Chapter 36 The Cute Nerd Thing
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
The Cute Nerd Thing
IRINA
For the next three weeks, I threw myself into my training with vigour. It got me off the yacht, a place where I couldn’t even look at the lounge without thinking about his mouth on my nipples. Plus, it gave me something else to focus on that wasn’t how much I ached for Henry.
Yeah, I couldn’t deny that I wanted his face between my legs …
all the damned time. I’d woken up more than once from a dream of him savouring me the way he had, like the act of giving me head was more for his pleasure than mine.
And I’d immediately had to finish myself off, because I was soaked and aching, and it only took two flicks over my clit, and I was crashing into orgasm.
How had that man only been with one woman before me?
No one ate pussy like that without having some serious practise.
I was desperate to confront him about it, to demand how he’d played me like a fiddle, how he’d taken me to heights no one else had before …
but that would require acknowledging that it had happened. And we weren’t doing that.
It wasn’t just the mind-blowing sex, either. Opening up to him about my family had been surprisingly cathartic.
Then there was the way he’d cared for me in the shower, like my body was something to be worshipped, not just sexually, but in all ways. The intimacy of that moment, of his hands lathering me up, learning every curve and dip and hollow …
I reached the end of the pool and stood, gasping for air, and not because I’d just pushed myself through a full-speed lap. Because I couldn’t stop thinking about him.
I was supposed to be focusing on my speed. Not on the feeling of Henry’s palms massaging body wash into my buttocks.
“That was fast!”
I glanced to my right and swallowed back a gasp to find Levi Fox in the lane beside me. He grinned back, hair dripping.
“Oh, hello! Yes, I … I’m trying to get back to competition fitness,” I managed, a little starstruck.
“Who are you planning to compete against? A fudging dolphin?” He beckoned to the woman and baby who had been here with him last time. “Honey, did I look like a beached whale in the water next to her?”
The woman sauntered over as Levi launched himself out of the pool. She grinned, handing him a towel. The baby, in a hip carrier this time, gazed down at me with bright, inquisitive little eyes. I blew a raspberry at her and she giggled.
“I’d say more like a jellyfish,” the woman teased. Levi snorted, planting a kiss on the woman’s forehead before bending down to the baby’s eye-level.
“Is Daddy a jellyfish, Lil? A big, blobby jellyfish?” He blew air into his cheeks as he tickled her side. She squawked with laughter.
“She’s so cute!” I gushed, climbing out of the pool myself and reaching immediately for my towel at the end of my lane. I was getting used to the icy temperature of the water, but it was far too cold to have to run to the bleachers to dry off afterwards.
“Where’s your gorgeous man been lately?” the woman asked. “I haven’t seen him with you the last few times you’ve been here.”
Levi raised a cheeky eyebrow at her. “I thought I was the only gorgeous man!”
She shook her head, planting a palm against his bare stomach. “For me. The only gorgeous man for me. Now, stop trying to feed that voracious ego of yours, and let me chat with …”
“Irina,” I answered, squeezing water from my hair. “But call me Ri. Henry’s at work. We were sort of … on our honeymoon last time we saw you here, but he’s back to business now.”
“I’m Amanda,” the woman reached out a hand, and I shook it. “This is Lily, and Levi’s infamy clearly preceded him.”
Levi snorted, turning to me. “Are you training for a meet?”
I shook my head. “Not anymore. I mean, at uni I had comps all the time, but since I finished, not so much. Once upon a time I had Olympic dreams, but …”
“You’re not Australian, are you?”
“Nope. Not yet, anyway.” I tightened my jaw before I could say too much more. This conversation was skimming too close to dangerous territory.
Levi rubbed at the stubble on his chin. “You know, the Master’s Games allow competitors from all over the world to enter. The Olympics aren’t the only way to keep competing in a sport you love. And you’re sure as sh-sugar fast enough to make a splash there.”
He smirked at his pun before pulling a t-shirt on over his head. Amanda rolled her eyes fondly, handing Lily over to him and leaning into me, her face suddenly serious.
“I don’t want to frighten you, but I’ve noticed a strange man watching you the last few times we’ve seen you here.” She tilted her head subtly to the deck overlooking the main pool. Heart pounding, I glanced up, scanning the onlookers for a Cockerels cap.
There was only Lucian, arms crossed, glaring down at me.
“He always arrives and leaves when you do. I wasn’t sure if you were aware, or if you wanted to report him to the police, maybe? He looks quite menacing.”
I stifled a guffaw, giving her arm a reassuring squeeze. “Thank you. He’s my … bodyguard.” I got a naughty little thrill at the thought of Lucian’s expression if he heard me calling him that.
Amanda’s face instantly relaxed. “Oh, God, that is such a relief! I thought you had a stalker problem!” She gave me a conspiratorial wink. “And just for the record, you are super down to earth for a billionaire’s wife.”
My mouth gaped. “You … how?”
Amanda smiled knowingly. “I keep up to date with the news. I recognised Henry the first time we saw you here. Well, I’m glad you’re not being targeted by an axe murderer. Your hubby must really worry about your safety.”
I nodded, unable to find words. He did care, and it was my fault I needed protection in the first place.
I was too young to have so many enemies.
“Well, I’ll probably see you around. Levi likes to come here after training once a week for a recovery session, and I bring Lil down so we can go play on the sand afterwards.”
I sighed. “Your life sounds idyllic.”
Amanda shrugged. “Well, just remember that what you see on the outside isn’t always as perfect behind closed doors.
Levi and I went through a lot to get where we are now.
” She looked back at him where he sat, jiggling Lily on his knee and making her gurgle.
“But the hard days are worth it, when you really love someone.”
She raised a hand in farewell and sauntered away, leaving me speechless and with my brain snagging on those words.
I’d been justifying Henry’s rule by telling myself that starting something real with him had the potential to ruin everything if it didn’t last the full two years we needed to remain happily married.
But what if these feelings I was developing for him were enough to get us through any rough patches? What if I could … love him enough, to build a bridge when a crack appeared?
But this wasn’t love, was it? This constant desire to be near him? To have intimacy with him, not just sexually, but emotionally too? Was that love? Or were we just co-conspirators with chemistry?
“There is not enough vodka in the world to help me make sense of this,” I muttered, grabbing my bags and heading back towards the car, knowing that Lucian would follow along behind.
The Hunger Games was judging me from the spot on my bedside table, where it had been since Henry gifted it to me.
I reached for it, running my fingers over the golden bird on the cover before turning it over and puzzling over the blurb on the back.
With a sigh, I set it down. I thought it sounded incredible, but a headache had already begun to form behind my eyes from trying to decipher some of the unfamiliar English words.
I’d never been much of a reader for enjoyment even in my native tongue, but I should try to find a Romanian translation. I wanted so badly to try for Henry. To show him that I appreciated the preciousness of this gift, enough to want to share in this topic that he was so passionate about.
I turned my back on it, lifting my overnight bag onto my shoulder and heading for my bedroom door. That was a problem for future Ri. Right now, I needed to get to the apartment for a long overdue girl’s night with my very suspicious best friend.
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay spending a night back there after what happened?” Henry asked when I walked past him. He stirred a delicious-smelling red sauce on the stove. I longed to give Kat some excuse and stay to help him cook, maybe watch a movie together.
Maybe accidentally snuggle up with my head on his lap.
These feelings were exactly why I had to go be with Kat. Me having these thoughts didn’t change the fact that Henry had fully recommitted to his rule, and my feelings were probably completely unrequited.
“I’ll be fine. Lucian’s team are on overnight duty, and I’ll be back tomorrow once Kat goes to school.”
Henry turned the full force of those green eyes on me. “I’m not worried about your safety. I trust Lucian implicitly.” He set down the spoon and came to lean on the kitchen counter. My eyes flitted over the way his muscles tensed under his T-shirt as he flexed his fingers against the marble.
“What I am worried about is whether you feel comfortable sleeping in that room, knowing how your privacy was invaded.”
I swallowed, hitching my overnight bag higher on my shoulder. “I’m a big girl.” My tone was snarky, the words hovering heavy in the air between us. My head swam, and I gripped at the edge of the bench to steady myself.
Get a grip, Rusnac!
“I know you are,” Henry said softly, his voice thick. “But you don’t have to be brave all on your own, Catnip. If you need to … talk, or anything, you can call me, any time. I doubt I’ll get much sleep tonight anyway.”
I forced a smirk onto my face. “Aww, Hubby, are you going to miss me?”