me and he was stalking over, scooping me up into his arms in one swift move. Bridal style.
“A warm bath will help your aching muscles.”
“You are awfully fond of offering baths,” I remarked dryly. “Are you insinuating something?” He chuckled but didn’t answer, which had my eyes narrowing to slits. “Well, are you?”
I wanted to touch him, but I was too chicken to ask him. I hoped he’d offer to let me cuff him again so I could explore him. Every inch of him.
Kinky. Idiotic. Wrong.
It was all that, and yet, I still wanted it. With me in his arms, he climbed the stairs and headed through our bedroom and into the bathroom. My palm pressed on his chest, feeling for his strong heartbeat, but his breathing never changed. Like I weighed nothing.
Once in the bathroom, he gently lowered me to the edge of the bathtub, then started removing my shoes.
His focus was entirely on the task at hand. He removed my sock from one foot, then the other. Next my pullover followed, then my undershirt.
“Lift your butt,” he instructed and I did as he asked. He shimmied my yoga pants down my legs. Then he reached for my bra and unclipped it. Goosebumps broke over my skin and a shudder rolled down my spine. My breathing hitched, and suddenly the ache of my muscles was the last thing on my mind. All I could focus on was the dull ache between my legs.
He let out a tired sigh. “I’m not going to take advantage of you.”
He misread my body’s reaction to him.
“Dante?”
“Hmmm.”
His eyes remained focused on the task at hand as he helped me with my panties. But he made a point of not staring at my pussy. If he had, he’d notice the glistening arousal.
He reached over me and turned the tap on the slightest bit, testing the water on his wrist. Once he was satisfied it was the right temperature, he let it fill the tub.
He reached over my head for the bath products and retrieved one, leisurely pouring it into the water.
“Take a bath with me,” I offered.
His eyes came to rest on my face, studying me. I squirmed under his scrutiny, feeling vulnerable completely naked while he was fully dressed. He watched me in silence, and just as I thought he’d deny me, he stood up and started shedding his clothes.
He pulled his shirt over his head, slowly and with utter confidence, then discarded it onto the floor right on top of my clothes. The firm chest with lean muscles I hadn’t seen in almost a week came into full view and I couldn’t help but shiver.
He was fit and well-built, but it was that predatory strength underneath his lean frame that appealed to me. He was sun-kissed, even in the middle of winter, and my fingers itched to trail over his body. His fingers worked on his belt next and my gaze was unapologetically glued to his masculine beauty.
I had never felt this desire with anyone before. Never felt this secure.
