Baiting Him (How to Catch an Alpha #2)(36)

“Me too, baby.” He gives me a smile; then his eyes roam my face and chest. “I also need to figure some shit out, because I really fucking don’t like leaving you in bed every night while I go to work.”

“It’s okay,” I reassure him, sitting up and pulling the blanket up and tucking it under my arms.

“Right now it’s okay, but eventually it won’t be, and I can’t expect you to make changes to make me happy and for me not to do the same in return.”

“I’m happy.” I frown.

“Yeah, I know that, but you don’t think it’s gonna get old, me leaving late at night and you sleeping alone? Or let’s say this keeps building between us, and we get to the point where we have a kid together. Do you think you’d be cool with me being out all night, leaving you at home with a baby, and then sleeping all day, leaving you to parent on your own?” He wraps his hands around his hips.

With my heart pounding hard, my mouth dry, and my stomach dropping to my toes, I shake my head, wondering how I went from never thinking I’d find someone to having a conversation with a man about having kids one day. “No . . . no, I don’t think I’d like that much.”

“Exactly, and I’m not saying I’ll hire another manager to run the bars at night right now, but I will see if Luke can change up his schedule a little so a couple nights a week I can be here with you.”

“I’d like it if you did that.” My tone is still quiet.

His hands drop from his hips; then his head tips to the side. “You wanna shower with me?” For once, I’m not asleep or half-asleep, so I nod. “Then hurry, baby, or I’m going to be late.”

“You do know you could have just gotten in the shower without me, right?”

“Why on earth would I do that?”

“Because you’re obviously in a hurry.” I roll my eyes as I get out of bed.

“Just move your cute ass.” He slaps my bottom as I walk past him, making me jump.

I turn my head to narrow my eyes on him over my shoulder, but his eyes aren’t on mine. They’re glued to the area where his hand just landed. “Eyes up here, buddy,” I call, and he smirks.

I ignore his look and walk into the bathroom, flipping on the lights, and then go to the shower and turn it on. While the water warms up, we stand side by side brushing our teeth, and when we’re done, we get into the shower together. He places me under the warm water first, tipping my head back to soak my hair, then surprises me by asking for my shampoo. I hand him the bottle, and he squeezes way more than I ever use into his big hand before he thoroughly massages it in with his fingers, rinsing away the suds before asking for my conditioner.

I hand it over and watch as he repeats the same actions as before, and when he’s finished, he moves me out from under the spray and grabs one of my three loofas, a bright-yellow one that has roughened edges to help with exfoliating. I pick up my pink one and dump some of my vanilla bodywash on it, rubbing it into the material and causing it to bubble up while he examines the built-in shelf where all my bodywashes are lined up.

“If you’re trying to figure out which one won’t leave you smelling like cake or flowers, this one will have to do.” I hand him one that smells like peppermint, and he takes it from me, clicking open the lid, then sniffing.

“I need to leave some of my shit down here,” he mutters, making me smile. He squeezes the peppermint wash on his loofa, then scrubs it against his chest before moving it over every perfect inch of his body.

I forget I’m actually supposed to be washing myself as I watch the sudsy water slide down his smooth skin, getting caught here and there between the contours and ridges of his muscles. “Do you work out?” I ask him, slightly dazed as I look up to meet his gaze.

“Yeah, most days I run, and a few days a week I go to the gym,” he answers absently as he places the loofa on its hook. I’ve never seen him work out, so he must do it when I’m at work.

“It shows. You have a great body.”

He drags the piece of material out of my hands, and I look down, noticing I’ve created a lake of bubbles at my feet. “In case you’re wondering, I love your body too, so whatever it is you’re doing, keep that up.”

I can’t help the smile that twitches my lips any more than I can control the slight whimper that escapes as he washes me from my neck down to my toes. When he’s finished with his task and I’m thoroughly clean, he turns me under the water and rinses me off before pulling down on the handle, bringing our shower to an end.

He opens the glass door and steps out, grabbing one of my fluffy dark-pink towels and wrapping it around his hips before nabbing another and shaking it out. He holds it open to me, and I step forward as he swings it around my back, then wraps me up like one would a small child.

“Thanks.”

He smiles, then kisses my forehead, releasing me to take a step back, remove his towel from his waist, and dry off. I don’t watch, because I know if I do I’ll end up going to bed without my hair brushed or my night cream on my face.

“I’ll take LeFou out one last time before I go to work,” he tells me as I begin to pull my brush through my wet hair, and I meet his gaze in the mirror.

“I don’t mind taking him out.”

He shakes his head in denial. “I’ll take him before I go. I’ll also order another one of his potty boxes for your patio, so if he’s here with you, you don’t feel like you have to get dressed to take him out at night. Instead, you can just let him out when he needs to go.”