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“It’s going to be beautiful when everything is in bloom.”
Gray stared out the window with her for a while.
“Yes, I believe this year it will be the prettiest I’ve ever seen it.”
He hugged her tighter. “Because you’ll be here to share it with me.”
She let out a breath. Sometimes he just crushed her. She felt a tear slip down her cheek, but she couldn’t stop it before it hit Gray’s arm. He turned her around to look at him. He used his thumb to wipe the tears away.
“Please don’t cry, baby. We have to stay strong for each other. We have to stick together.”
She knew that, but it was hard.
“I’m sorry. I’ve been in this funk all afternoon, and I’m having a hard time shaking it. Don’t worry; I’ll be fine.”
Gray took a deep breath. “What should I have done?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know, Gray. If it was the other way around, and a week ago I lied to you and this week an ex popped in and wanted to have lunch with me, and I had accepted before speaking with you, what would you wantmeto do? That’s what I keep asking myself.”
He sucked in a deep breath. “Well, shit, when you put it that way, I would have come over and hit the guy. You’re mine, and I’m keeping you.”
She nodded her head. “That’s how I feel about you. I thought if I went to lunch with you, I would look jealous and insecure—which I am—but I didn't want to be and didn’t think it would be right to go out to lunch with her. At the same time, you say it was harmless, so I guess I’m just overreacting. I’m sorry.”
He wrapped her in his arms and held her close. The scent of his cologne drifted into her nostrils and instantly calmed her. Something about his strong arms and his scent—the man she loved—swirling around her was reassuring.
“I didn’t think about it the other way around. I would hate it if you went to lunch with an ex after what we’ve been through. I’m the one who’s sorry, baby.”
Sam hugged him tight and let his warmth seep into her. His strong heartbeat under her ear, his deep raspy voice when he called her baby created gooseflesh and shivers.
“Dinner will be a little while. I want you to take a nice hot bath and relax. Then, I want you to come into the living room, with no clothes on. Do you understand me?”
She tilted her head back to examine his expression.
“Gray, I … you know …. Why would you want me to do that?”
Gray kissed her forehead.
“I told you I had some fun things planned. Be a good girl and do as I say. Remember, you said you were willing to let me have some control.”
He turned around, walked into the bathroom, and started running a bath for her. Unable to move, she stared after him and tried to wrap her head around what he wanted her to do. She still had issues with the way she looked naked and walking around the house naked was a big deal to her. She turned to look out the window again and take a moment or two.
“It’s all ready for you; come on in.”
Softly stepping into the bathroom, Gray walked toward her and lay his hands on her shoulders.
“Do you need me to help you, Sam?”
She shook her head no. He nodded and started to walk out of the bathroom.
“Dinner will be ready in half an hour. Don’t be late. I want you in the living room in thirty minutes.”
She looked up at him and he at her, determination on his face. Sam slowly nodded and began removing her clothing. He left the room as she dipped her toe in the water; it was warm, but it felt good. The last couple of months had been a roller coaster. She wondered if she was getting too old for all this emotional upheaval. She just wanted a nice, quiet life, with an amazing man, without all this bullshit. How does a person get that? It was all just a little too much for her—especially tonight.
Settling into the bathtub and laying her head against the back, she let the warm, fragrant water flow over her. She would have to ask Gray what he put in the water; it smelled amazing, like spice and musk and something else like the homemade soaps you smell in specialty stores. She closed her eyes and willed herself to relax. There were so many thoughts running through her mind that it was a difficult task. She kept her thoughts away from Cheryl and Suzanne. She didn’t need to give either of them any more of her attention than she already had.
Stepping from the tub, she dried with the fluffy towel he’d laid out for her, inhaling deeply of the fragrant scent of the laundry soap she’d recently switched to. Applying lotion to her warm skin, she mused over the naked foray through the house and worried about this new ‘fun’ he wanted to have. She stared at the door, took a deep breath, and the door opened. She jumped back as Gray entered the room, brows raised in the air.
“I was just trying to work up the courage to walk out.”
