Page 43 of Sanction

I watch him pull his tall, lean, body off of the bed and strut to the bathroom. I hear the water turn on, so I make my way across the room, over to the tub.

“I put that lavender shit in there. I know you like it,” he says as he locks in the drain.

I can’t hide my smile again. “Now, I could get use to this.”

“Well, I have a lot to make up for.” He dries his hand on a towel before he grabs me a new one from the cabinet.

“Do you need help?” He asks, gesturing to my clothes.

I shake my head. “No, I got it.”

I know he saw me last night, but it’s just now hitting me how I must look to him. I don’t want him to see me this way. It makes me feel weak.

“I’ll be right back,” he says, then he leaves me to enjoy my bath.

The hot water felt so good against my aching muscles. I closed my eyes and let the lavender scent calm my mind. I had been relaxing about fifteen minutes when Travis came back in. When I saw what was on the tray he carried, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Blueberry pancakes huh? Man, you sure are kissing ass, aren’t you?” I tease.

He smirks at me while he sets the tray across the tub. I rise up from the water, so I can reach my plate. It smells so good and my stomach rumbles. I glance at Travis who is not so subtly staring at my breasts.

I clear my throat. “It’s not polite to stare.”

He shakes his head. “Sorry….”

I cut off a piece and dip it in the syrup. I bring to my mouth and I’m pretty sure I groaned.

“This is so freaking good.” I took another bite. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He sat down on the floor, next to the tub.

He picked at the rug for a moment before he spoke. “I was coming to find you that night.”

I swallowed and looked over at him. “What night?”

“The night you were taken. After our fight….” He let out a breath. “I was looking for you when we realized y’all were gone.”

I sat down my fork. “Why were you looking for me?”

I’m not sure why I’m so eager to hear his answer. My heart starts to beat faster.

“I was coming to tell you I was ready.” He glanced over at me. “I thought about what you said…...and I was given some advice…”

I smiled. “Let me guess, Widow?”

He laughed. “Yeah, Widow.”

“He pretty much told me to get my head out of my ass. He said what we were doing was no different than Tanner and Maverick. Which I knew that. Then he told me he loved me.”

My eyes widened. “Wow…...I mean…. I didn’t realize Widow was competition.”

He reached in the water, splashing me in the face. “Daniella, you know it wasn’t like that.”

I giggle. “I mean I don’t really see him with any club girls.”

“Widow gets plenty. He’s just private. He doesn’t flaunt it like a lot of the brothers do.”

“Oh, you mean like you did?” I sass. “I was convinced you were going to claim Jazmine before we made it to Memorial Day.”