The Look of Love (The Sullivans #1)(40)

She ran the soap over one breast and as it stiffened into an ever tighter point, he groaned. The truth was, Chloe could barely stifle her own whimper of need as she asked, “Everything okay, Hotstuff?”

She had no idea how she managed to ask the question in such a steady voice.

He choked out a strangled laugh at his nickname. “Everything is perfect.” His voice wasn’t quite as steady as hers. He nodded at her naked body in the tub. “You’re going to be really clean.”

Yes, she would. Because she wasn’t done yet. Not by a long shot.

Cupping her hands in the water, she lifted them and poured water down her chest. Suds washed down over her br**sts and rib cage and stomach.

When she’d washed the soap off of her chest, she picked up the bar of soap and looked straight at Chase. A muscle was jumping in his jaw and his hands were tightly fisted on the sides of the towel. She couldn’t see his hard-on behind the towel, but she didn’t need to.

“Just one more place I need to get nice and clean.” She didn’t take her eyes from her hot voyeur as she lifted up so that her bottom and the upper half of her thighs were out of the water. She moved her knees apart several inches in the bottom of the tub, then took the soap and placed it just below her belly button.

Chloe felt like she was all nerve endings. The soap slipped away from her again, but this time she wasn’t about to retrieve it from the bottom of the tub. She desperately needed to touch herself and her breath left her lungs in a rush as her fingertips brushed over her sex.

“Don’t stop.” Chase’s breath was coming out just as fast as hers. “Please don’t stop.”

And as she let her fingers continued stroking, sliding through her wetness until she could feel the tremors building from way down deep, suddenly he was there with her, his large body wrapped around her, his warmth taking away any chill that remained. In one hard stroke he pushed inside her to the hilt and she pushed back into him just as hard, wanting him even deeper, even closer.

The water splashed all around the room as he held her steady with one arm around her waist while driving into her again and then again as she begged him for more, more, more until the orgasm she’d been teasing him with joined with Chase’s impending release, swelling big enough to break through her entire soul like a tidal wave.

* * *

Chloe smiled at him as he dried her off and Chase loved the way she leaned into his touch, rather than away from it as she once had. Picking her up, he moved to the chair in the corner and pulled her onto his lap. She curled into him like a contented kitten.

“Thank you for trusting me.”

Her head shot up from where she’d had it against his chest. Wariness crept back into her expression as she said, “I like you. A lot. But—”

He should just keep his damned mouth shut. He should enjoy what they were doing and give her more time. But damn it, he was ready now. And he wanted Chloe to be ready, too.

“I know you won’t trust me completely yet. Even if I don’t like it, I understand. At least, I think I do.” He waited for her to say something about what had happened to her. He worked to push down the disappointment, but he knew he’d blown it when the words, “I don’t want no-strings-attached,” shot out of his mouth.

She immediately stiffened on his lap and tried to pull away. Just as he’d known she would. “But that’s our agreement.”

“No. I never agreed.”

“You did!”

“You wanted no-strings-attached and I was hoping I could convince you otherwise. Just like I’m hoping you’ll allow yourself to trust me completely one day.”

“I’m not looking for a relationship. You know that.”

“Yes, but I don’t know why. Tell me what happened.”

“I didn’t run from one guy to end up diving straight into a relationship with another one,” she began, and he could hear the reticence in the tone of her voice, could see how much she wanted to end their conversation in the lines that appeared at the sides of her mouth.

Her hand lifted to cover her cheek again and it nearly killed him not to put his hand over hers and pull it back down.

Which was why he’d never admired her more than he did when she dropped her hand and said, “But you’re right. It’s not fair for me to be so vague. Not to tell you why.” She sighed and her eyes grew even darker. “In a nutshell, I was married and it wasn’t great.”

“Even from the beginning?”

She shook her head. “No. At first it seemed great. Well, okay, at least.” She scrunched up her nose. “Honestly, I’ve asked myself that question a hundred times. Why did I fall in love with Dean in the first place?” She took a deep breath, one that shook through her all the way to his lap. “You know what I think I’ve figured out?” she asked in a very soft voice.

More glad than he could ever express that she was finally talking to him like this, he gently replied, “What’s that?”

“When we were looking at your family picture, every time you talk about them...” Her words fell away momentarily before she continued, “I wanted that. So badly. I wanted to be part of a family that was warm and fun and loved me.”

“You were an only child?”

She nodded. “But it wasn’t just that. My parents have never really been that open with their feelings. I know they love me, but I can’t remember ever hearing it. I don’t remember many hugs.”