Chapter Five
Faith sighed, closed her eyes, and leaned against the bathroom door. The whole day had been ups and downs, and she’d been exhausted before that.
She was nervous about getting undressed, but there was no way she was going to bed dirty.
In the shower, she scrubbed herself a few times and soaped her hair twice until she felt clean enough. Then she turned off the water, grabbed a towel, wrapped one around her, and used another one on her hair.
Noticing the feminine products on the counter, she silently thanked Alastair for his consideration. She knew she hadn’t been gone long, just thirteen days, but she had never found a way to bathe beside wet wipes, and they could only do so much.
Never in her life had she been so dirty or tired, and she was about at the end of her rope. She slathered on the lotion and then smoothed some stay-in conditioner in her long hair. She wouldn’t have been able to get a comb through it if not for the spray.
She loved her hair. It was long and very dark with a bit of wave in it, but it was so thick she had to have strong products to take care of it, and it took forever to blow-dry.
The clothing she’d brought in with her sat off to the side, and she decided to put something on right away just in case Graham needed in. She wanted to be covered as much as she could.
She tugged the fabric down over her hips when there was a knock at the door. Her startled gaze went from the reflection in the mirror of a figure in a sexy negligee to the door.
“What?”
Graham called through the door. “You’ve been in there a long time, and I wanted to check on you, so I’m coming in.”
“No,” she screamed and put her back against the door to keep it closed. It was disgusting how easy it was for him to push the door with her attached to it.
He grinned and then looked down to see the nightgown she had on.
She watched his eyes widen, and a streak of red covered his cheeks.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. That bastard,” Graham said with a growl.
Faith crossed her arms over her chest where it was just a scrap piece of silk with lace all around it covering her nipples. “Who are you talking about?”
“My asshole brother, Alastair. He’s the one who gave you that to wear.”
“Why would he do that?” she asked.
Graham wiped a hand down his face. “Let me help you with your hair.”
“What? No. I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not. You look like you’re about to keel over, and I want you to eat something before you sleep.”
“But—”
“Hush.” He turned her facing the mirror before he pulled out a blow-dryer and reached for the comb. “You have beautiful hair, baby,” he said several minutes later.
Her gaze darted to his reflection in the mirror and then down. “Thank you.” She was so incredibly embarrassed. He could practically see her body through the white silk, and it barely went past her thighs. The fabric was so thin he could see most of the details of her body.
She reached up to test the dryness of her hair because it seemed to be taking a long time, and she found her hair to be practically dry. He just seemed to enjoy working with it.
But she was also enjoying having him at her back. The heat coming off him was mind-blowing. She always felt cold. She had all her life, and to have him this close to her, she felt warm for the first time in … she couldn’t remember.
“It’s dry enough,” she said.
“All right, go eat something. The tray is on the table between the chairs. I’m going to shower. I don’t have to tell you not to answer the door.”
She shook her head.
“Okay, good. I’ll be right out.”
Faith walked into the huge bedroom suite. A large bed stood in the middle of the room, and then off to the right was an alcove with what looked like a family room and bar.
Her gaze roamed around the room as she tried to find something to put on to cover herself. A soft blanket was draped over the back of the sofa. She grabbed it and wrapped it around her like a toga.
She caught sight of a tray of food on the table, and she sat in one of the padded chairs to look over the food. The berries were plump and sweet and went well with the cheese and crackers. She downed a bottle of water and kept eating. It didn’t take her long to get full since she hadn’t had a meal in close to two weeks. Junk food had been the easiest to get her hands on, but it gave her a stomachache if she ate too much.
The bathroom door opened. He walked out in silky pants and nothing else and approached her.
“Wait,” she blurted, making him stop.
“What?” he asked.
“Aren’t you going to put on any clothes?”
He looked down at himself. “I have. This is as good as it’s going to get, so get used to it, baby. I usually sleep in the nude.”
The thought of seeing him naked made her heartbeat pick up and saliva pool in her mouth. His chest was wide, tan, and very muscular, with a small patch of hair in the middle. His arms were powerful, with veins and tendons down their length. His hands were huge, and she couldn’t help imagining them on her skin.
“Baby, if you keep looking at me like that, it’s going to be impossible to keep my hands off you.”
Her gaze flew to his face, and she could feel her face turn hot with a blush. There had never been a man who made her heart race as Graham did. It scared and intrigued her at the same time.
She pulled her gaze from him to look down at the cheese in her hands.
When he snorted, she refused to look at him
“We could watch a movie, but I think you’re about done in,” he said.
She nodded. “Yes. I want to go to sleep. Can I have a pillow?”
“For what?” he asked as he pulled a few files and his laptop from the stack of things he’d brought up with him.
“To sleep with.”