Page 142 of Double Fault

His lips lift in a slow smile. “Good.”

“Jerk.” I swat his chest, but a smile creeps up my face.

He kisses the tip of my nose.

I nearly laugh. The contrast between his gentleness now and the rough way he fucked me seems almost impossible.

“We should shower.”

I hum against him. “We should.”

“In a minute.”

A minute passes.

Two.

Three.

When his release begins to seep out of me, I poke his side. “Shower?”

“Right.” Stifling a yawn, he stands and hauls me into his arms so I cling to the front of him like a koala.

Inside the bathroom, he flicks the light on and sets me down on the counter.

When my heated skin makes contact with the cool marble, I let out a low hiss. “Cold.”

Although, the cold stone might help my no doubt bruised vagina after the beating she took.

He turns the shower on, and while we wait for the water to warm, he digs a scrunchie out of my toiletries bag and pulls my hair back.

“How do I look?” I ask while he admires his handiwork.

“Thoroughly fucked.”

“Shut up.” Laughing, I drop my forehead to his chest. “Ugh,” I groan. “Everything hurts.”

“We’ll go to bed soon,” he replies, ghosting his fingers down my spine.

“Sure.” I yawn.

He eases me off the counter, then drags me into the walk-in shower, where he guides me to the built-in shower seat. Once again, my body protests at the temperature of the marble. In moments, though, my muscles begin to relax, and when he wets my loofah and cleans every inch of my skin, I go boneless.

My cheeks heat as I watch him turn his attention to his own body. Maybe I should be grossed out that he uses my loofah to clean himself. Instead, I find it endearingly intimate.

When he’s scrubbed every inch and thoroughly rinsed away the suds, he tugs me up and into the water, careful not to get my hair wet, and runs his hands over my body until all the soap is gone.

He shuts the water off, then quickly steps out, reaching for a towel. Once he’s wrapped it around me, he grabs one for himself. We dry off and climb into the bed, wrapped in each other’s arms.

It’s the best night of sleep I think I’ve ever had.

CHAPTER 36

SABRINA

I stretch my limbs,groaning at the delicious ache in my muscles. At some point in the night, we made love, this time slow and sweet and tender. It was terrifying in a way—realizing how strong my feelings are for him.

With an exhale, I reach for Noah. Rather than his warm skin, though, I find nothing but cool sheets. Frowning, I blink and force my eyes open, then sit, holding the sheet to my chest, and search the room for him.

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