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Did I want him to change his mind?
I regarded Loïc from under my lashes, wishing I had the same casual, sensual elegance. Even in regular clothes, he looked chic. Despite his polish, though, I knew how rough his hands could be and how hard his body was. He wasn’t soft in any sense of the word. More like pretty and lethal.
“Even if he does call and give you his last-minute permission, it doesn’t mean anything has to happen between us,” he said, as though reading my mind. “I’m glad to spend time with you.”
“I’m happy to see you too. It’s nice to have company.” I set aside my food and leaned back against the sofa.
“Done?”
When I nodded, he cleared things away and put the leftovers in the fridge. I watched him move around the kitchen. The man had the kind of body most fit men had to fight for. After meeting his brother, I had to presume a lot of it was a simple matter of genetics. This brother got all the beauty, though. Severin was hot, but in a rugged, terrifying way that mademe think of the fairytale Beast. Loïc was more like a vampire, or maybe a gentleman wolf. The eyes were feral, even if the rest of him was civilized.
He filled the sink and washed our dishes while I watched him, almost wishing he would jump me and get it over with. I hated to admit it to myself, but I was far too aware of my hard nipples. My hands felt clammy.
When he’d dried the dishes and put them away, he turned to me. “Should I leave?”
“I’m sorry. I’m not used to this. I feel like I’m cheating on him.”
“I understand.”
“But it’s what he wants.” I spread my hands helplessly.
“If it’s not what you want, I’m sure he wouldn’t want you to do it.”
“Oh, you don’t know Valor. He likes pushing my boundaries. I was raised very religious, so I’m still easily shocked sometimes.”
He narrowed his eyes. “So how does someone so religious end up with a kinky husband?”
“We’ve been together since we were kids. When we were teenagers, he told me about things he read on the internet—we experimented. As soon as my parents found out we’d fooled around, they pushed for us to get married, and Valor was only too willing.”
“How old were you when you got married?”
“Sixteen.”
His brows rose. “Your parents let you get married when you were sixteen? I guess I wasn’t the only one raised in a cult.” He waved a hand. “I apologize. I don’t mean to sound judgmental about your religion.”
“It’s fine. It’s not my religion anymore.” Saying that out loud still felt dangerous and sacrilegious. I kept expecting God to smite me even though I wasn’t sure I believed in any of it. “In hindsight, of course we were too young. My parents insisted on it. They made Valor convert, and then once we were married, they found out we were using birth control, and theythrew us out of their basement and wrote us off. We’ve been on our own ever since.”
“Valor doesn’t have people?”
“No, he was a foster kid after his mother died. Valor only has me, and I only have him. We’ve been alone for almost ten years.”
His eyes were sad, but I wasn’t sure why. Only having each other to rely on wasn’t the end of the world. Sure, it would have been nice to have extended family to lean on when things were hard or when I needed to talk, but I had some friends. It wasn’t like I had no support system at all.
“I have friends.” It came out sounding defensive.
“Oh…I was just thinking of how nice it would be to have someone to rely on the way you have each other. I have my brother and his family, but of course they are busy with their own lives. You’re lucky to have found each other so young.”
“It makes our lives simpler and less lonely.”
He nodded.
I tipped my head from side to side, grimacing, trying to crack my neck.
“Can I massage your shoulders for you? You look half asleep.”
“You don’t have to,” I said, hesitantly. My muscles were often in knots, but there wasn’t much time to see a massage therapist.
“It would be my pleasure.”
