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“Was so fucking afraid I was gonna lose you, baby,” he’d muttered in her ear.
It was the only time he’d called her that—until tonight, Mia thought. She’d written it off as a mistake—an endearment he’d spoken in the heat of the moment. Now she wondered.
It also occurred to her that every other hug they’d shared—which she could count on the fingers of one hand—had been initiated by Sev. This was the first time thatshehad huggedhim.
It felt good though, didn’t it?whispered a little voice in her head.Putting your arms around him, feeling that big, muscular body pressed so close to yours…
Mia brushed the intrusive thoughts aside. What she needed was to get out of her navy-blue power pantsuit—which she’d been wearing all damn day—and sink down into the hopefully still-hot water. She could worry about everything else later.
She got undressed, folding her clothes neatly and laying them on the top of the toilet, and then went back to the sink to take down her French braid.
After having her hair so tightly braided for so long, it felt wonderful to finally let it down. Her long, strawberry blonde hair flew everywhere as she massaged her scalp and sighed in relief. She was about to turn back to the tub when the little golden shot glass—still filled with the pale purple Nutrient Crème—caught her eye.
Mia picked it up, intending to pour it down the sink once and for all. But then the sweet scent of candied violets and a hint of nutmeg teased her nose. Wait—had she smelled nutmeg in it before? Was this a different mixture than the one she’d had earlier?
She brought the cup to her nose to take a deeper sniff…and found that she was somehow drinking it instead of smelling it. Before she could stop herself, she’d downed the whole cup of Nutrient Crème. She even licked the shot glass clean for the last sweet traces.
Troubled by her own actions, Mia put the now sparkling clean cup back down on the side of the sink. What the hell was wrong with her?
“Well, I won’t drink anymore of it,” she said aloud, firmly. “That was the last cup—the very last.”
Then, putting it out of her mind, she went to sink into the warm waters of the bath and finally relax after the long day.
ELEVEN
MIA
She soaked about an hour and must have dozed off because a rapping at the door woke her.
“Hey, Mia—you all right in there?” Sev’s deep voice rumbled.
“Oh—fine. Sorry—I must have fallen asleep.”
The water was cold and she shivered as she got out and wrapped one of the big, puffy white towels around herself. It reminded her of a towel from a really high-end hotel back home and it was big enough to completely cover her—which was nice. Lots of towels were too skimpy for a curvy girl like her.
Mia used the buzzing bristle stick to brush her teeth—it did a surprisingly good job—and grabbed her bundle of clothes and the empty golden shot glass. Then she finally emerged from the bathroom.
Sev was waiting for her and his golden gaze flicked over her towel-wrapped body quickly before finding her eyes.
“Uh, sorry if I interrupted your bath—you were just quiet for so long I got worried about you,” he rumbled.
“I’m fine—it’s okay.” Mia assured him. “Um—you want to take a shower?”
“Yeah, I do.” He nodded. “How did that gray lump of soap work?”
“Oh—it’s actually great. It leaves a nice smell on your skin—see?” Keeping hold of her clothes with one arm, Mia held the other arm to him, letting him take a sniff.
Sev inhaled deeply and for a moment his eyes closed as though he was savoring the scent.
“Huh—you must really like it,” Mia remarked, smiling when he finally looked up again. “It’s great soap, right? Doesn’t dry out your skin, either,” she added.
Sev shook his head.
“Don’t smell any soap—just you,” he rumbled and inhaled again, his eyes never leaving hers.
His words and the way he was looking at her so intently made Mia’s stomach flutter again—which seemed to be happening a lot around her partner lately. What was going on between them?
She had no idea but it felt dangerous.
