Virtuous(70)

“God, Natalie… You do the same thing to me. You said it so perfectly.” He cups my face and kisses me again. “I’m falling so hard and so fast for you.”

“I’m falling just as fast.”

“Are you scared?”

“Terrified.”

“Don’t be. You’re safe with me. I promise.” He holds me close as the warm water rains down upon us. His erection presses insistently into my belly, reminding me of what he wants from me. What would’ve terrified me a week ago now intrigues me. I want to touch him there. I want to touch him everywhere.

With a tender kiss to my forehead, he releases me to finish my shower. When I step out a few minutes later, I find a stack of dry towels and a robe. He’s thoughtful and sweet and sexy as hell. Though I don’t want to be nervous about sleeping with him, I am nonetheless. Mostly I’m worried that I’m not being fair to him by sleeping with him but not allowing it to go any further.

The robe is so big, it could wrap around me twice. I tie the belt tightly and hang the towels to dry. I venture into his bedroom, where he is lying on the bed, propped up on his side on a mountain of pillows, wearing only a pair of loose-fitting pajama pants and black glasses as his fingers fly over his phone. The glasses are hot. Seriously hot. He catches me staring at him and smiles.

“Glasses?”

“Took my contacts out.”

“Ahh. I like them.”

“Yeah?”

Nodding, I go to the closet, where I fetch my hairdryer and something to sleep in. By the time I get dressed, dry my hair and return to the bedroom, he has traded his phone for an e-reader. He sees me coming and turns down the covers on the other side of the bed, inviting me to join him.

I slide between soft, cool sheets. I feel awkward and uncertain about where I should put my hands and what will happen now that we’re in a big, comfortable bed together.

He puts down the e-reader, takes off his glasses and moves closer to me, covering my fussing hands with one of his. “Don’t be nervous, Nat. It’s just me and you, and I’m so happy you’re here.”

Turning to face him, I give his hand a squeeze. “How do you always know just what to say to me?”

“I don’t know anything. I’m always afraid of saying or doing something that will scare you away from me.” He holds out his arm, inviting me to come closer to him.

I scoot across the silky sheet and sigh with pleasure when his arms encircle me. “The last thing I’m thinking about now is running away from you.” He’s becoming essential to me one minute at a time, and the thoughts I had days ago about getting out of this seem foolish now.

“You must be so tired,” he says, his lips brushing against my hair. “It’s after one in the East.”

“I had a three-hour nap.”

“That’s true.” He releases me to turn off the light but comes right back to where he was with his arms around me.

“Are you tired?” I ask him.

“Not really. I tend to be a bit of a night owl.”

“We don’t have to go to bed yet if you don’t want to.”

“Natalie,” he says, laughing softly, “do you think wild horses could drag me out of this bed right now?”

“Is that your charming way of saying you like having me in your bed?”

“I love having you in my bed and in my shower and in my pool. But mostly in my life.”

I raise my hand to his arm and set out to learn the contours of his muscles.

“Tell me about your family,” he says.

The request catches me off guard and unprepared. How to answer without giving too much away…

“Is it okay to ask about them?”

“Yeah, sure. I have two younger sisters, Candace and Olivia.” I don’t mention that I haven’t seen them in eight years, that I miss them every day, that Candace would’ve graduated from high school last year, and I wasn’t there to celebrate with her. They were still little girls when I left, when I sacrificed myself to save them.

“And your parents?”

“My dad works in state government.” Or he had the last time I’d bothered to check three years ago. “My mom works for an insurance company.”

“Are you close with them?”

“Not really. We had… We had some issues when I was growing up, and I don’t see much of them.” I can’t tell him that my parents let me down when I needed them most, and left me twisting in the wind alone and broken. I don’t want him to know I come from people like them.