“That was so, so good.” He kissed her hair, her cheek, nuzzling her face, even as his cock softened inside her. “You take me so well.” When he pulled out, she winced at the feel of his warm come dripping down her thighs. “Are you sore?”
She nodded, sagging a little in his arms.
“Poor little bird. Daddy’s going to take good care of you.”
When he swung her up in his arms, she didn’t struggle. It was a much gentler carry—less potato sack, she thought wearily, and more princess. He took her to the master bath, past the bench where she had dressed his wounds, and sat her gingerly on the seat of the deep tub while it filled with warm water. There was a big mirror built into the wall, which reflected most of the room, including the shower, the tiled bench where he had sat, and the bathtub itself.
Nicholas left to shower himself off before disappearing back into the bedroom. Jay shifted a little at the sting of the warm water when it reached the level of her hips. Then she closed her eyes, soothed by the steam. There was a splash beside her, followed by the clink of glass on tile, and then his hand was nudging her gently.
“Don’t fall asleep.”
“I wasn’t.” She lifted her head to let him unfasten her necklace. “You just wore me out.”
“Well, I hate to compete with a spreadsheet.” She cracked open an eye and saw him pouring what looked like port into the two glasses he’d apparently gone to retrieve. Watching the garnet liquid made Jay remember other alcohol-steeped nights, with kisses that burned like liquor. He pushed the glass firmly into her hand. “You work too hard.”
She blinked confusedly at his blurry face before belatedly remembering the glasses. With a sigh, she removed them and set them on the edge of the tub. “I still feel like I have to prove myself.”
“You don’t.” He took a sip from his glass, dangling an arm over the edge of the tiled lip. “Why break your back bending over for someone who just wants to fuck you?”
“Says the man who just gave new meaning to the recovery of back pay for unpaid overtime.”
His mouth curved sinfully. “You can work off the clock all you want if you want to earn your wages that way.”
Jay swatted at him, and he shifted his drink to the other hand, using her buoyancy in the water to reel her onto his lap. The tub was nearly full now and Jay stretched to turn the faucet off with his arms still wrapped around her waist while Nicholas tilted his head back with a satisfied sound.
The water lapped at his broad chest, puckering his nipples and making his body hair shift in the current. She trailed a finger down his sternum and felt his low rumble of contentment.
“I hope they appreciate you.”
“They do.” She let her hand fall away where his skin met the water, thinking about how that body had felt against hers mere moments ago. “I’m still sorry you had to step down for it.”
“I didn’t have to. I chose to. I’m being very well compensated.”
“You should know, it wasn’t the title I admired—it was how capable you were standing up there in the middle of the room. Seeing you being under that much pressure for work was awful and it wasn’t making you a nicer person.”
“Is that going to be your new project?” He didn’t open his eyes but his posture was relaxed and there was a faint smile on his mouth. “Being the angel on my shoulder, whispering in my ear?”
“I sense there would be some resistance on that front.”
“My accountants keep assuring me that I’m very generous. Saintly, even. Apparently, all these donations I’m handing out are making me quite the levied martyr.”
“Only because I made you.” Jay put her hand on his thigh and saw him smirk as her fingers teased the base of his cock. “Youtold me that you enjoyed fucking with people. Getting inside their heads. Seeing what makes them tick. You said it got you off.”
“That’s not the only thing.” He watched her through half-closed eyes as she stroked him beneath the water. “Keep that up and you’ll have a sore pussyanda sore ass.”
Jay gave him one more stroke before taking her hand away, much to his obvious displeasure. “I mean it, though. You need to stop mining people for weaknesses that you can exploit later when they piss you off. Iknowwhen you’re doing it. You get this evil glint in your eye.”
“That’s going to be a hard habit to break, oh conscience mine.” He grimaced as he took another drink of port. “As I get older, I see more of my father in me, hear more of his voice in my head. You’re fortunate. You look—and act—nothing like your mother. God, I used to fucking look at you and wonder how you could have possibly come out of her.”
She trailed her fingers down his jaw. “That was a choice. Reinforced by a series of choices, some of them tough ones.”
“Living here didn’t help with that, I’m sure,” he said darkly.
“No, it didn’t.”
“I know I added to that. When you ran away and I realized you were running from me as much as you were my father—that was tough to reconcile.”
“You’re not your father, Nick. Your father never apologized for anything he did, and he didn’t suffer pangs of conscience.And he could never—” she leaned in “—everbe as sweet as you can be to me.”
