Page 97 of Bookworm and the Beast
“What are you doing?” I asked, working a little harder than usual to breathe.
“What does it look like I’m doing? If you’re not getting out, I guess I’ll just have to get in. We don’thaveto gooutto celebrate.”
He stepped into the water, and laughing, I shifted to allow him to slide in next to me.
“That’s true,” I said. “Although, I suppose we’ll have to leave the houseeventually.”
Jack plucked a folded washcloth from the side of the tub and dunked it in the warm water, using it to bathe me.
“Eventually yes. Because I want to show off my beautiful wife. If they don’t get a look at you out and about soon, the tabloids might suggest I’m holding you prisoner here.”
“Oh, you wouldneverdo something like that,” I teased with a little splash.
“Come here, you.” Jack tickled me then pulled me around to face him.
Crawling onto his lap, I kissed away the droplets of water that remained on his cheeks and nose. I was gratified to feel him harden beneath me, the familiar but endlessly thrilling sensation sparking little fires all throughout my body.
I plunged my hands under the soapy water, stroking his erection.
Jack released a long breath between his straight, white teeth and narrowed his eyes. “On second thought, I might just keep you prisoner here forever.”
Cupping his hand, he poured a stream of hot water onto one of my breasts then the other, dipping his head to lap it from my nipples like he was drinking from a fountain. I rocked forward on his lap, riding the length of his hard-on from base to tip.
Jack bit down on his lower lip, inhaling sharply. He gripped my waist and guided me to repeat the intimate maneuver.
“You know, now that the Onyx Throne series is finished, I’m thinking of trying something new, just for me, just for fun,” he said. “I might write a romance.”
Though I could tell he was joking, I egged him on. “Really?”
He leaned forward and gave me a slow, lascivious kiss. “Yep. You’ve given me enough inspiration to write a dozen of them, maybe more. A hundred. A thousand.”
“Jack,” I chided, smoothing my palms over his chest and down his abdomen. “You’re not going to tell all our secrets, are you?”
He gave me a sexy smile. “I’ll just say it’s all fictional and ‘bears no intentional resemblance to any persons living or dead.’ But since it’s a whole new genre for me, Iwillneed to do some research. For instance, if I were to write a love scene that takes place in a bathtub….”
His hands slid over my wet skin, eliciting shivers, though I was perfectly warm. I giggled and leaned in, kissing him softly as I rose on my knees then sank onto him.
“You beast,” I whispered against his lips. “What am I going to do with you?”
“Anything you want, princess,” he murmured in response. “Anything you want.”
Epilogue
Hunter
I was happy for my brother—really, I was.
It had been alongtime since I’d seen him like this, relaxed, content, satisfied. It was awesome. But honestly?
It was a little hard to be around all the newlywed bliss.
Jack and Bonnie had returned from their tropical honeymoon only a few days ago, and they were a walking, talking advertisement for settling down and living the simple life, working less and playing more, for stopping and smelling the roses—literally.
I had time fornoneof those things. Not if I was going to make Chipp the biggest online payment processor the world had ever seen.
I’d only taken a break from working to stop by and pick up the fresh-cut flowers Jack had offered from his garden. I was going to place them at mom’s gravesite.
She’d always loved roses, and today was her birthday. As sad as the ritual made me each year, I never missed it.
