AllFreeNovel
Share Us
On the house.
He tosses it with a grin. “You hungry?”
I shake my head. “Just water.”
Chase starts to move around the kitchen like he owns the place. He fills a generous glass and sets it down for me on the counter. I reach for it, noticing my hands. I’m covered in dirt. My hands, arms, knees, ankles.
“Shit. I’m so dirty,” I mutter.
“It’s okay—”
I shake my head, looking down at myself, my nose burning for some reason as tears threaten to fall—again. I think back to the way he found me. My knees on the ground. My body cold. My mind a wreck. My heart drowning.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
He crosses to me in an instant. He doesn’t ask me what I’m sorry for. He knows.
He mutters something about getting me cleaned up and takes my hand, leading me to the bathroom.
He steps in and tugs me inside. It’s not my first time in here, but it feels smaller with both of us.
He pulls the curtain and starts the water. Steam fills the room quickly, and he returns to me, scanning me once. Something between worry and impatience crosses his features. Setting his fingers firmly on my hips, he presses me gently against a wall and lifts my chin. “Stop running,” he whispers harshly. “You’re home.”
I blink and swallow, not sure where he’s going with this. I have no home. I haven’t had one in years. “Here?”
“No one will touch you here,” he confirms, adding a promise he thinks I need.
I lift my gaze to his, asking for an exception to that promise. “Except you?”
“Only me.”
Something tight releases deep inside me. “Only you.” I nod.
Chase turns from me and checks the water that appears to be scorching, judging from the steam surrounding us. “Lift your arms.”
I raise them over my head, letting him lift my blouse up and over my arms. His eyes dip to my white lace bra. Then he sheds his shirt. My eyes widen as I take him in again. This time—with permission to look. His muscular, carved-to-perfection and ever-so-touchable toned body.
He steps close and looks into my eyes as he undoes the zipper and button of my jeans. He pauses, and my lips part before I give him a small nod.
Hooking his thumbs into the waistband, he drags them down, kneeling to help me step out of them. “I’m coming in with you.” he says, words sharp, leaving no room for argument. Then he exhales like someone just told him to mind his manners. “If it’s alright with you.”
My mouth falls open before I speak. “Okay.”
He flips me around to face the mirror. There’s dirt on my face, hair, and chin. He pulls my hair behind my shoulders, gathering it to one side. From the mirror, I see his eyes dip to the back of my neck. His thumb brushes so gently, it sends a shiver down my spine. “I’m going to wash it all away, beautiful. You don’t have to lift a finger.”
I swallow at the promise of him touching me everywhere I’ve been dying to be since the other night.
My breath catches as he runs his fingers from my neck down my back and unhooks my bra, letting it fall to the floor. Leaving my upper body bare in the mirror.
He tears his gaze from my body and steps back to undress himself.
I take him in. Every magnificent inch. Every lean muscle. Carved to perfection.
He steps inside first then tugs on my hand, pulling me inside and under the spray. It’s more than warm, almost hot. And perfect.
Chase runs his hands on the back of my neck and lifts my hair, holding it under the water, getting it thoroughly soaked, then turns. He pours a generous amount of my mint shampoo in his hands and starts to lather at the base of my scalp. His mouth hovers over mine but he doesn’t kiss me as he works his fingers through every strand before rinsing me off.
I know I’m in trouble when his freshly lathered hands start touching me. My arms, hips, chest, stomach…ass. Still hovering. Still not kissing.
