Page 37 of Temporary Wife Temptation

“Did you need something?”

Her jaw went slack as he lifted her up again and carried her into the bathroom. He set her down by the tub and stared into her eyes before reaching around her to turn on the faucet.

“I, uh...” Her words trailed off as she bit her lip. He added some bath salt to the steaming water, making lavender and citrus steam rise around them. “What are you doing?”

“Drawing you a bath.”

“I can manage,” she said.

“I know.”

“This isn’t a good idea, Garrett.”

“I know.” He did, but he didn’t give a damn anymore.

She stared at him with wide eyes, a pulse fluttering under the translucent skin of her neck. His gaze not leaving hers, he reached around her and carefully lifted her top off over her head. Natalie moved pliantly beneath his hands as though she was in a trance. Her shirt on the floor, he linked his fingers into the waistband of her skirt and smoothed it down her thighs, letting it pool around her ankles. His breath caught at the sight of her curves dipping and flaring in a way that could drive a man crazy. Her eyelids fluttered as though she was waking from a dream, and she lifted her arms to cover herself.

“Don’t,” he said, his voice gruff. “Let me look at you.”

He reached out and lowered her arms back to her sides, and Natalie didn’t stop him. With a shuddering sigh, he unhooked her bra and slipped it off, his hands skimming the soft skin of her arms. She trembled against his touch, and his gut tightened with desire. He stared at her bare torso. He’d never seen anything more beautiful.

When his thumbs brushed across her breasts, she groaned and arched toward him. He stilled for a second, relishing her response, before he kneeled to tug off her panties. He reverently ran his hands down the sides of her hips and her outer thighs.

“You’re so perfect,” he whispered, rising to his feet.

She blushed and lowered her lashes. His heart was pounding with need as he lifted her into the tub, his sleeves getting drenched in the process. He shrugged out of his dripping shirt, and Natalie’s lips parted as her eyes roamed his chest approvingly.

Then she sighed, tilting her head back into the water, her eyes closing in wordless invitation. Garrett struggled to swallow, his mouth as dry as the sand dunes. He lathered the soap in his hands and lifted her arm, so soft and smooth, then moved onto her other arm. Her chest rose and fell more quickly underneath the water, but she didn’t open her eyes. He washed her legs, then moved down to her feet, awed by the masterpiece that was Natalie.

By the time he reached her torso, he was trembling. He groaned as he smoothed his palms over her breasts, and Natalie pushed against his hands, her hips lifting under the water. He wanted to heed her silent plea, to reach between her thighs and watch her fall apart for him.

For a moment, he wanted to be the man who burned for her, and she the woman who caught fire at his touch. No past, no future. No fear, no heartache.

Gritting his teeth, Garrett hooked his arms under her shoulders and knees, and lifted her out of the water. Her eyes were wide with confusion but he said nothing. With shaking hands, he dried her off, wrapped her in a towel and stepped back from her.

He wasn’t going to seduce her. She needed to know what he was offering, and if she declined, he had to walk away. She should refuse him for both their sakes, but his body begged her to accept him.

Twelve

“I want you.” His voice was a whispered caress, and the intensity of his onyx gaze speared through her defenses. “But this marriage, it still ends once our objectives are reached. If I make love to you tonight, I’m taking your body and giving you mine, nothing more.”

Garrett stood before her, his hands in his shorts, his ruined shirt discarded on the bathroom floor. What would he look like if his shorts fell next to his shirt? She had a feeling he would be as magnificent as he was everywhere else.

If I make love to you tonight...

Natalie knew herself. She wouldn’t be able to sleep with him and not become emotionally attached. The line he’d drawn was the only thing protecting her from... What exactly do I need protection from? It wasn’t until Traci had died that she understood the agony of loss. She hardly remembered her mom, and her father was as distant as a stranger. But Natalie hadn’t minded. Not really. Because she’d had Traci.

A chunk of her heart had been torn from her and buried with her sister. If the pain of losing her sister didn’t kill her, then she could survive anything. Like the end of a fake marriage. Everyone left one way or another. In this case, at least she’d see it coming. She could prepare herself.

And no matter what happened between them, Garrett wouldn’t end their marriage before Sophie’s adoption and Natalie’s promotion. He was a man of his word.

Don’t I deserve to experience true passion?

She had never felt this way about anyone before and probably never would again.

Isn’t it better than living the rest of my life wondering what it would’ve been like to make love to him?

“I understand.” Natalie’s heart skipped like a stone thrown across calm waters. “And I want you, too.”

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