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“Let me. Please?”
It’s a long minute as an internal debate rages in her brown eyes, but finally, she murmurs, “Okay.”
A dash of victory swells my chest, but it’s short-lived because she tries to hide another wince, despite my best efforts to be gentle.
“Can I run you a bath?” I ask.
“No,” she insists, and I don’t press.
When I’m finished with my ministrations and lie down next to her, Eve moves close to rest her head on my shoulder and lays her stump across my chest. Maybe, there’s hope, after all. Cuddling isn’t my usual style, but this woman brings out another side of me, and I pull her close and trace long, lazy circles on her shoulder with my fingers as the clock on the wall marks time with the second hand quietly ticking.
Even though, minutes later, her breathing has slowed and her heartbeat has returned to normal, my chest is still tight with confusion.
She draws a deep breath. “I should have told you.” Her voice is confident, but wavers when she adds, “I just… I didn’t think you’d do it with me if you knew.”
I try very hard to stay still. “How is it possible you’ve never slept with a man before?”
She shifts uncomfortably at my side and doesn’t answer, but I press. “How have men not been beating down your door for years?”
“Really?” she snorts, holding up her stump. “You’re sweet, Coop, but let’s be honest. Most guys want the perfect partner, and I’m not exactly what they have in mind.”
“Perfection is overrated,” I counter, glancing down at the flush in her cheeks, the curve of her neck, the way her chest rises and falls with each breath. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.”
“Flattery will get you everywhere,” she teases, and it echoes what she said last night, though uncertainty lingers in her eyes. “You were perfect for this, Coop. You took my virginity like a pro, just like I hoped you would.”
“Wait.” I frown, my brow furrowing. “You’re saying you chose me for this?”
She shrugs a shoulder. “I… Penny said you had experience, and I didn’t want my first time to be awkward or with someone who didn’t know what they were doing. The minute she warned me off, I realized you were the perfect person to help me.”
“Help you?” The realization hits me like a freight train. Eve used me. She planned it before she even met me.
And I fell for it hook, line, and sinker.
“So yesterday, last night… That was your idea of seduction?” Now, I see why she seemed so innocent, and here, I was chalking it up to her youth.
“It worked, didn’t it?”
“I’ll give you that.”
I’ve been with plenty of women who only wanted one thing from me and I’m guilty of that myself, but this feels different. It stings in a way I never expected.
“You don’t need someone to take care of you, Eve; I get it,” I say, my thoughts swirling around in my head. “But wouldn’t it be nice to have someone who wants to? Someone who loves you for who you are and isn’t afraid of your imperfections?”
“Sounds like a fairytale,” she mutters, rolling away from me and sitting up. “And I stopped believing in those a long time ago.”
She rises and dresses slowly, her movements practiced. I watch, unable to tear my eyes away from the woman who has captivated me like no other. She doesn’t glance in my direction.
“Where are you going?”
“To the playroom. I need to pack up the wagon.”
I throw on my jeans and follow her down the hallway but pause in the doorway.
“Need any help?” I offer, though I know she’ll refuse.
“Thanks, but no,” she answers, without looking up, her voice terse.
I lean against the doorframe, watching while she loads the supplies. She struggles with a pile, and her right arm strains, trying to gather up too much at once. She adjusts her stance, leaning farther, and finally manages to grab hold of it. I bite back the urge to step forward and help her, knowing she’d only push me away.
