Page 66 of An Inconvenient Marriage
Her brows drew together tightly. “Why?”
“Because I want to.” I cocked my head to the side. “Do you not want me to do it?”
She shook her head. It was such a small movement, I would have missed it if I hadn’t been paying close attention to her.
A deep, audible breath filled the space between us. “I don’t know…” Another breath. “Is this normal?”
Throwing the cloth back in the sink, I stepped closer to Natalie. “Is it normal for a man to get his lover good and dirty and then clean her up afterward?”
She swallowed hard and nodded once but said nothing, so I went on.
“Normal? I couldn’t say. But it’s what I want to do for you.” I dipped my head and stared into her eyes. “Can I?”
Her tongue slipped over her bottom lip before she tugged that same lip between her teeth and nodded. I didn’t know where her words had gone but I sure as shit hoped she found them soon. Because there was no way I wasn’t getting answers tonight.
Holding on to that, I picked up the washcloth and warmed it up again. This time when I moved to wipe her, Natalie thankfully didn’t stop me. Although I kind of wished she had.
Trailing the piece of cloth over every inch of skin my hands and her hands had touched was nothing but torture. I had vivid thoughts of dropping the cotton and just putting my hands and mouth on her like I wanted to.
We wouldn’t even have to go far, the bedroom was right there beyond the door. I could lay her on the bed, spread—
“Zach?”
Clearing my thoughts and my throat, I flicked my gaze to her.
“I know we need to talk… but—”
Her tone, along with the terrified expression on her face, had apprehension crawling all over my skin.
“But what?”
“I—” Natalie crossed her arms over her chest, covering her breasts. “Can I have a few minutes to get dressed and gather my thoughts… Please?”
Suddenly annoyed, I dropped the cloth and grabbed a folded robe from the cupboard under the sink. Once I handed it to her, I jerked my head toward the door and said, “You can gather your thoughts all you want, but it won’t change the fact that you and I are going to talk.”
The moment the words were out, I regretted them. Well, not really the words as much as my tone. I hadn’t meant for my annoyance to come through. I just hoped it didn’t cause her to shut down on me.
Shaking my head at the situation, I went into the bedroom and pulled on sweats and a T-shirt. I’d wanted to sit on the bed and wait for her, but the moment my ass hit the mattress, an unexpected nervousness washed over me.
My heart was beating two times too fast, and my leg hopped in place.
What the hell?
Pushing to my feet, I decided it might be better to walk around than stay still. I ended up pacing the length of the room six times before Natalie finally emerged from the bathroom.
She’d tied her hair into a side braid, and her face was red and puffy.
Had she been crying in there?
An unknown feeling blossomed behind my breastbone, urging me to wrap her up in my arms and tell her that whatever secrets she had didn’t matter. Only, it did matter. I needed to know.
Our gazes met and held, and for a long moment we just stood there staring at each other. Natalie was the first to move. Breaking eye contact, she lowered her head and made her way to the edge of the bed where she sat.
Nerves and whatever else was churning inside me kept my feet moving. Back and forth, I paced until she finally spoke.
“I’m sure you have questions.”
I stopped pacing and turned toward her. “I’ve seen the photos, read the articles.” Gritting my teeth, I blew out a sigh. “I don’t understand.”
