Page 78 of Love Undercover
Pulling out his first aid kit, he doctored and bandaged the wound then used some additional wipes to clean the blood that had trailed down his leg. His sock was sticky with it, and he pulled it off, followed by the other. He hadn’t thought to bring an extra pair. So he’d have to wash them in the bathroom when Sadie was done.
As if she’d heard his thoughts, the shower shut off, moisture and warmth permeating the main room when she opened the curtain. He didn’t mind as he sat back down on the bed, soaking in the heat. It felt good to be enveloped. Especially when hisbody ached as it did. He’d checked his ribs again, taking in the darker discoloration that mottled his skin and figured they weren’t broken. Not that he was any sort of authority. But he’d bet money bruising was all the damage done.
Deep bruising, he thought with a wince.
A cloud of steam surged out of the bathroom as the door swung open, drawing his attention. Sadie’s color was ten times better, cheeks flushed from the heat of her shower. Her hair was dripping wet again. Had she washed it? Using the poisonous motel shampoo?
She pulled the robe tighter around herself as if she felt self-conscious. That dead-eyed look had disappeared from her face, and a relief he hadn’t expected flooded through him.
“Feel better?” he asked, his voice gravelly even to his own ear.
She nodded, biting her lip.
“Did you actually deign to use the motel’s toxic shampoo?” he asked, trying for levity to break the uncertainty in her demeanor.
Her mouth curled up in the corner. “Of course not.”
He chuckled, but his smile dropped away when she moved toward him, something in her eye and intention sending an electric current through the air that kicked up the rhythm of his pulse.
She kept that lip trapped between her teeth as she walked forward, still holding the robe closed over herself, and it slid home that she was naked under that thin piece of terrycloth. His body reacted to the realization, and he clenched his jaw, locking down every physical response building inside of him.
But she held that shy and knowing look on her face, like that had been her intention.
“Did you get condoms?” she asked, lowering her voice as she came to stand right in front of him.
He swallowed hard. That had been a purchase that felt like a lifetime ago, made by a wholly different man.
“Yes,” he croaked. “You’re sure?”
A shadow fell over her face, little lines appearing in her forehead. “Nothing about what happened today changed anything for me. And right now, after everything, I just need to feel something other than terror.”
He exhaled, the guilt twisting in his chest. “I’m so sorry, Sadie.”
“Don’t,” she whispered. “Just put your hands on me. Make me forget?”
37
Attention to Detail
Chase took a breath, nodding so slightly that Sadie almost missed it. It might have sounded like a manipulation, but it was a genuine need. Her skin was calling for the feel of his hands everywhere, to soothe and graze and warm and create a friction to scrub away the grimy feeling left on her by what she’d witnessed.
“As long as you want to,” she said quickly, the sting of uncertainty making her wonder if she was being overly demanding. Maybe he didn’t want to after all the things he had done that night. Like a real hero, he’d saved her life. She touched his cheek lightly beneath the cut that split his skin.
Air rushed out of him. “Oh, I want to.”
A burst of warmth flooded her, and her lips turned up at the corners with her pleased, timid smile. “Okay.”
Slowly, she pulled her other hand away from the robe. There hadn’t been a belt to tie it, so she’d been holding it closed. Andeven though he was looking at her with unmitigated desire, a shyness fell over her. This kind of moment, the precipice before exposure, always stole a measure of her confidence.
The robe slipped open, though it didn’t reveal her entirely, the edges catching on her breasts. But her damp skin was exposed from her throat, down her sternum, her stomach, and below for his eyes to rake with deliberate slowness.
He swallowed, then used both hands to carefully brush the robe open, placing warm palms against her sides, infusing her skin with the thrill of his touch.
She stepped closer, putting one knee on the bed beside him so she could hover just above his lap, then rested her hands on his shoulders. Moving them up, she wove her fingers into his hair, and he sighed, his breath fanning across the skin along her collarbone, sending tingles through her.
“Sadie,” he whispered, moving his hands down slowly like he wanted to feel the shape of her, memorize the exact curve of her hips.
Another wave of chills washed over her, pleasant and rippling, and she couldn’t help smiling.
