in her ear, as he kissed a path from her earlobe, and along her jaw to her mouth, before he bestowed a tender kiss on her, made her feel truly cherished, and she smiled up at him.
“Won’t you join me?” she asked.
He flicked her nose with his finger, and shook his head.
“That wouldn’t be the wisest move. I’m going to have a cold shower instead.”
Nicole’s gaze strayed back to his very much erect cock, and the imp in her made her grin.
“Well, I did offer to help with that, Sir. ”
Something hot and dangerous flashed across his features, when she looked a long way up at him. A heck of a long way in fact, and once again Nicole was struck by the sheer masculine beauty of this man, especially, considering how much older than her he must be.
“How old are you, Sir?” She blurted that question out before she could censor her mouth, and wanted to sink under the bubbles to hide from view, when he visibly tensed in front of her.
After what seemed like ages, he finally replied.
“Why? Does it matter?” The curtness of his tone made her feel all kinds of wretched inside, and she tried her best to smooth the sudden tension between them.
“No, of course not. I just wondered, that’s all.”
She risked a peek up at him and instantly wished she hadn’t, because he looked far from pleased. A muscle ticked in his jaw, and she could see his hands ball into fists in her peripheral vision.
“Clearly it does matter, otherwise you wouldn’t have asked. After all, I vividly recall your distaste at being married off to an old man like Jamison, who for your information is, I believe, the same age as me.”
There was a curious undertone to that statement, almost as though he was hurt by that, which made no sense at all.
“I couldn’t possibly have come to that conclusion because Papa refused to tell me how old Jamison is. I know next to nothing about the man, and like I said, I don’t even have a picture, so—”
“Ah yes, which is why you automatically deduced that he had to be old and ugly, right? Nothing at all to do with the fact that he might have very good reasons to keep his identity hidden. The man works in security after all, and if he struck a deal with your father, chances are he’s used to dealing with clients, ” she swallowed hard at the air quotes he made around that word, “who value their privacy, shall we say.”
“Criminals, you mean, like my father was…” She let her words trail off and frowned into the distance. “Still is for all I know. I’m not stupid. I know I’m a target. Sometimes I wish he’d just left me to it. I didn’t have much, but at least my life was my own.”
She bit back yet more unwanted tears, and sank further into the bubbles.
“I never thought you were, stupid, that is, bellissima. ”
He grasped her shoulders and heaved her up into a more upright position. It meant her breasts lost the protection of the water line, and his sharp intake of breath meant her nipples—traitorous little things that they were—throbbed and tightened. Still sore from their earlier torture that action sent a stab of arousal straight to her clit, and she squirmed under his silent scrutiny. How she could still be turned on was beyond her right now, but one heated look from this man and she was all but ready to climb him like a tree, soreness between her legs be damned.
“Naïve, certainly, but not stupid.”
That shook her out of her lust filled thoughts, and shaking his hands off her shoulders she glared up at him.
“I’m not naïve. Don’t confuse me with my mother.”
Thoughts of dear Mama brought the never far away grief at her far too early passing back to the forefront, and she was extremely grateful to him for not questioning her further on that.
“She married for love, I understand, and—”
“Yeah, and look where that got her.” Nicole slammed her mouth shut, horrified at not only having interrupted him, but also where her thoughts were taking
“Won’t you join me?” she asked.
He flicked her nose with his finger, and shook his head.
“That wouldn’t be the wisest move. I’m going to have a cold shower instead.”
Nicole’s gaze strayed back to his very much erect cock, and the imp in her made her grin.
“Well, I did offer to help with that, Sir. ”
Something hot and dangerous flashed across his features, when she looked a long way up at him. A heck of a long way in fact, and once again Nicole was struck by the sheer masculine beauty of this man, especially, considering how much older than her he must be.
“How old are you, Sir?” She blurted that question out before she could censor her mouth, and wanted to sink under the bubbles to hide from view, when he visibly tensed in front of her.
After what seemed like ages, he finally replied.
“Why? Does it matter?” The curtness of his tone made her feel all kinds of wretched inside, and she tried her best to smooth the sudden tension between them.
“No, of course not. I just wondered, that’s all.”
She risked a peek up at him and instantly wished she hadn’t, because he looked far from pleased. A muscle ticked in his jaw, and she could see his hands ball into fists in her peripheral vision.
“Clearly it does matter, otherwise you wouldn’t have asked. After all, I vividly recall your distaste at being married off to an old man like Jamison, who for your information is, I believe, the same age as me.”
There was a curious undertone to that statement, almost as though he was hurt by that, which made no sense at all.
“I couldn’t possibly have come to that conclusion because Papa refused to tell me how old Jamison is. I know next to nothing about the man, and like I said, I don’t even have a picture, so—”
“Ah yes, which is why you automatically deduced that he had to be old and ugly, right? Nothing at all to do with the fact that he might have very good reasons to keep his identity hidden. The man works in security after all, and if he struck a deal with your father, chances are he’s used to dealing with clients, ” she swallowed hard at the air quotes he made around that word, “who value their privacy, shall we say.”
“Criminals, you mean, like my father was…” She let her words trail off and frowned into the distance. “Still is for all I know. I’m not stupid. I know I’m a target. Sometimes I wish he’d just left me to it. I didn’t have much, but at least my life was my own.”
She bit back yet more unwanted tears, and sank further into the bubbles.
“I never thought you were, stupid, that is, bellissima. ”
He grasped her shoulders and heaved her up into a more upright position. It meant her breasts lost the protection of the water line, and his sharp intake of breath meant her nipples—traitorous little things that they were—throbbed and tightened. Still sore from their earlier torture that action sent a stab of arousal straight to her clit, and she squirmed under his silent scrutiny. How she could still be turned on was beyond her right now, but one heated look from this man and she was all but ready to climb him like a tree, soreness between her legs be damned.
“Naïve, certainly, but not stupid.”
That shook her out of her lust filled thoughts, and shaking his hands off her shoulders she glared up at him.
“I’m not naïve. Don’t confuse me with my mother.”
Thoughts of dear Mama brought the never far away grief at her far too early passing back to the forefront, and she was extremely grateful to him for not questioning her further on that.
“She married for love, I understand, and—”
“Yeah, and look where that got her.” Nicole slammed her mouth shut, horrified at not only having interrupted him, but also where her thoughts were taking
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