And an inability to think clearly with her standing so close. So, he went on instinct, which may or may not have been the best idea.
He reached around and snaked his hands to holding her waist, keeping her from stepping away from her close proximity.
She didn’t fight him but stilled as her eyes flickered up to meet his. There wasn’t hesitation, or even a resolutenoin her expression, which had him feeling reckless.
“You.” He breathed, watching confusion flicker across her eyes. “I went boxing because I needed an outlet for the tension, because I nearly lose my bloody mind whenever I’m around you.”
The words hung in the air like dust motes, flowing and existing but not landing.
Jaxsen’s gaze flickered from his eyes to his lips and back. “Well then….” she whispered a moment before her lips found his.
The kiss was electric, stronger than he’d imagined and without a reservation he’d expected. She kissed him as if it was foreplay, as if it was only the beginning rather than the beginning and end.
His arms tightened around her, pulling her in snug against his already-taut body, his tension leaving as soon as her soft form melted into his, fitting perfectly.
Her tongue teased his, and she leaned back, pulling his lower lip with her teeth before releasing it. “Think a bath is in order?”
His mind was slow to catch on to her words; he had been lost in the million pleasurable sensations her kiss was feeding.
“A bath… for two.”
Chapter Eleven
Jaxsen was sure she’d come up with some pretty brainless ideas in the past, but this was by far the most reckless. A bath, for two.
She was simply acting on the instinct of needing him, and waiting for the bath to be heated and filled wouldn’t change her mind. If at all, the anticipation would make it even more exciting.
As if anything with Emerson would be less than thrilling. Her body hummed with excess energy just reliving that kiss. It took him only a quarter hour to have the bath ready, and she simply relegated herself to his closet rooms while the maids worked; no need to cause a stir within his house staff by spreading rumors.
When she heard the door click closed and the sound of flesh dipping into water, she peeked her head out from the side room filled with Emerson’s clothing, carrying his scent in a heady manner than enticed her further.
“Someone’s impatient!” Emerson called from his reclined pose in the large wooden tub.
“Says the person who didn’t even come to get me when the bath was ready, just jumped in.” She narrowed her eyes then sighed as she reached to her back and remembered the buttons.
“Come here.” Emerson was one step ahead and held up a buttonhook with a grin.
“Someone thought ahead.”
“I try.”
“I half expected you to try and sneak out the window while they filled the tub,” he mentioned casually as he loosened the many buttons down her back.
The dress slacked with each released button till she clenched the dress against her chest. Why she was feeling shy now was a mystery, but when had anything about this day been rational?
“There’s a window? I must be losing my touch. I didn’t see it.”
“You must not have been looking hard.”
“I must not have been trying to escape is the point you should take from this.”
He chuckled softly against her back as he finished with the last few buttons. “I’m thankful you didn’t.”
“Men rarely turn down sex.”
“While I’m sure that’s accurate, you’re missing the key truth.”
“Oh, and what’s that?” she asked when he finished. She stood, took a few steps, and turned to face him. The water did little to hide his lithe and lean form. Her breath came in shallow gasps as she appreciated every inch of his body, wet and slick with the water.
