Satisfied she’d done her due diligence, Penelope shut off the water, squeezed the excess water from her hair.
She turned to find Obsidian holding out a towel, his back still to her.
Quite the gentleman.
Taking it, she wrapped it around her and stepped out of the shower stall, not caring that she was dripping water all over the floor. “About that whole crying jag you walked in on…” She tapped him on the shoulder. “I’m decent now.”
He chuckled, turning as he leaned against the bathroom counter, those thick arms crossing over his chest. “You were rather decent before.”
Giving in to his innuendo would’ve been easy considering how hot the man made her, but there were more pressing things they needed to deal with.
“What happened?” she asked, knowing somehow that he had the answer. “Is someone here?”
“No.”
“I thought you left.”
“I know.”
Penelope frowned. “How’d you know that?”
“I just did.” Those silver eyes churned, peering into hers.
“So that whole crying thing … it was because I thought you abandoned me?” Penelope shook her head because that was ludicrous. “No way. I’m not that type of girl. I don’t get all hung up—”
Obsidian placed two fingers over her lips, effectively silencing her.
Frowning, she took a step back. “I felt… Obsidian, when I thought you left, I felt—”
“I know.” He cupped her face. “I felt it, too. And I want to give you all the answers, but … right now … please don’t.”
There was a plea in his tone that she couldn’t ignore. Almost as if giving her the answers would break him somehow.
And oddly, the discomfort she’d felt seemed minuscule in comparison to how she would feel if she hurt him.
“Okay,” she acknowledged. “I won’t ask.” Penelope held his gaze. “Yet.”
His touch slipped away when he strolled across the room, stepped into the enormous closet. He returned a moment later with a fluffy white robe. When he neared, he held it out for her.
“Turn around.”
She did, and he helped her into the robe, settling it on her shoulders. The towel fell to the floor as she reached to secure the robe, but Penelope was barely able to cover her naked breasts before Obsidian took over, turning her to face him once more. She stared at his beautiful face as he cinched the belt around her waist, securing it so that she was completely covered.
“Can you at least tell me if I’m right about—”
Obsidian leaned forward, kissed her lightly on the lips. “Hold the questions for a little while longer.”
Since it was pointless to argue, Penelope retrieved the towel from the floor, blotted the moisture from her hair while Obsidian walked out, giving her privacy.
She considered that for a moment. He wasn’t right there with her, but the painful loss she’d felt earlier didn’t return. So did that mean it had something to do with her being certain he was here?
With a sigh, she shrugged it off. She did not want to think about it because it actually sounded crazy. What could possibly make someone feel that sort of pain when they were apart from someone else? It defied logic. Reason.
She wiped away the steam from the mirror and stared back at her reflection.
Hmm.
Penelope flipped on the faucet, grabbed a toothbrush and toothpaste from the small wooden box sitting on the counter, then hurried to brush her teeth. When she finished, she snagged the hair dryer on the shelf below, plugged it in. Another fifteen minutes passed. By the time she was done, she felt better, though she didn’t have any makeup handy.
