Page 20

Chapter 8

I wished I could say that the bath drained all the tension coiled in my body, but that would be a big fat lie. Aside from the clothing issue, the unanswered questions I’d had since the first night I was brought here forced their way to the front of my mind.

What did Jacob want from me?

Why was he so insistent on us sharing a bed?

Would he want us to have sex?

Did I want to have sex with him?

I refused to answer that question. It had been drummed into me from a young age that the only person I was allowed to kiss and have intercourse with would be my husband, and only after we were married.

As I brushed the sponge over my skin, the scent of peach and vanilla from the soap filling the room, I couldn’t deny the streak of anticipation trickling through me like a steady stream. The nerves weren’t helped either by the flutters of butterflies at the thought of Jacob’s hands brushing over my skin instead of the sponge.

When my fingers turned to prunes, I begrudgingly lifted myself out of the bath and wrapped the towel around my body, grateful that I hadn’t washed my hair; I couldn’t be bothered with the hassle of drying and straightening it before bed.

Mother would have been furious if she knew I was daring to go to bed looking less than perfect.

I stepped into the bedroom, steam escaping behind me, only for my feet to instantly freeze at the sight before me. Jacob was standing near the bed, and he’d stripped down to his boxers. My heart leaped into my throat as my gaze inadvertently raked over his sun-kissed figure.

A rush of heat flooded my core as I catalogued every muscle in his neck and shoulders, how solid his pecs were, and the six defined abs disappearing under his waistband. Not meaning to, my eyes dropped lower, my breath catching at finding the outline of his cock pressing against the material of his tight boxers.

Jacob cleared his throat, and my cheeks burned red hot when my gaze snapped to his, a small smirk playing on his face. “Did you hear what I said, angel?”

“Uh, no. Sorry,” I stuttered, feeling like a rabbit caught in headlights under his intense stare.

His grin widened as he crossed to me, stopping by the bed to pick up neatly folded clothes. “I said I’ve got you an old T-shirt of mine and a pair of boxers. They’ll probably be too big, but they’ll have to do for tonight.”

Forcing my hands to move, I took them from him. “Thank you, I appreciate it.” As our fingers brushed against each other, the butterflies that had just settled flapped even more wildly, and despite my brain telling me to move, I was frozen to the spot.

A light chuckle floated from Jacob’s lips. “Why don’t you go back into the bathroom and get changed, angel?”

My mouth moved to tell him that I would, but an incoherent sound left me instead. Mortified, I quickly spun and darted into the bathroom, closing the door behind me and leaning against it to let out a breath.

Shaking my head and internally scolding myself for acting like a complete idiot in front of Jacob, I dried myself with the towel before slipping into the T-shirt and boxers he’d given me. Of course, he was right; the material hung off my slim frame, and I had to roll the waistband of the boxers over and over to get them to stay on my hips.

When I was certain they wouldn’t fall as soon as I took a step, I headed back to the bedroom. Once again, my feet came to a halt, only this time, it was at finding that Jacob had already climbed into bed and was sitting with his back against the headboard.

Fighting the nerves bubbling up my throat, I forced my feet to move. As I reached the bed, Jacob offered me a reassuring smile before pulling back the bedsheets. “I hope you don’t mind me taking this side; I always prefer sleeping nearest to the door.”

“Oh, that’s fine,” I muttered, awkwardly getting into bed while holding the hem of the T-shirt down so I didn’t flash him.

Truthfully, he had picked the side of the bed I had slept on since I was five years old, and my parents presented me with a double bed. But it wasn’t as if I could ask him to move; this was his bedroom, and I still felt bad that I’d almost kicked him out of his room.

Wiggling to lie on my back, I pulled the covers right up to my neck so only my head was visible. Jacob watched me with bewilderment lighting up his eyes, and once I was settled with my gaze fixed on the ceiling, he reached over to turn off the main light, leaving just the bedside lamp glowing.

He shifted to lie down on his side, facing me with a warm smile on his lips. “Angel, relax,” he said gently, propping his head up with his hand. “Are you scared to be in bed with me?”

I swallowed nervously before rolling my head to face him. “No.”

“Angel.”

His tone implied that he knew I wasn’t being honest, and I let out a deep sigh. What harm could there be in telling him that I’d never shared a bed with a man before or that I didn’t quite understand why he was so insistent on us sleeping together? But those weren’t the words that came out.

“Do you want to have sex with me?” I blurted, my eyes almost bugging out of my head. Jacob’s brows lifted to his hairline, and when an amused smirk graced his face, I pulled the covers over my head to hide the flames licking my cheeks. “I’m such an idiot,” I muttered under the covers, cursing myself for being nothing but a silly little girl.

The covers were pulled back from my face, and my shame-filled eyes met Jacob’s beautiful brown ones, where his usual warmth glinted. “You’re not an idiot, angel,” he said with no hint of mockery in his tone. He moved closer, hovering over me, and my heart stopped beating at his proximity. “To answer your question, no. I don’t want to have sex with you.”