Page 149 of The Secret We Keep
It’s been a long time since I’ve felt embarrassment like this.
And it’s a long time before I fix myself up and make my way to my room.
Where did you go?
Morgan
Flingingopenthedoorto my room, I dump my bag on the white cotton sheets. Stripping out of my wet robe and swimwear, I walk into the bathroom and begin running a cold shower. I immediately stand underneath the spray, feeling it lessen the simmering heat still coursing around my body.
It takes the edge off my neediness, and soon my skin’s riddled with goosebumps, my entire body shivering. Turning up the temperature, I wash my hair and body, wanting to rinse away the past hour.
It doesn’t work. I can feel Paddy’s hands on my skin. The way he devoured me like I was his favourite meal.
His hand on my neck.
His lips pulling my nipples.
My hands stroke over my body, excitement surging through my blood.
I stop.
No.
I need it to be him who touches me.
My hand falls to my thigh, betraying me.
Stop. Morgan stop.
Paddy’s words ring so loudly in my head, my heart hammers in my chest. Mixed emotions make my mind whirl like a storm.
Shutting off the water, I wrap a clean towel around me, my skin buzzing as the soft fabric brushes against my skin. Alert. Turned on. Hyper aware.
I open the bathroom door and walk to the bed, reaching for my bag. My ears prick up as the room door clicks, and I spin to see Paddy standing at the doorway. His hair’s messy. His eyes ablaze. And his lips are parted like he’s struggling to breathe. Did he run up here?
“What are you doing in my room?” I ask, pulling my towel tight around my body.
The room door closes with a thud.
He stalks towards me as though we’re magnets about to crash into one another, tossing a keycard on the small table in the room.
I step back, my hand out in front of me, fingers spread wide. “Stop.”
Unlike me, he does exactly as I say.
“Where did you go?” I ask, the lump in my throat thick and full of emotion.
“I want everything that just happened between us.” He holds out a hand behind him, pointing to the door. “You have to know that being with you like that… I’m desperate for you.” He grits his teeth, saying his words with meaning, his head shaking.
Despite my best efforts, a disbelieving laugh seeps out from me. “You’ve got a funny way of showing it.”
He steps closer, his eyes glowing with a liquid heat that makes my body tingle. “If we’re going to do this, we’re doing it my way.” He takes another step.
The quiet way he’s moving closer makes me feel trapped. A part of me wants to run to him, but the other stays still, caught between the pull of him, and the fear of what it means to fall. “Your way?” I question, my voice hoarse. I take another step away. Physically, I’mmoving away from him. Mentally, I begin undressing him when his robe falls open.
He slowly lifts both hands. “I wasn’t thinking in the sauna. I should never have moved that fast. You and me, we need to go slow. Steady.”
He makes me sound like a sex pest who was begging him to fuck me. “What if I don’t want slow and steady?” Christ, now Idosound like a sex pest.
