“Why am I sure that will get me into trouble?”
She leaned close and kissed his temple. “Because you know me so well?”
He chuckled. But when he didn’t take the bait, she rolled her eyes and turned back to other topics to keep him talking. “Tell me something else I don’t know about the new Troy Jacobs.”
He groaned as she rubbed out a knot at the base of his neck. “I found my dad a few years ago.”
Surprise snapped in her gut, spreading tingles. Neither of them had known their fathers growing up or ever thought they’d meet them.
She leaned around to look at him. “Seriously?”
He grinned. “Seriously.”
She sat back on her heels and continued rubbing his muscles. “Wow. What’s that like? Is it as cool as we always dreamed it would be?”
The bubbles almost reached his nose, and Troy reached up to turn off the tap. “If you mean the way we always hoped they’d swoop in and fix everything, no, it’s not like that. But, it’s still pretty cool. He’s a good guy. Says he didn’t know about me, that my mom didn’t tell him.”
“Do you believe him?”
“He’s divorced with three other kids, and he goes out of his way to see them, pays child support, remembers their birthdays and all that, even remembers mine now. So, yeah, I think he would have made an effort with me if he’d known.”
Her heart filled with all sorts of giddy feelings. “Oh my God.” She slid her arms around his torso and pressed her chin to his shoulder. “You’ve got siblings?”
He turned his head toward her and covered her hands with one of his. “A brother and two sisters.”
“Holy shit.” She swung around and sat on the floor, her back against the tub, grinning at him. “Troy,” she said, her hands gripping his arm. “You’ve got a family. You’ve got a real family.”
He laughed and cupped her cheek. “Christ, you’re so fucking adorable.”
“I’m so happy for you. It’s what we always dreamed of having.”
“No, honey,” he said softly. “I mean, they’re great people, and yes, they add a lot to my life. But you were what I always dreamed of having. You were always my family.”
Her heart overflowed. She pressed her forehead to his and closed her eyes on the intense pleasure. He tilted his head and kissed her, firmly and sweetly. But instead of taking it further, he pulled her to her feet, took the hem of her tank top in his fingers, and drew it up and off over her head, then reached for the bra clasp between her breasts.
She lifted her gaze to his and held it purposely. Surely this would lead to sex. How long could they stay together alone without it? He wanted it. She felt his erection against her lower body every time he pulled her close, every time she leaned into him, as he’d held her until they’d fallen asleep. But he hadn’t made any move to get it, which left Giselle feeling…awkward and oddly unsure about making the first move.
Her bra fell open, and his gaze lowered to scan
her breasts. The sigh that passed through his lips transitioned into a growl of hunger. Her nipples tightened at the sound, at the way his eyes stroked her skin. But instead of touching her, instead of taking handfuls of her breasts or pulling the sensitive flesh into his mouth, he just tugged on the tie to her shorts and bent to lower them over her hips. Then dropped to his knees to pull her panties down. And as the silk slid down her thighs, desire flooded her sex until she bit her lip to keep from moaning.
“Fuuuuuck.” He drew out the word filled with awe and desire. “You are so ridiculously gorgeous.”
His hands slid up the sides of her thighs, slowly over her hips, pausing at her waist, where his fingers dug into her flesh firmly and drew her forward until his face was buried low in her belly.
Yes, yes, yes. Her eyes fell closed, and a moan ebbed from her throat. He pulled back and pressed kisses from her belly button toward her sex. Her breath caught, fingers tightened in his hair.
But he eased away and pushed to his feet far too soon, leaving Giselle dizzy and confused. Before, he hadn’t been able to do her hard enough, fast enough, or long enough. Now…
This sense of rejection was stupid. Logically, she knew that. Emotionally…
He turned her to face the mountain of bubbles and she huffed a laugh. “I might get lost in there.”
“I’ll find you.” He pushed a mound of fluffy white suds away from the head of the tub and took her hand as she stepped into the giant bath, then sighed as warm water and fragrant bubbles enveloped her.
“Oh my God.” She settled back against the sloped end and stretched out, closing her eyes on a long, pleasure-filled groan. “I didn’t realize how much I needed this.”
The clink of metal brought her eyes open to Troy pulling the handheld showerhead from its holder and flipping a lever on the handle to turn on the water. He used one hand to cover the stitches on her forehead and the other to wield the spray. Giselle closed her eyes and relaxed as he gently massaged shampoo into her hair. Her mind drifted over the things they’d talked about over the last two days, the things they’d avoided talking about—like what would happen when real life hit again—and the tattoo on his shoulder came to mind. The one that flowed across the right side of his chest and onto his shoulder, depicting a ship at sea, and the one he hadn’t wanted to talk about when she’d first seen it last night when he’d taken his shirt off in bed.