She fell asleep to his laughter.
15
A few hours later she had to admit that the place did seem a lot better. West had made up the bed; Mia had sent along some real sheets rather than just sleeping bags. He’d cleaned the windows, so some light got into the room. He’d even swept. She’d offered to help him a few times, but he’d just sent a look and told her to rest. She hated feeling like a burden or like she wasn’t helping, but as always, when West wanted to get his way, West got his way.
Still, there was no way he could make the outhouse any better than it was. She didn’t know what she was going to do if she had to go to the toilet in the middle of the night.
“Do you want a bath, baby?” he asked her.
“Um.” She remembered what he’d said about the outside bathtub.
“I’m gonna heat some water and fill the one outside. Tub’s big enough for two. Baby girl? It’s an easy question. Requires a yes or no answer.” There was amusement in his voice, as though he thought she was funny
You’re acting like an idiot.
“Yes.”
All right, shit. She was going to have a bath with West Malone. Last night, you sucked him off. How can having a bath with him be more intimidating than that?
She didn’t know, but, somehow, it was. Maybe because it seemed more intimate. She pulled off her T-shirt and wrapped a towel around herself then waited for him to come back for her.
“You want me to take off your locket?” he asked.
“Oh, no, I always bathe with it on.”
He came over
and fingered it.
“My parents gave it to me before they left for Africa; I never take it off.”
He smiled at her then leaned in and kissed her lightly. Then, stepping away, he started stripping. He pulled his T-shirt up over his head, displaying those rippling muscles. Her breath caught she ran her gaze over him. How was it possible for someone so masculine to be so beautiful?
He quickly pulled off his jeans. His movements were economical. He wasn’t doing any sort of striptease, and, yet, she found herself completely turned on. She wanted to lick every inch of his delicious skin.
He turned to her. And he must’ve read her mind because he grinned. “Hold that thought, baby.”
She found herself blushing, but she grinned back at him. “Oh, I will.”
He threw his head back and laughed. Then he grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his middle. That was a pity.
He walked back towards her, like a panther stalking his prey. But she wasn’t scared of him. West Malone could be many things. He could be terrifying, dark, and definitely overbearing and bossy, but he would never hurt her.
As if to demonstrate that thought, he pulled her up into his arms and carried her out the back of the cabin to the bathtub, set back in the trees. It was late afternoon and still warm. Setting her down on her feet, he whipped away the towel then picked her back up and gently deposited her into the warm water.
She lay back against the side with a sigh. The tub was enormous. Bigger than any she’d ever seen, and so deep she could barely keep her head above the water as she sat there. “Slide forward baby, I’m coming in behind you.”
She moved, shuffling down a little bit, and he climbed in so he was sitting behind her, his legs on either side of hers. He grasped her gently around the waist, and pulled her back against him, so her ass was cradled between his thighs. She noticed he had some soap in his hand.
“That’s it, baby. Just relax.” He started to wash her, moving the soap over her chest then down her breasts. He circled each of her nipples with his fingers.
Her head lolled back against his shoulder as he expertly played her body. He cupped her small breasts and then lightly pinched her nipples between his thumbs and forefingers. She gasped in a breath, her hips rising in the water.
“Oh, hell. Oh, God.”
“Now what did my baby girl say about these delicious breasts of hers? Oh, yes, I believe she called them too small. I say they’re the perfect handful. Pert and sweet and delicious. Christ, these nipples. I could suck on them all day and still not get enough.”
She whimpered at his words. Hot. Rough. Raw.