Page 57 of Unraveled Love
Shawn growled my name. “This is a bath…it’s not a big deal.”
“It is to me.” And I let him see the truth in those words. We stared at each other, feeling the weight of what we felt grow and heat the room, more than the steam rising from the bathtub.
Shawn turned and dug through the bottles of bubble bath, breaking the spell. “Knowing Jaxon, I’m having a hard time believing he keeps this bathroom stocked with rose petal, lavender, and peppermint eucalyptus bubble bath.” He showed me the selection of them, fighting back his laughter.
“Lavender, please. You’re going to give him hell for this aren’t you?”
“You bet your ass I am.”
He poured in enough to fill a stadium with bubbles, and I shook my head. Had he ever done this before?
The idea that he hadn’t made it that much sweeter.
“You stay here and relax.” Shawn stood from where he’d perched at the tub. “I’m going to go downstairs and get you another glass of wine. Red or white?”
The guys had brought way more than beer and water when they came from the store earlier. I now had an entire wine fridge below the kitchen island stocked, almost like they expected me to start drinking at breakfast and continue through the day. I admit, the idea of being drunk and lazy all day wasn’t exactly the worst thought I’d ever had. It held a certain appeal.
“White, please.”
“Your wish.” He dipped his head, pulling a grin from me with his chivalry and lighthearted teasing.
He turned to leave, but I stopped him, standing from where I was seated, calling his name.
“Yes?”
I crossed my arms in front of me and grabbed the hem of my shirt. “When you return, bring a glass for yourself and join me?”
I pulled off the shirt, the ends of my ponytail flopping and swishing across my skin. Cool air brushed across my nipples, hardening them into points, and Shawn’s gaze dipped to my nakedness, leaving no question of what I wanted from him.
His blue eyes flashed wide in surprise, and then a wicked grin tilted up the corner of his lips. “Be ready for me.”
He left, and I finished undressing and slid into the tub, instantly disappearing beneath the foot-high balloon of bubbles that was still growing. As desired, a wicked hiss of breath slid from me and I cringed, gripping the edges of the tub until my knuckles were white hot.
Damn.This washot.It took a minute for the heat to warm the rest of me enough so I could sink all the way down. Once my skin was sufficiently burned, I lay back until my head hit the padded rest, and I closed my eyes.
My lips turned up as the lavender scent infiltrated my senses, and the heat wiped away the remaining stress knotting my shoulders and lower back.
Considering I was essentially hiding and on the run, it amazed me how well the night had gone.
It seemed all of us had left some stress and seriousness back in Raleigh.
I only hoped it would last.
* * *
“We should have donethis in the hot tub,” I murmured.
Shawn was behind me in the bathtub, and I was resting against his body, between his knees, where I’d settled my hands. My pillow was now the firm curve of his muscled pecs. Not as soft as a real pillow, but much more comforting. One of Shawn’s hands was at my stomach, the other holding his glass of wine as he brought it to his lips.
“And let the other guys see you? Fuck no.” I turned and kissed his bicep. “We’ll have nights for that,” he continued. “Tonight I just wanted you to relax and enjoy yourself.”
“This will be over soon, won’t it?”
“God I fucking hope so.” His breath left him in a rush, tickling the side of my throat, and his hand at my stomach brought me more firmly against him. “Tonight, pretend you’re on vacation with a sexy man you love and you have no worries to think about except enjoying yourself.”
“A sexy man?” I asked and nipped his bicep. “Who said I thought that?”
“You do. I see it in your eyes every time you look at me.”
