That scared the hell out of me, because I prided myself on being rigid and highly disciplined.
All of the discipline I’d fought for my entire life was starting to unravel, and I hated feeling like I was losing control.
“That’s twenty minutes,” Lauren said brightly as she strolled out of the steam room in just that white towel. “I’m done, right?”
She was covered.
The towel was large, and it was wrapped completely around her.
It was almost down to her knees.
It didn’t matter.
As far as my cock was concerned, she was half naked, and I gritted my teeth as I moved closer to her. “You shouldn’t stay in there any longer than twenty. How are you feeling?”
She wasn’t complaining, but I knew damn well that her muscles were sore. She hadn’t been limping, and she’d insisted that she was fine, but I’d slowed things down a little today just in case.
She grinned up at me. “I feel like a limp noodle. I’ve never used a steam room before.”
She didn’tlooklike a limp noodle.
Her cheeks were flushed, and that adorably perky, blonde ponytail still bounced with every move she made.
“Relaxed is good,” I grumbled.
She looked like she was going to turn around and head to the shower, but she suddenly turned toward me again like she’d changed her mind.
Lauren hesitated before she reached out and touched my upper arm. “Are you okay, Cole? You don’t seem like yourself today.”
It was a simple touch, but every muscle in my body tensed.
I was shirtless, dressed only in a pair of sweatpants.
She probably felt my muscles contract because she frowned at me and pulled her hand away. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have touched you.”
Oh, hell. Now she looked confused, and I knew I was being a dick.
I’d been abrupt with her all morning, and it bugged the shit out of me that I might have hurt her feelings.
Lauren didn’t deserve that.
The remorseful look on her beautiful face as she turned to go made me reach out and wrap an arm around her waist to keep her from leaving.
“I’m never going to hate it if you touch me,” I told her in a graveled voice.
She gripped my biceps to steady herself as she gazed up at me. “You won’t?” she said breathlessly.
I shook my head. “Never. I’ve been an asshole today. It’s not your fault, angel.”
“Is there anything I can do to help you?” she asked softly.
The sweetness of her concern…
The way that she actually seemed to give a damn how I was feeling…
The way she was gazing at me like she actually gave a shit about me…
All of those things sealed her fate.
