AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Focusing on the Christmas lights that blur and dance against the velvet black of night, I nod. I can’t risk seeing what might, or might not, be in Nic’s eyes—or what I know is under the water. Heat rushes to my face. For a moment, I think I might pass out. I’m standing here stripped to the bone; anyone who looks can see right through me.
I hightail it to the warm shelter of the house.
Chapter seventeen
Jessie
Along,warmshowerdoesn’t help me feel better. Mostly because I spend the whole time with one eye on the door handle to Nic’s room, half expecting him to walk in and finish what we started in the hot tub.
When he doesn’t, I’m disappointed all over again. I don’t like Nic and this is sharp enough to hurt. It shouldn’t and I’m mad about it.
I slip into my softest pajamas, cast one last, pitiful look at the stubbornly closed door to Nic’s room, and go into my bedroom.
My mother redecorated a few years ago in a style she thought might make this place a retreat for me, all luxurious shades of cream, soft gray, and pale pink. It’s nice, but it’s not mine anymore.
Mina’s fruity drink isn’t sitting well, so I head to the kitchen and make myself a cup of tea. It doesn’t help. Neither does digging my Roxy unicorn out from under a pile of clothes and cuddling on my bed.
I need to brush my teeth, go to bed, and forget every single thing Nic can do to my body. He was fucking with me in the hot tub, payback for my little stunt with the champagne down in the man cave. It meant nothing or he’d be up here for more.
I fling open the bathroom door, a soft scream dying on my lips because there he is, standing in front of the mirror, toothbrush in hand.
“You scared me,” I say, resting my hand on my chest. My heart is pounding. From the fright. Obviously.
Liar.
I pluck my toothbrush from the holder as Nic leans forward to spit discreetly into his sink. “Seriously,” I ask, applying toothpaste to my brush, “how long have you been staring at yourself? Did you get lost in your own eyes?”
He leans against the vanity and I try not to stare at his bare chest. Or the loose fit of the flannel pants he’s wearing. I can smell his body wash. He must have showered while I was downstairs. Has he been in here the whole time, brushing his teeth, waiting for me?
Of course, he wasn’t waiting for me. I need to get a grip.
“I shouldn’t have walked out on you this morning,” he says after a long pause. “Or the other day in the laundry room.”
My toothbrush is in my mouth, saving me the difficulty of having to say something. Not that I have anything to say because he shouldn’t have walked out on me like that.
“I was an asshole and you deserve better.”
“I do,” I mumble around my toothbrush because I do deserve better. I spit my toothpaste out as politely as I can and dump my brush back into the holder.
“I got scared,” he says softly.
Making eye contact with Nic is a mistake—his usual cold gray eyes are so soft. I can still feel the ghost of his kiss from the hot tub and if I had half a working brain, I’d keep my distance. I wouldn’t stand frozen as he closes the space between us.
“Of what?” I cross my arms over my chest, hugging myself tight. Do I really want to know?
“Of what would happen if anyone found out. Of you.”
“Me?”
“I didn’t want to disappoint you.”
My bar has been set pretty low thanks to dating apps and men in general, but I keep that to myself. “The sex was good.”
“Better than good.” Nic reaches out to me, uncrossing my arms, his hands sliding down to my wrists. He takes my hands, his thumbs brushing over my skin. “We could do it again.”
Oh, hell no. I yank my hands from his, horrified by the thrill running through my body. “You were right this morning. Everything we’ve done has been a mistake. Really, really good, but a big, big mistake.” My stomach twists—goddamn that drink! I take two steps backward to the safety of my door.
A frown mars Nic’s perfect face as he runs a hand through his damp hair. “I was wrong. Nothing we’ve done has been a mistake.”
