Page 46 of Dream (Fighting Fate)

Softly, I touched his lips with my fingertips, only letting them fall when his lips parted. When he spoke, his voice was low and rough. “You make me forget my own words.”

I drew in an unsteady breath. “In a good way, or a bad way?” I whispered.

He smiled. “Definitely a good way. You completely amaze me. That . . . was fucking hot. It was seriously the hottest thing that has ever happened to me. Shit, just thinking about it makes me want to rip that bikini off your hot little body and carry you to my bedroom.”

I bit my lower lip, trying to cover the smile that was trying to creep onto my lips with his words. God. His words . . . My body trembled, and I found myself leaning into him.

Josh suddenly drew in a deep, shaky breath, and his fingers tensed against my face. His eyes closed, and his jaw clenched as though he was in pain, startling me. I wasn’t sure what had happened. I didn’t like the thought of him being in pain. But, slowly, his fingers loosened and his eyes opened again. For a second, he simply watched me, then, with the gentlest of touches, he leaned forward and brushed his lips against mine.

My head instantly clouded over again, but before I could completely swoon, he released me and shut off the water. I watched him quickly dry himself and wrap the towel around his waist before grabbing another one and holding it out for me to step into. I held my arms out to the side as he wrapped the towel around me and pulled me forward, enclosing me in his arms. I sighed, wishing I could stay there forever.

When he released me, he kissed my forehead and grabbed my hand. Grabbing my tote with his free hand, he opened the door that led into the house and towed me up the stairs.

All the other guys were in the living room when we emerged. I wasn’t sure what kind of expression Josh was wearing because I couldn’t see his face, but judging by the cautious looks he was getting from the guys, I guessed it was one that read ‘don’t talk to me’ because not one of them said a word.

Clutching the towel tighter around me with my free hand, I gave them a shy glance before Josh pulled me up the next flight of stairs and into his room. When I was safely inside, he closed the door and walked me over to the door to his bathroom. “You can change in here. Feel free to use the shower if you want to wash your hair properly. I’m just going to go grab some snacks, and we can watch a movie when you’re done.”

I nodded mutely, taking my tote from him and closing the door behind me.

The bathroom was huge. It was all whites with black marble trimmings. There were twin sinks set into the glossy counter and a massive mirror that was surrounded by natural toned lights. The shower was one of those huge double-sized ones with two showerheads, and over by the windowed wall, there was an oversize spa with padded headrests.

I stared at the room in awe, my mouth actually gaping open a little. I didn’t know how I’d missed seeing this the last time I’d been up here.

Shaking my head to clear it, I carefully placed my bag on the sink and stripped. It took me a little while to work out how to operate the shower, but when I did, I was glad I hadn’t given up because, damn, I was in heaven. And when I started using the shampoo and soap, I almost melted. The smell gave me such a strong reaction, reminding me so achingly of Josh, I instantly wanted to experience that intense explosion I’d felt downstairs all over again.

I thought back to Josh’s behavior after our interaction in the wet room. I was immensely thrilled by the way he’d held me and taken control of the situation—even the fierceness he’d shown the guys. It was almost as though he was protective of me. I liked it.

Before turning the shower off, I quickly gave my bikini a little wash and hung them under the showerhead.

When I was done, I looked over my appearance in the mirror. I didn’t mind having wet hair, but I was worried it would drip on Josh’s couch if we were going to watch a movie. Eyeing the blow-dryer anchored to the wall, I decided it was best to give it a quick going over. Thankfully, my hair was so fine it only took a couple of minutes to dry.

Josh was sitting on the couch, waiting for me, when I finally emerged. His hair was still a little damp from our earlier shower, and he was wearing a worn pair of denim jeans and a navy blue T-shirt. Damn, he was hot.

I looked at the table in front of him, mainly just to get my mind away from asking for a repeat performance of our shower interlude, but found it covered with bowls of popcorn, heated nuts, and lots of candy. It looked scrumptious.

“Feel better?” he asked softly.

I didn’t know why, but I blushed as I smiled. Things felt different between us now. It wasn’t better or worse. It was just different. Kind of more intense, if that made any sense.

“I do. Thanks.”

He held his arm out. “Come on. You can choose the movie.”

I looked up to see a giant flat-screen against the wall. My eyes widened. I didn’t remember seeing that there the other day. “Uh, where did that come from?”

He chuckled. “It’s a pop-up thing. What do you want to watch?” He had the remote in his hand, and he was scrolling through a list of movies on the screen.

I sank down beside him and stared at the screen. I didn’t recognize any of them. “You can choose. I wouldn’t know what any of them are.”

His hand drifted up under my hair, making me shiver. “That’s not fair. I don’t know what kind of movies you like.”

I giggled. “I don’t really know, either. The last one we watched was okay.”

“Do you like horror?”

“Uh, I’m not sure,” I said, hoping he wasn’t a big horror fan.

He laughed at my expression. “All right. Let’s stick to something light, then. I’ve got one I think you’ll like. It’s got Lucas Cantrell in it.”

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