Page 54 of Billionaire's Promise
I’d stomped through the living room, the bedroom, and headed toward the sound of the shower of the bathroom. I shouldn’t have peeked in, but in my defense, the door was open and I had wanted to make sure she was okay. Honestly, that’s all it was. I’d spotted her on the floor of the shower cubicle and my heart had cracked. My legs had moved against my volition and I’d realized I was walking toward her. I’d opened the shower door and caught her as she had stumbled. Had pulled her to me, enfolding her in my embrace.
"I’m sorry…so sorry." I’m not sure what I’m apologizing for, except it feels like I should. "I’m sorry they attacked you." I tuck her head under my chin. "So sorry I didn’t reach you earlier."
She clings to me, buries her head against my shirt and cries harder. I sink down and pull her into my lap. She curls into me, hooks her fingers into the lapels of my shirt and continues to sob. My heart stutters. A hot sensation stabs at my chest. I rock her against me, drag my fingers down her hair and hold her close to me.
"Shh," I croon, "it’s okay, baby, let it out. I am so sorry I didn’t take better care of you. I promise I won’t let anyone hurt you."
She turns her face into the 'V' of skin exposed by my shirt. Her shoulders heave as the water pours down on us. I continue to rock her, rub my hand over her back. I wrap my arms around her and hold her until the sobs subside in intensity. She rubs her cheek against my chest, snuggles in further.
"Better?"
She nods.
I reach up to shut off the shower and she stiffens. "Don’t leave me."
"I’m not going anywhere." I rise with her in my arms then step out onto the bathmat. "I’m going to make a mess of your space," I mutter.
She only curls up into my chest. I walk over to the counter next to the sink, try to place her on it, but she refuses to let me go.
"I need to dry you."
She shakes her head.
"I need to get out of my wet clothes," I insist.
She peeks up at me from under her eyelashes. "Can I watch?" Her green eyes flare with desire, with hurt…. With something else that I don’t dare label yet.
"That…would not be advisable."
"Fuck that," she mumbles.
I bark out a laugh. "You always surprise me, you know that, Eve?"
I try to pull away and she wraps her legs around my waist, that’s when I remember she is completely naked. I mean, of course, I’d known that she was naked. It just hadn’t completely sunk in... Not until she presses her core into the hard column that tents my pants. "Ava." I wrap my fingers around the back of her neck and apply just enough pressure.
She tilts her chin up, gazes into my eyes. "Fuck me, Baron, please."
"If I do, we’ll both regret it."
"If you don’t, we’ll regret it more."
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.I wrap her dripping locks around my hand and tug. She gasps and her breathing quickens.
"If I fuck you, there’s no going back."
She swallows.
"If I shag you, I won’t be able to give you up. Ever."
Her lips kick up. "And I thought men loved to fuck and walk away."
"You knew it was never going to be like that between us."
She scowls. "So, you have fucked and walked away from other women?"
I smirk. "What do you want me to say to that?"
"Nothing." Her gaze narrows. "I’d prefer you to make good on your words, instead."
