Page 40 of Play to Win
14
Ethan had no idea how long he’d been in the other room working out. His loft had three bedrooms, one of which he’d turned into a home gym. That’s where he’d come before sunrise the next morning, after he’d lain in his bed staring at Portia as she slept. According to her book, everything they’d been doing was building an intimate relationship. They were linking themselves together both physically, mentally and even spiritually. The thought had shaken him until he hadn’t been able to lay still another moment.
So here he’d been for the last two hours, according to the timer on the treadmill he’d just stepped off. His chest hurt after the ten-mile run on the machine. His arms hurt after the numerous reps lifting two hundred and fifty pounds. His legs burned and sweat dripped off every part of him. And yet, that feeling of dread that had settled in the pit of his gut still sat like a ton of rocks. Ethan stood with his hands on his hips and tilted his head back. He had to get a grip.
She was awake. He realized that the moment he entered the bedroom and noticed the rumpled sheets but no Portia sleeping prettily between them. Damn, she’d looked good in his bed, her hair tousled around her face, lips slightly parted as she slept. He’d touched her cheek, which was probably a little creepy, but he’d wanted to make sure she was real. And she was.
He headed to the bathroom and heard water. After continuing inside, he almost cursed at the sight of her neck deep in his soaker tub full of bubbles. The water was so hot, the mirrors in the bathroom had steamed. The Cowboys t-shirt he’d given her to sleep in last night was on the floor.
“Mornin,” she said, her voice still a bit husky. “Hope you don’t mind. When I came in here to use the bathroom, I saw the tub and couldn’t resist. There’s only the old claw foot tub at Sunnydale that my godmother refused to let Rod take out.”
Ethan swallowed. “It’s fine. Soak away.”
She looked as if she were doing just that.
“You can join me if you want,” she offered after he’d walked toward the double vanity.
Ethan placed his hands flat on the marble top and lowered his head. Everything about her was tempting. The sound of her voice, the sweet scent of the bubbles he hadn’t even known he owned and just like when she was in the bed, she looked as if she belonged here in his bathroom, in that tub. If he closed his eyes, he could imagine her in his space all the time. Forever. Sucking in a deep steadying breath, he released it slowly and called himself all kinds of idiots before cursing quietly. In seconds, he was across the bathroom standing beside the tub.
“I’ll wash your back,” he told her, because if he stripped and got into that tub with her, he was definitely fucking her in that tub. Only it wouldn’t be just sex this time, just as it hadn’t been last night, no matter how many times he’d tried to convince himself differently.
She smiled and handed him a loofa sponge. Ethan sat on the lip of the tub. He leaned forward to dip the loofa in the water and she surprised him with a kiss to his cheek.
“I woke up and you weren’t there,” she said. “I missed you.”
His gut tightened, but he still smiled. He liked the sound of those words falling from her lips. “Wanted to get a workout in before heading down to the bar. Today’s my early day,” he told her and held the loofa over her shoulders, squeezing so that water trickled down her body.
It glistened, bubbles sluicing over gorgeous honey-toned skin. She sighed and his dick jumped.
“I love soaking in a hot bath. These past few months have been a bit hectic with preparing for the tour and filming the final videos for the year,” she said.
“Do you like filming the videos?” he asked and dipped the loofa again, drenching her back with more hot water.
“Not as much as I used to,” she answered. “In the beginning it was sort of liberating. Now, while I still believe in the purpose and the lecture material that follows each demonstration, I’m a little tired of twenty-four seven sex.”
Ethan groaned at the irony of her admission. “Really? Because last night you seemed willing and eager to go all night.”
They’d moved from the couch in the living room, to the floor just outside his bedroom because they hadn’t been able to wait. And then finally to the bed, where only a two-hour nap had separated the heated bouts of sex that had continued there.
Portia turned her head to the side, resting her chin on her wet shoulder as she smiled up at him. It was a naughty smile, full of mischief and passion. He loved that look.
“I owe that all to my new instructor,” she told him.
He shook his head. “I didn’t teach you anything you didn’t already know. I just provided you a live specimen to work on.”
She shrugged. “I think I like working with a live specimen better than solo demonstrations.”
“Is that so?” he asked and despite his better judgment leaned closer to her.
“That is totally so.” She reached up at that moment, wrapping her arms quickly around him before pulling him down into the water. Ethan cursed through his laughter and cupped his hand to the nape of her neck.
“You’re such a bad girl,” he whispered while moving his mouth closer to hers.
“Right. You’ve tainted me, Ethan Henley. I’ve made a complete crossover with you. And I think I like it.”
Ethan liked it too, way more than he’d ever intended. He liked it so much better when his mouth was on hers, his tongue delving deep into the warmth of her mouth. Finding the strength to pull away from her wasn’t easy. In fact, it was a sort of torture, but he was okay with that. He deserved it for daring to believe this could be anything other than what it was. After soaping the loofa, he bathed her from her pretty peach painted toenails to the nape of her neck where he liked to kiss and feel her squirm beneath his touch.
When she stood to rinse off, Ethan climbed out of the tub and removed his wet clothes. He used a towel to dry off quickly and then wrapped a clean towel around her before lifting her into his arms. Portia wrapped her arms around his neck.
