She smiles wildly before her eyes fall back to her lap. "I went there because the customer from the boutique told me that her husband ties her up sometimes and they met there."
Christ. She went to Skyn to find a man to bind her. She walked right into the middle of a lion's den.
"Did you find what you were looking for there?" I ask because selfishly I want to hear it. I want her to say the words. I want her to say that she found it in the boutique, or in my office, or in my fucking bed.
She swallows quickly before she looks at me. "I wish that night had never happened. I humiliated. I was drunk, and if one of the women who work there hadn't come to my rescue, I would have done things I regretted, probably for the rest of my life. She saved me."
I finish the rest of my drink quickly as I stare at her face wishing I could tell her that we actually saved each other that night.
***
"Do you have a crop here?" she whispers the question into the stillness of the room as she sits patiently on the edge of the bed completely nude, waiting for me to undress. "Do you keep all that at the hotel or is some of it here?"
I crouch down in front of her, pushing her legs apart. "Tell me what you think of me."
"What?" Her hands leap to my cheeks, cradling them. "What does that mean?"
"When I look at you," I begin before I cup my hand over one of hers, pressing her soft skin into my face. "I see this incredibly sensual woman who wants to explore and experience things. I see someone who is very comfortable with her body and isn't afraid to experiment."
"I like sex," she admits. "I've always liked it since I first had it."
"When you look at me what do you see?" I sweep my hand over her forehead, pushing her hair aside. "Tell me."
Her blue eyes study my face, her hands sliding over the contours of my jaw, my nose and my brows. "I see someone who is patient and kind."
"Don't tell those people you always speak of about that," I tease. "That's our secret."
Sh
e leans forward to brush her soft lips against mine. "I won't tell a soul."
"What else do you see?"
She exhales audibly, her tiny frame tremoring from the movement. "If I asked you something, would you tell me the answer, honestly?"
"Without hesitation."
"Am I special?" Her soft voice cracks with the words. "Will you remember me?"
The sharp pain in my chest almost doubles me over. I rise from my feet, push her back onto the bed, and kiss her deeply, slowly.
"You're the most amazing person I've ever known," I murmur into her lips as I pull back from the kiss. "I want to know you forever. I'll never forget you."
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Isla
"I think ten of me could fit in your bathtub." I blow on the fragrant bubbles around me. "This is really expensive bubble bath, isn't it? It's lavender. Do you bathe in this?"
He laughs loudly as he swings his large legs over the edge of the tub before lowering himself into the water. "I bought this for you earlier today, Isla. I shower. I don't generally bathe."
"Did you get more ice cream?" I move towards him, clearing a path through the bubbles so I can float into his arms.
"Two pints." He pulls me closer as I wrap my thighs around his waist. "I'll feed it to you after our bath."
I look around the large room. He'd lit candles while I was still in the bed and he'd turned on music that is quietly filling the space. It's Bach, a favorite of his I think.
"Have you always lived alone?" I rub the pad of my thumb over his jaw, brushing away a bubble.