Chapter 16 Chance #2
I turn to see Jane standing in the doorway, gloriously naked, with questions in her eyes. I reach out, and she walks over and places her hand in mine. I love that she comes to me without hesitation, so trusting and willing.
“In you go, sweetness.” She gingerly steps in, then sinks into the milky water with a contented sigh.
“Oh my God, this is absolutely heavenly,” she says, tipping her head back to rest on the curved edge of the tub as she closes her eyes. “Any objections if I set up a permanent residence in your bath?”
I chuckle as I close the door to keep the heat in and Romeo out, then turn the dimmer switch on the overhead light fixture to its lowest setting—just enough to see by without the glaring brightness.
“I’ll call the post office and have them forward your mail to my master bathroom.
” She giggles, but even that sounds tired and reminds me that I’m in here to take care of her so I can tuck her into bed.
With me.
I promptly shuck my clothes and lower myself in on the opposite side of the tub, stretching my legs out on either side of her.
She’d bent her legs to give me room when I got in, but I want as much of her submerged as possible, so I pull one ankle to rest on my upper thigh and set the heel of her other foot on my stomach.
Then, under the water, I use my thumbs to knead her aching foot.
Her eyes fly open as she lets out a gasp that instantly turns into a moan. It’s not a sexual one, but my dick is having a hard time telling the difference. Stand down, asshole. Not tonight.
“So, I don’t mean to sound judgy or anything, but…” She’s trying to hide her amusement about something. “A milk bath? Really?”
I grin at her question. “You suck at not sounding judgy, but yes, really. I don’t like the way lotions feel, and the lactic acid is great for the skin.”
“I knew it.” She sits up so fast the water almost sloshes over the side. Pointing a finger at me, she says excitedly, “I knew the first night I met you that you had to have some kind of skin care regimen. You felt way too soft not to. I suppose when you have as many women touching you as you do—”
I don’t want to talk right now about all the other women who get to touch me, so I dig one of my thumbs into her arch and her subsequent groan cuts her off, just as I’d intended.
“Holy shit, that feels amazing,” she says.
I smirk. “You tell me that all the time, and yet it never gets old.”
She rolls her eyes and flicks some water at me, and I chuckle at both my own joke and her reaction. “You would turn that into a sex compliment.”
“Of course I would. I’m a crass Neanderthal who only thinks about one thing. I’d hate to ruin my rep by not rising to the occasion. No pun intended.”
I set that foot down and start working my magic on the other one. I watch her through the thin veil of steam as she draws her bottom lip between her teeth. The hair around her face is damp and moisture is beading on her skin, making it glow in the low light.
“Then why are you doing all this?” she asks softly.
The mood has shifted from playful to serious, and I have to make the decision to let it ride or shut it down. So naturally, I stall. “What do you mean?”
“Don’t play dumb, Chance, you know what I mean. The invitation to stay, the bath, the foot rub. These aren’t the actions of a guy who’s only thinking about one thing. So, what gives?”
I look down at the milky water where my hands are working on the arch of her foot. I feel as though her eyes are peering straight into my soul right now, and I’m not even sure if I’m ready to see what’s in there, much less allow her to.
When I don’t answer immediately, she continues.
“I’m not trying to pressure you into anything.
I’m just trying to understand what this is, because it doesn’t line up with what you originally said you wanted.
” I hear her take a deep breath, then she finishes with a hesitant note in her voice.
“I don’t want to make any assumptions that might ruin things with you. I don’t want to lose y—what we have.”
I snap my gaze up to hers when I realize what she was going to say.
I don’t want to lose you. I expect it to hit my panic button, to feel that pressure in my chest of being trapped, but it never comes.
Instead, I get a little heady knowing that she wants me.
And not only in a sexual capacity. She may not have said that in so many words, but I’m not an idiot, and I know how to read between the lines.
Jane wants me. Me.
I think.
Fuck, now I’m starting to doubt myself. I can’t remember the last time I felt insecure over a girl. Scratch that. I’ve never been insecure over a girl, not even my ex-fiancée. When I realized she didn’t want me for who I am, I packed my shit, told her she could pawn the ring, and got the fuck out.
But now I’m finding myself in a predicament where I like a girl—really fucking like her—and I’m not sure if she feels the same about me. I know she’s into my body and what I do for her sexually, but I’m not a guy known for my deeper substance, so why the fuck would she want more from me?
How ’bout you take your balls out of your purse, put ’em back where they belong, and find the hell out?
My subconscious can be such an asshole sometimes. But it’s never wrong.
“C’m’ere,” I say, leaning forward and pulling her over to my side.
I situate her in my lap with her back pressed to my chest, and grab the sponge from the ledge behind the tub.
Gathering her hair, I drape it over the front of her left shoulder before I guide her head back onto mine.
I love how she melts into me with a sigh, and I press a tender kiss to her right temple then seal it there with my cheek.
“Mmmm, you’re spoiling me, Mr. Danvers,” she says. “Keep it up, and I’ll want this sort of treatment on a regular basis.”
Her mouth is quirked up on one side, and I can tell she’s trying to inject some humor, a defense mechanism for trying to open things up a minute ago.
She probably expects me to jump at the chance to make a joke and erase any hint of seriousness.
But having her in my arms like this, in my house, in my tub, makes me feel ten-fucking-feet tall, and I’ve decided that I like that feeling too much to go backward.
“Well, Ms. Wendall, you’ll be happy to hear that I kind of like spoiling you, so anytime you want a milk bath and foot rub, you just say the words.”
“Funny,” she says, “but you actually sounded serious when you said that.”
“I am serious.” Soaking the sponge in the water, I run it up her right arm and then back down.
Then I do the same to her left arm. When she still hasn’t spoken, I try elaborating.
“I know we agreed to no strings, and I think I speak for both of us when I say it’s been fucking fantastic.
But I don’t know…” I shrug, moving her head in the process.
“Now I’m thinking that maybe it doesn’t have to be only about the sex. ”
“Meaning what, exactly?” she asks carefully.
I watch my hand as it drags the sponge over her clavicle and upper chest. “Meaning I like you, Jane. I like spending time with you whether I’m balls deep inside your tight little body or we’re watching reruns of The Dukes of Hazard at two in the morning.
So, I’d like to spend more time with you.
Take you out on a real date to a restaurant that doesn’t serve pancakes, or any other kind of breakfast food, so you’re not reminded of work. ”
I take a moment to enjoy the light tinkling of laughter that escapes her as she opens her eyes and peers up at me through wet, spiky lashes.
Damn, she’s stunning. I abandon the sponge and bring my hand up to cup her jaw.
“I want to be able to spend nights with you in my bed or me in yours. Doesn’t have to be an every night thing, but I’d like the option, if that’s something you’d be okay with. ”
“I’d be very okay with that,” she whispers. “I really like you, too, Chance.”
Jane smiles at me, full and wide, and I swear the room actually brightens.
I told myself coming up here that I wasn’t going to start anything with her—and I’m still not—but I need to kiss her more than I need my next breath right now, so I do.
I lower my head the couple of inches and press my lips to hers.
That’s when I feel her hand snake between our bodies and close around my cock.
Fuck. Me.