Chapter 16
sixteen
Christian.
I kept dinner simple. Scotlyn and I enjoyed our seafood and pasta salad at the island in the kitchen then moved to the living room while my staff cleaned up.
I gave Scotlyn time to finish her wine before the rest of the night would be about me providing a temporary escape.
She seemed a lot more relaxed but I could tell the situation with her father truly bothered her.
I also did some digging to find a way to help her navigate the board meeting.
When I promised Scotlyn she had all of me and every resource available to me for the duration of our agreement, I meant exactly that.
Even now, sitting here watching her smiling and laughing while she animatedly detailed the plans she had for the gated community she wanted to build lakeside and the outdoor shopping area that would complement it, I knew there wasn’t a damn person in the world who dared to steal her joy about this project.
Not even me. Originally, conceding and stepping out of the way was about me getting to spend a month with this beautiful woman, exploring her body, selfishly enjoying her sexy ass. But now I wanted her to have this.
The project was far more important to Scotlyn and seeing her pull it together was just as fucking rewarding.
For the past couple days I had been trying extremely hard not to overanalyze the shift I felt because of Scotlyn but there was no denying she was the woman I’d envisioned I was getting in Aja—smart, driven, and uninhibited with her sexuality.
The more I look back at my life, the more I realize Aja became who I wanted her to be long enough to secure my last name but she had no intention of truly being my equal or even my gotdamn wife for that matter.
“I had to do what I needed to. If I didn’t marry you, it would have been someone else…”
“I did what was best for me…”
Her words cut deep but the minute she delivered them so much about her made sense.
I was a way out. The best of the worst, and as much as that shit hurt, it was necessary for me to move the fuck on and completely shut Aja out of my life.
I didn’t feel bad and didn’t give a fuck what happened to her.
“Hey…” I slowly turned my head to find Scotlyn frowning at me. “You okay?”
“I’m good.”
“You sure? You got quiet and now you look angry.”
“Work shit. It’s hard to shut it off sometimes.” I nodded at the empty wine glass. “Leave that. We have plans.”
"Plans that involve your playroom?"
"Not tonight but I promise you’ll be taken care of.”
I stood and extended a hand, which she accepted, and I gently tugged her to her feet, guiding Scotlyn through the living room toward my wing. "Taking care of me how?"
"You'll see."
We bypassed her room and ended up in mine, which was strategic and also a terrible decision on my part.
The goal was to have Scotlyn in my bed tonight and not for any reason other than I liked the idea of her body wrapped around mine while we slept.
But that also was pushing boundaries. At the end of our month, she would go back to her life and so would I.
I had a feeling I was going to struggle with no longer having this kind of access to her, so again, I was selfishly taking all I could.
Her in my bed was a luxury I planned on enjoying.
As soon as we made it to the bathroom, I filled the tub with steamy water and added the cedarwood and mandarin bath products Cress purchased for me after we argued about a bath changing my life. I still hadn’t used them but was grateful she’d been so damn persistent.
“Is this part of you taking care of me?”
“Yes, test the water to make sure it’s good.”
She grinned and moved to the tub, dipping her fingers in before she leaned closer and inhaled. “It’s perfect and smells amazing. What is that?”
“Mandarin and cedarwood. Cress swore it would change my life.”
She turned, watching me gather washcloths, towels, and a bamboo bench from the corner. “Has it?”
“No, but I haven’t used any of it. So you’ll have to let me know if it’s worth the money she wasted on it.”
“Why did she buy it if you weren’t going to use it?”
“Cress is stubborn as hell.”
Scotlyn stared at me, looking amused, and I thought about her comment from a few days ago. “Okay, so it might actually be a family trait.”
Her smile spread wide. “You don’t seem like the bubble bath type.”
“I’m not, but I’m guessing you are, and this is for you.”
The bathroom filled with steam and I dimmed the lights.
"Clothes off.”
She pulled her shirt over her head, exposing a white lace bra.
I took my time admiring the way it defined the curve of her breast. She removed the rest of her clothes, and with every inch of exposed skin, I knew this was going to be a fucking disaster.
My dick was already hard but I needed this to be about her, not me.
“White is your color.”
She smiled, hooking her fingers in the sides of her panties and working them down her hips. “You don’t like it?”
“I do. Especially on you.”
I motioned to the tub and Scotlyn stepped into the water and sighed in pleasure. "God, that's perfect."
She sank into the tub and I hated that her body disappeared under the bubbles. “You’re not joining me?" She tilted her head.
I shook my head and settled on the bamboo bench beside the tub. "Tonight is about you."
"That doesn't sound like much fun for you."
"I disagree. Seeing you relax is exactly what I want."
"So you're just going to sit here?”
"I can leave if you want?"
She closed her eyes, let her head drop back to the edge of the tub, and smiled. “No, you can stay. As selfless as you’re being, I would prefer that you join me, but since you’re determined to make this about me, you can at least keep me company.”
She sank deeper and sighed again. “This feels amazing.”
“Good, that’s the point.”
I reached for a washcloth, submerged it in the water, and reached for the body wash. I moved it softly over her shoulders, up the curve of her neck, and down across her breasts.
“So I’m getting the premium treatment.”
I chuckled and moved the washcloth down her stomach and back up. “You get whatever makes you feel good.”
“Then this definitely makes me feel good.”
“Lean forward.”
Scotlyn sat up and brought her knees to her chest and I moved the washcloth over her shoulders and down her back. “Mmmm. Definitely feels good.”
"You don't have to do this," she murmured.
"Part of taking care of what's mine."
"I'm not yours?" She smiled lazily after I pressed a kiss to her shoulder.
"For the duration of this contract, you are." I pressed my thumbs into a knot at the base of her neck and she moaned in approval.
"Shit, this is so perfect."
I moved my fingers down her spine, over her shoulders, and down her arms, then went back to washing every inch of her body. When I reached for her legs, I lifted them one by one, working my fingers over them before I followed with the washcloth.
"Is this not weird to you?"
"What?"
"You’re fully dressed, washing me like I’m not fully capable."
“You’re saying that like you’ve never had a man make you his priority."
She tensed and my eyes shifted to her face. She was watching me and my answer was there. She hadn’t.
Scotlyn had been married for ten years. I couldn’t find shit about their union other than photos of the two of them perfectly posed at events.
I assumed that was just the nature of things.
If anyone did a deep dive on my marriage, they would find similar images of me and Aja.
We looked like the blueprint for Black love but our private life was a gotdamn fraud.
Maybe that was the same for Scotlyn. Conversation for another time.
Tonight was about relieving stress and taking her mind off things, not bringing up memories of a past she was trying to move on from.
After a long moment, she dropped her eyes and smiled before they were on my face again. She was pushing past whatever thoughts tainted the moment after my statement. “Are you sure you don’t want to join me?”
I placed her leg back in the water and moved my fingers up her calf and across her inner thigh.
“If I join you, then my plans for how I’ll focus on you will have to be adjusted.”
Just like my dick currently needed to be adjusted…
“Mmm, I think I’m okay with that.”
I chuckled. “I’m sure but I’m sticking to the plan.”
“But if I’m the focus, then the plan should be whatever I want.”
"I agree but tonight isn't about sex. It's about me taking care of you."
"Maybe I need sex to feel taken care of."
I stood and grabbed a full body towel from the warming rack. "You’ll survive, stand up."
Scotlyn lifted from the water and I groaned at the visual of bubbles sliding down her body. I held the towel open, waiting while she stepped out of the tub, then wrapped it around her. She gripped the edge and I pulled her into my chest. “Feel better?”
"Much better and you're getting wet.”
"I'll survive."
I dried her off, leaving kisses on her skin while I took my time working the towel over her body.
"This feels very intimate."
“Because it is."
After she was dry, I led her to my bedroom and she stood at the foot of the bed fidgeting.
“Stay put.”
I walked back to the bathroom, grabbed another full body towel from the warmer and the massage oil. When I returned to the room, I spread the towel across the foot of the bed then motioned for Scotlyn to lay down.
She stared at me curiously for a minute but did as I asked.
“I get a massage?”
“Yes.”
“With a happy ending?” She arched her brow and I laughed.
“No sex tonight, Scot.”
While she got comfortable, I removed all of my clothes until I was down to just my briefs. Her eyes trailed over my body and lingered at the very visible thickness of my hard dick.
“Are you sure sex is off the table?”
“Very sure.”