Page 69 of Iron Willed Warrior

I splashed warm water onto us. “It ended a couple years ago.” Before I’d met my best friend Charlotte. “You’ve probably heard this one before. Girl meets the perfect guy. Falls in love. Not just with him, but with his family too. The big, happy family she always wanted. They decide to get married.” Shame and anger swirled in my stomach. “Then, guy gets cold feet and backs out. Confesses he never loved her that much anyway.”

My ex was a professional mountaineer. He’d been the guide for a climbing trip I took, and I’d fallen for him up on the summit of a fourteener. I had believed every pretty word that came out of his mouth. As if my life had turned into a fairy tale.

Cole muttered a curse. He turned me so I was cradled against his chest. Stroked my arm and kissed my hair. “That’s a reflection on him, not you.”

“But I was the fool who believed in him. In us. I should’ve known he was too good to be true.” Full of promises and short on followthrough.

Then last year, I had learned that a fellow FBI agent, another man I had trusted implicitly, was working for Stillwater. And my faith in my own judgment had crumbled even more.

Which was just a reminder that I shouldn’t get carried away. Whatever this was between me and Cole, however perfect he seemed to be, I had to be careful. Couldn’t risk my heart. Not ever again.

Cole’s fingers touched my chin, angling my head so my eyes met his. And it felt like he could read everything that was going through my mind.

“There is no shame in believing someone’s promises. Even if they break them. That doesn’t make you weak. You know that, right?”

“Of course I do.” My throat felt too thick. I shrugged. Maybe Cole was thinking of his ex-wife. Maybe I wasn’t the only one in this tub who knew what broken-hearted felt like.

“But I can think of more fun activities than talking about our past,” I said.

“You did start it.”

I shifted so I was kneeling between his spread thighs. Water sloshed around us against the sides of the tub. “And now, I’m startingthis.”

I pressed my naked body into his, and I kissed him.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Cole

I knewwhat Brynn was doing. She didn’t want to talk about her heartbreak, so she was distracting me with sex.

Was I a bad person if it worked?

But I was the last guy to force someone to share feelings if she didn’t want to. If I could comfort Brynn and show her just how amazing she was, how luckyanyman would be to have her, then I was ready and willing to report for duty.

I finally had her naked against me, all slippery and wet. While I had thoroughly enjoyed that quickie on the couch earlier, there was a lot more I wanted to try with Brynn. First off, continuing to admire her fine form.

I also hadn’t missed the way she’d admired me when I’d been in the shower. And when I’d crawled over to join her in the tub. Yes, I’d been concerned about practicality. I’d slipped on wet tile out of carelessness before, and I didn’t need the annoyance of a bruised tailbone or worse.

But I’d enjoyed putting on a little show for her, too. Seeing her reactions to me. Brynn hadn’t made any secret of how much I turned her on. Which made a guy feel pretty damn good.

Time to return the favor.

She was in my lap, a position I was a fan of. I loved having her thighs spread around me, my hands able to squeeze the curves of her butt cheeks. Her nipples rubbed against my chest. I let Brynn be in charge of the kiss for a while.

But then I sat forward, laying her back against the far side of the tub and kneeling over her. Taking the dominant position. I sucked and nibbled at her lips, then moved my mouth to her neck and chest. I lavished kisses on the skin just above where the water lapped at her breasts.

The water covered too much of her, and that wasn’t going to work. Not for what I had in mind.

I stretched up to grab a couple of folded towels from the shelf above us. This was one of the benefits of the upgraded room, apparently. An ample supply of towels. I positioned them on the ledge behind Brynn, where the frame of the tub connected to the wall.

Grabbing her by the hips, I lifted her up and set her there on the narrow stretch of tile. Now she was out of the water and in just the perfect place for my mouth.

“Not too cold?” I asked.

“Not cold,” she said breathily. “If anything, I was overheating. Something about sharing a tub of hot water with an even hotter man.”

“Then let’s see if I can get you more comfortable.” Pushing her thighs wider and holding one in each hand, I bent forward.

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