Page 40 of Coulda

“I am.”

She looked at the immense tub and tried to figure out where she needed to sit if they were both going to be inside at the same time. “You go first.”

Rio stepped into the tub and sat down against the sloping back of the tub. He held his hand out to help her get in safely.

Tentatively, Amber dipped her toe into the water. This time it felt warm but okay to her. Rio reached up to steady her with a hand on each side of her hips. Realizing what a view he had of her body, she sank quickly into the water, regretting the loss of the bubbles even more.

“I was embarrassed,” she blurted.

“For saying I was pretty?” he teased.

“That was supposed to stay in my head.”

“Even Daddies need compliments sometimes. That is now officially my favorite one,” he announced. “I may need a T-shirt with that on it.”

Amber couldn’t help but laugh at the mental image in her mind. When Rio joined her merriment, she relaxed. How did he always know how to make her feel better?

Rio reached for a large misshapen sponge and dipped it into the water. Adding a squeeze of liquid soap from a beautiful container on the ledge bordering the wall, he rubbed it against his chest to get it foamy before taking her hand and washing her arm.

“Lean back and relax, sweetheart. You’ve had quite a day.”

With a sigh of delight, Amber followed his directions. She loved the way her Daddy took care of her.

Her Daddy.Amber repeated that in her mind. How could that feel so right in such a short period of time? Peeking through her lashes at Rio, she debated whether she should fight these feelings.

“It isn’t often in life that we get second chances,” Rio said softly as he washed her breasts and torso. She fought the allure of the sponge moving over her nipples and sensitive flesh to listen to his words and meaning.

“When I left and returned to take over my role in the family business, I knew I couldn’t be assured that this day would come.”

“You could have stayed,” she suggested.

“Look back at everything you have done since high school graduation. Would you dismiss everything? If I had stayed, would you have made the same choices?”

Silent, she sat thinking as he washed her other arm. She would have never left him to go to North Carolina for school. Amber had already debated that from the moment she opened the acceptance letter.

Flashes from all the challenges she’d overcome and the fun she’d had traveling and meeting new people circled through her mind. Amber had enjoyed her adventures completely as she tried to ignore that something was missing from her life.

Amber knew she was in a totally different phase of her life. The pain of packing and moving now overwhelmed her love of trying out a new city and hospital. Being a traveling nurse had been exciting and challenging at first. Owning the bar and grill, her parents had never taken time off to travel or go on vacation. On her own after graduation, Amber had gotten to experience a variety of climates and communities. The allure of that was over. Now, she wanted to settle down in one place—with one person. Him.

“No,” she answered simply. “I wouldn’t be the same person if I hadn’t done all the things I wanted to.”

“Exactly. You needed a chance to spread your wings.”

Rio straightened her leg over his thigh to stroke the lather over her skin. “There is thirteen years between our ages, Ella. Does that bother you?”

“No. It never has. You feel right.”

“That pleases me.”

“More than being pretty?” she asked to lighten their conversation.

“Even more than pretty,” he agreed with a smile. “Come sit in front of me.”

With his assistance, Amber shifted in the tub, taking a place between his outstretched thighs. She gathered her hair into a clump on the top of her head as he washed her back and earned a kiss on the side of her neck.

With the suds rinsed from her skin, Rio gently pulled her shoulders back to rest against his strength. Supporting her with an arm around her waist as she lay at a slight angle, he stroked the sponge down the center of her body.

“Spread your thighs, Little girl,” he requested and stroked over her pussy when she quickly complied.

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