Page 60 of Riding the Pine

His head snaps up. Yup, there goes the bugging-out eye bulge, and somehow his face goes darker red.

“You’re kidding.” He looks so dismayed that I reach out and put my palm over his owl tattoo to try to help ease his anxiety.

“I’m not. If memory serves, what you actually said was that you hated having to pretend you didn’t love me.”

His jaw drops. “I don’t remember.”

“I do.”

“I’ve loved you since I met you, Bright Eyes. It’s been painful keeping it inside.” He covers my hand on his chest with his.

Nothing else is said aloud. He tugs at the hem of my cashmere sweater, dragging the soft material up my body revealing my already bare breasts.

He arches a questioning brow.

“I guessed you might want easy access.”

He licks his lips as he stares at my perky breasts before jerking his head to the shower. He barely misses a step as hethrows me over his shoulder and strides toward my bathroom, giving my ass a slap and making me squeal for good measure.

Again, when I slide down his body to stand, his cock presses against me and now I want to dry hump him. Or hump, hump him. I want to do all the things to him and have him do all the things to me.

“Are you wet for me, Bright Eyes?”

A ‘no shit’ kind of sound bursts from me, and we both laugh.

“I’m wetter than you are hard.”

He turns on the water, checking with his hand every couple seconds to see if it’s warmed up. He leans against the glass wall of my shower. It’s one of my favorite parts of the house. Asuperiorshowerthe brochure said. Aluminum with frameless glass, safety grab handles both inside and outside, and instead of the foldable seat that came with it, I had a bench installed.

“Your floor is warm.”

I got heated floors, too.

The tub on the other side of the bathroom catches his eyes, and he lets out a low whistle. “I’ve never investigated your bedroom and beyond, Athena. This is… wow. You have a fireplace in your bathroom. And that tub. What the hell, woman?”

“I wanted a soaking tub.”

“You could fit four people in there.”

That makes my nipples tingle, and I suck in a sharp breath. “If you’re lucky.”

He takes my hand and steps from the warm floor tiles into the now steaming shower. “Even your gray tiles are bougie.” He shakes his head like he’s in disbelief but also like he’s not at all surprised at the same time.

This is my favorite room. It’s the best bathroom I’ve ever seen. Instead of getting under the jets of water, he walks the length of the shower, trails a hand along the bench then goesback and drags his fingers over the graphite marble lining the wall.

“I love this. I may never leave.”

The awe in his voice, the wonder in his eyes makes me feel all manner of guilty, and embarrassed, and a wave of gratitude for being able to purchase a place like this crashes into me as the water pours down my body.

When he turns to look at me, flames of lust join the wonder in his eyes. “You’re so fucking gorgeous, Athena.”

He stalks the few feet toward me, holding his hands out, but I’m not sure where he’s going to touch first. To be honest, I’m not sure he is either.

He pinches my already hard nipple sending sharp jolts of pain radiating through my breast. I tip my head back against the marble for a moment, but ever since he left, I’ve had a very clear vision in my head of how his return would go.

I take his hand from my body, guide him to sit on the bench, and when he’s seated, I turn the shower head toward him before turning on the second shower head as well.

He groans. “Two?”

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