Page 83 of The Scandal You Started
Her attention snapped up. “Did that hurt?”
“No. It is cold.”
She held the cloth there for a few seconds, letting his flushed skin adjust to the cool dampness. Then the quiet rustle of herwiping his torso up under his T-shirt and his shaky breaths filled the gap in their conversation.
“Is it because I am ailing?” he said. “Are you taking pity on me?”
Rayna huffed an amused sound. “I’m not nice enough to offer you pity for being sick when it’s your own fault for not admitting you were last night.”
“Then why, Rayna?” His eyes took on a miserable glow. “Do not taunt me with hope if nothing is to come of this.”
She thought over her answer as she dragged her hand out from under his T-shirt. “I’m tired, Dominic. These last few days were exhausting, and last week was just as bad. I kept convincing myself it was the right thing to do, but nothing about it actually felt right.
“Meeting Jake proved there was nothing between us, and I felt stupid because it just became more obvious how I wanted you. And then I kissed you, and I…I didn’t know what I was doing anymore.”
It didn’t help that Erin and Kelly had told her what Monty had said, according to George. She kept wondering if it meant what her best friends had suggested, rather than what she’d thought.
What if she’d exaggerated the repercussions in her mind, and in actual fact, she wouldn’t be throwing away her job if Dominic joined her in her bed, with no lines drawn this time? As long as he went back to his time, maybe everything would be fine if they behaved like a man and woman who wanted each other behind closed doors, rather than as Study and Guardian.
“I still don’t know what I’m doing,” she admitted. “But I can’t pretend I don’t want you anymore.”
He released a rough, choked sound. “Ray—”
“But there have to be rules.”
“Anything,” he said desperately and pressed her palm flat over his thumping heart. “Anything you want.”
“You don’t know what the rules are.”
“It does not matter. I accept.”
She cocked her chin. “I’m paying for everything then, and you can’t argue about it ever again.”
The glow on his face evaporated. “No. Not that.”
“But you said anything.”
“Almostanything.”
A chuckle burst from her, and she shook her head at the way he so quickly amended what he’d said.Stupid man.
Except when she felt the weight of his pawing stare, her amusement faded, and a blush warmed her cheeks. “What?”
One corner of his mouth pulled up. “It has been far too long since I was last gifted with the sound of your laughter.”
“Right back at it, aren’t you?” she grumbled the playful accusation. “Even in this state.”
“With you, sweetheart?” His gorgeous smile widened. “Even on my deathbed.”
Rayna scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Well, you currently look like it, so you’re not far off there.” Then she dragged her hand from his and climbed further onto the bed until she was kneeling with her knees bracketing one of his thighs. “Come on. I need you to sit up so I can take your T-shirt off and wipe you down some more.”
“I am being tortured by a little witch,” he whispered gruffly.
But it wasn’t the wounded kind of torture anymore. It was light-hearted and suggestive. It sounded more like him. And Rayna couldn’t put into words how glad she was for it.
Gosh, she’d missed him. More than she cared to admit.
Chapter 26
