The Wrong Bride (The Windsors, #1)(53)

I sigh as I upload all my photos with family and friends to the cloud before navigating to my settings and pausing on the factory reset button. I hesitate for a split second before clicking on it. A fresh start is what I want. It’s what Raven and I both need, and in real life, we can’t have it. We don’t have the luxury of giving each other an honest chance without our baggage weighing us down. I thought it’d be painful to erase a part of our lives, but the thought of hurting Raven is more painful. I should’ve done this long ago.

Things between us have been somewhat odd. We’ve been pretending that Hannah isn’t a factor, and it worked for us, until it didn’t. I’ve hurt her enough. I can’t risk anything on my phone upsetting her. Being reminded of my past with Hannah is difficult for both of us, but more so for her.

I watch as my phone resets and smile to myself as I type in a new password, choosing a combination of Raven’s birthday and our wedding date. Had I known erasing everything would feel so good, I’d have done it long ago.

Raven walks in to find me smiling at my phone, and her expression falls before she forces a smile onto her face. I watch her carefully as I put my phone down.

“You’re home earlier than I expected.”

She nods and rubs her shoulder. “I fell on set. My back has been hurting all day, so I figured I’d just work on my designs from home.”

I jump to feet and rush up to her. “You’re hurt? How did that happen?”

She smiles and shakes her head. “I was just being clumsy. I’ve been absentminded all day. This honestly really was all my own fault.”

I sigh and place my hands on her shoulders, massaging her gently. I don’t even need to guess to know what she’s been thinking about. I suppose we couldn’t avoid this situation. At some point, we were going to have to face Hannah and the past I share with her. I just didn’t expect myself to have so much clarity when it finally came round to it.

I sigh as I gently brush her hair out of her face, my hand lingering. She’s been so distant lately, and I fucking miss her. I cup her cheek gently and lean in, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. I haven’t dared to kiss her properly since last time, scared that I’m asking for too much, too soon.

“Come on,” I tell her. “Take a hot shower to relax your muscles, and then I’ll give you a massage.”

She hesitates for a moment, but then she nods. She’s been especially distant today. Normally, she’d text me at least a handful of times throughout the day, but she hasn’t replied to any of my messages. It’s like that phone call yesterday made her realize that she and I will never be able to escape the past.

I sigh as I go in search of the oil I know she uses on her body. I need to look into how she got hurt today. I may have to hire a safety coordinator to check every single one of her sets before she gets there.

“Ares?”

I look up to find Raven standing a few steps away, a white towel wrapped around her. “Come here,” I tell her, patting the bed. “Lie down.”

Raven lies down on her stomach with her towel still wrapped around her, and my heart starts to race. What the fuck was I thinking, offering her a massage? I won’t survive having my hands on her body for that long. This was a stupid idea, but that doesn’t stop me from reaching for the oil.

I kneel beside her and tug on her towel. “Let me move this aside.”

She nods hesitantly as I move her towel lower, exposing her shoulders and upper back. I pause for a moment, before pulling it lower, until it’s bunched around her waist.

I don’t think I’ve ever been quite this nervous about something as simple as a massage. There’s something about her that I find impossible to resist. When is the last time I was this affected by a woman?

My heart races as I pour some oil onto her back. “Are my hands cold?” I ask as I spread the oil over her shoulders, kneading gently.

Raven sighs happily. “No, this is perfect.”

I watch her side profile as I move my hands up, massaging the back of her neck with my thumbs, the tips of my fingers pushing into her scalp.

“Oh God,” she moans. “That’s so good.”

Fucking hell. My cock hardens instantly, and I clench my jaw as I continue to massage her neck, drawing circles with my thumb as my nails scrape over her scalp.

“Ares,” she moans, and it takes all of me not to turn her over and kiss her. Fuck. The way she says my name is unreal. “I love this.”

“Let me move on top of you,” I tell her, positioning my legs on either side of her so I can use more of my body weight.

She shifts a little underneath me and moves her hands up and out of the way. Damn. Does she realize that she’s giving me a clear view of the side of her breasts? Fucking hell. Thank fuck she can’t tell how hard I am.

I move my hands lower, massaging her shoulders and back, taking my time to ease the tension in her muscles as best as I can. I move slightly lower each time until my thumbs are pressing into the dimples on her back.

Fuck. I’d love to hold her just like this as I fuck her from behind, my hands on her hips. I have no doubt she’d take my cock like a good girl. I want more of her moans. I want my name on her lips as I push deep inside her.

I hesitate for a moment as I move lower and tug on her towel slightly to check if she’ll resist, but she doesn’t. Instead, she lifts her hips a little, allowing me to pull it off entirely, until I’ve got her lying underneath me naked.