Page 46 of Temptress

He climbed off the bed, unashamed in his nakedness—not that he had asinglething to be ashamed of—as he moved into my bathroom. I heard the water cut on at the sink, then a minute later, he returned with a damp cloth and my heart skipped a couple more beats.

“Honey, you don’t always have to be the one to do this,” I said quietly as he gently pushed my legs apart. “I can clean myself up.”

We’d had the talk about protection weeks ago. We were both clean, and I was already on birth control, so we’d decided to ditch the condoms. I couldn’t get enough of feeling every inch of him, every ridge and vein, with nothing between us.

As soon as I started to let him come inside me bare, he’d taken it upon himself to clean me up after sex. There was something about the task that felt so much more intimate than the sex itself.

Those dark blue eyes came up to meet mine as he dragged his finger through my opening, collecting the cum that had spilled out of me and pushing it back inside my channel, forcing a gust of breath past my lips. “This isn’t a chore, Sloane. Seeing my seed dripping out of you like this, marking you... I’m not sure there’s a sexier sight.” He spread himself across my lips, rubbing it into my skin. “I’m making you mine when I do this, baby. It’s a privilege. Don’t take that away from me.”

Oh my god. I had to bite my tongue to keep from blurting “I love you”, knowing it would be too soon for him. But that didn’t change the way I felt. I wasn’t sure there was anything he could do or say that ever would. I was gone for this man, and I never wanted to be found.

“Okay, Si,” I said on a breath as he picked up the warm washcloth and proceeded to clean me up. “I won’t take that away from you.”

21

SLOANE

“I’m so glad we got to do this,” Asher called out over the music that poured from the jukebox in the corner. “It feels like I haven’t seen you guys in too long.”

I felt a pang of guilt at her words, because the truth was, if I hadn’t been at Whiskey Dolls, I’d been so wrapped up in Silas that everything else had been pushed to the back burner.

I needed to remember that my friends were a priority, so when Asher called earlier and asked if I wanted to go out for a girls’ night, I’d jumped at the chance. I dolled myself up—as much as one would do for a night out at the Tap Room, my favorite bar over in Hope Valley, and now I sat at a high-top table close to the dance floor with Asher and Hardin.

“I know. I’m really sorry. I feel like I’ve been a shitty friend, lately,” I confessed before taking a pull of my beer.

She sipped her margarita and shook her head. “You could never be a shitty friend. You’re the best. You’ve just been busy.”

“Yeah. Busy getting that D,” Hardin said with a snort, then slapped her hand over her mouth like she hadn’t meant to say that out loud. The three of us might have been a couple rounds in already, so we were all being much looser with our lips.

I choked on the drink I’d just taken, nearly spewing beer from my nose. Asher smacked on my back to help me out as I coughed and sputtered, tears streaking down my cheeks before I finally got control.

“What?” I squeaked in Hardin’s direction. “How did—what—I’m not—”

“Oh come on,” Hardin said with a laugh. “You’re always texting, and every time you look at your phone, you’ve got this crazy huge smile on your face. You haven’t been around much, which we’re totally okay with, and you’ve been in a really,reallygood mood the last several weeks.”

“There’s no reason to deny it,” Asher assured me. “We’re both so happy for you. We just want to know who you’re seeing, that’s all.”

“If it’ll make you feel better about sharing, I’ll let you in on the fact that I’ve been sleeping with Ford Grimes.”

I choked for the second time in a handful of minutes. “Your brother’s best friend?” I croaked.

She nodded, her cheeks flushing pink. “Yeah.”

I had a million questions flying around in my head, but there was only one thing I could really focus on. “That’s so hot. I’m serious!” I exclaimed when Hardin and Asher started to laugh. “The whole brother’s-best-friend thing is my favorite romance trope. And you’relivingit.”

“That’s one way of looking at it,” she joked. “Although, my brother might not agree with you. He wasn’t exactly thrilled to find out his best friend and little sister were together, but luckily, he got over it fast enough.”

“And what about you?” Asher asked. “Who’s your new guy?”

“Um...” I spun my beer bottle around. “It’s, well, it’s Silas.”

“I knew it!” Asher exclaimed excitedly, smacking the tabletop. “I’ve seen the way he looks at you at the club when he thinks no one is looking. His face gets all soft and he can’t stop staring. It’s so cute.” She propped her elbow on the table and leaned closer, bracing her chin in her palm. “So?” she sing-songed. “How long has this been going on?”

“A little over a month now.”

Asher reached over and took my hand. “And it’s going good? You’re happy?”

It was my turn to blush. A ridiculous smile pulled at my face as I thought about just how amazing things were going. “Yeah. I’m happy. Really happy.”

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