“Yeah. That’s how it is sometimes.”
“How did they know we were in there?”
“Someone at the restaurant probably ratted us out. Employees are told not to say anything, but all it takes is one person—one waitress texting her friend or whatever. Then word spreads like wildfire. Normally it doesn’t matter. I deal with it. But I wanted so badly to escape it for one night with you.” My voice was strained. “I’m sorry, Luca.”
She caressed the stubble on my jaw. “I know it’s not your fault.”
“Yes, it is. I should’ve known that I couldn’t take you anywhere in public and have it be a hundred percent paparazzi-free.”
Things were quiet until the driver let us off in front of my place. The silence continued to follow us into the house and up the winding staircase.
She looked tired.
I led Luca to her room. “Wait for me here, okay, love? Lie down and relax. I’ll be back in about five minutes.”
I ventured down the hall to my main bathroom and ran the water in the large tub, testing it with my hand to make sure it was just the right temperature. I was still fuming. All I wanted was to help Luca relax so that she could sleep well tonight. She needed a good night’s rest before having to hit the road.
After the tub was filled, I returned to her room and held out my hand.
“Come.”
She took it and followed me down the hall.
When she spotted the tub filled with suds, she asked, “Am I supposed to get in there?”
“We’re gonna get in there.”
She swallowed. I realized she might have been thinking I had other ideas. Understandably so.
“I’ll keep my knickers on. I just want to hold you.”
I turned around as a cue for her to undress and get in the water. “Just say when.”
After a couple of minutes, she said, “When.”
Only her head was visible. She gazed at me as I removed my shirt and pants, taking off everything but my boxer briefs. She seemed to notice the tattoo on my chest for the first time and squinted. It was my mother’s name intertwined with roses and barbed wire.
“Libby. Your mother.” She smiled.
“Yeah. Got this about a year after Mum died.”
“It’s beautiful.”
“Thank you,” I said as I slipped into the water behind her. Wrapping my arms around her waist, I pulled her into me, resting my chin on her head before I kissed the top of it. Many thoughts went round and round in my mind. Was I crazy for thinking that this could somehow work? I knew how badly I wanted it to, but was that enough?
“A part of me wishes I could just stay here in this water with you forever and not have to worry about anything else,” I said.
“If I was the type of person who fit into your lifestyle, you wouldn’t be feeling that way. This would be easy.”
“Just because something is easy doesn’t make it better. We have our issues. But being with you still feels better than anything in the world. Sometimes the best things are also the most challenging. And that’s just the way it is.”
When my hand shifted for the first time and brushed against the underside of her breast, I realized she’d taken her bra off, too. Since I hadn’t seen her undress, I wasn’t sure if she’d opted to keep it on. My cock stiffened at the thought, and I readjusted my position so that she didn’t feel it poking into her. As intimate as this bath was, it didn’t seem like the appropriate time to get a stiffy.
“This feels so good,” she said. “And I do feel safe when I’m with you, Griffin. I need you to know that. It’s everyone else who scares me.”
“I know that, baby. Right now, it’s just us. Let’s enjoy it.”
Luca didn’t say anything for the longest time. Then I heard her breathing change. When I leaned my head around to look at her expression, I realized she’d fallen asleep on me. This trip had exhausted her.
Later, Luca woke up just long enough to dry off and slip into one of my long T-shirts. I carried her back to her room and placed a chaste kiss on her lips before watching her drift to sleep again. I never went back to my room. Instead, I slipped in beside her and stayed up all night watching her sleep. I knew I would pay for it in the morning, but I couldn’t justify willingly falling unconscious at a time like this.The morning sun streamed through the window. Her eyes blinked open as she took notice of me lying next to her.
“I didn’t know you were here.”
“I couldn’t bring myself to go back to my room.”
“You were here . . . next to me . . . all night?”
“Yeah. Does that creep you out?”