“Done?” I stand so fast my chair nearly topples. “Oh no, baby. We’re just getting started.”
10
Jules
Before I can respond, Rider is right there, lifting me from my seat. He brushes his knuckles over my cheek, his touch soft, tender, and it does strange things to me. My heart pounds a little harder, and my legs threaten to give.
He scoops me up and carries me upstairs. I can only assume he wants to fulfil the fantasy I laid out last night—me in a short skirt, no panties, bending over the bed. But he surprises me when he takes me to the bathroom, sets me on the sink, and drops to the floor in front of my tub.
I pull my hair from my ponytail and let it fall over my shoulders. “What are you doing?”
“Running you a bath.”
The walls around my heart fracture, despite my best efforts to keep them strong. “Oh, you were serious about that?” I ask, working to keep my voice steady as his actions warm me from the inside out.
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I just thought…” I turn my head, glance toward the open door. “What we talked about on Skype. You don’t want that?”
His low groan reverberates through me. “Fuck yeah, I want that.” I laugh and it eases some of the tension inside me. “But you just worked a long shift.” He shrugs. “Besides, we’ve got the whole night ahead of us, babe, and there are so many things I want to do to you, but first, you need some relaxation time.”
God, could this man be any sweeter?
He grabs the vanilla bubble bath and squeezes a generous amount into the water. “Wait here,” he says and his footsteps pound on the stairs. He comes back with a glass of wine for me. Okay, he really needs to stop all these sweet gestures, otherwise I’m going to end up falling for him, and that’s a really bad idea. Not only am I scared to open my heart to love—I’ve seen, and experienced so much damn loss—he’s made it perfectly clear that he’s a bachelor for life. Is this what Lindsay was warning me about, that he’s a nice guy, and I might end up getting my heart broken—again?
I struggle to harden myself, an impossible task when he peels my shirt over my head. His gaze is warm and soft as he takes me in. The hairs on my nape tingle under his appreciative gaze.
“You want to talk about your day?” he asks, like we really are an old married couple who share everything at the end of the night.
“No,” I say, even though it would be nice to vent. “How was your day?”
“I might as well confess,” he says.
I stiffen a bit. “What?”
“Well, eventually Peaches would have told you so I feel like I should come clean.” His cute dimple catches my eye as he lifts me from the sink, and drops to his knees to peel my pants off. My panties follow.
My muscles tighten. “What did you do?” I ask.
“I snooped,” he says and I relax a little. He puts his hand on the small of my back, and leads me to the tub. The hot water feels glorious against my tired body. I lean back, and take a deep calming breath.
“Find anything interesting?” I ask.
He makes a face like he’d just eaten a sour lemon. “In the medicine cabinet, there’s this strange ointment—”
I splash water up at him. “There is not,” I say and laugh.
“Hey, you got me all wet.”
“Now we’re both wet,” I say, and the mood shifts, the air in the room becomes a little thicker, heavier. Lust swirls around us and I shift forward. “There’s plenty of space for two.”
“You’re supposed to be relaxing.”
“Maybe I’ll relax more with you in here.”
“Well you don’t have to ask me twice.” I laugh as he stands and makes fast work of his clothes. His gorgeous cock is thick as he sheds his pants. The water splashes as he slides in behind me, and tugs my shoulder until my head is on his chest.
“Much better,” I say, as he scoops up bubbles and spills them over my sh