A/N: Since there seems to be quite a few who are faithfully following this story, here's another chapter! Tell me what you think. Please vote and comment. :)
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“I think I can wash myself just fine,” I said patiently as Sebastian carried me to the bathroom the two days later. My fever had broken the night before and I had complained of feeling uncomfortable and sticky with sweat. “A quick shower will do—”
“Don’t be silly,” he interjected, swinging me over to the corner where the large, jetted tub was, gurgling with fresh, hot water and some light soap bubbles. “I’ve got a bath ready for you. You’ll feel better afterwards, I promise.”
I sighed as he set me down on a cushioned stool before reaching into the tub and testing the water temperature.
“I’m feeling a bit better but I still don’t have the energy to do much so I really can’t—”
“I’ll bathe you.”
I stopped and looked up to stare at him.
His expression was open and honest although I didn’t miss the fire that flickered in his eyes the moment we understood exactly what he meant.
“Don’t be absurd. You can’t bathe me.”
He crouched down in front of me to slip off the socks he insisted I wear because I was chilled earlier. “Why not? I’ve seen most of you, Cassandra. I can’t say I won’t react but I’ll behave like a perfect gentleman.”
I raised a brow. “Gentlemen don’t go around bathing young women.”
He grinned. “No, they do not, unfortunate bastards.”
I let out another long, exhausted sigh and glanced at the tub, tempted by the steam and the whiff of chamomile and honeysuckle in the air. “Okay. But no tricks. I mean, there’s a better time and place for that. Not like this. Not when I look this horr—”
“You’re beautiful to me, no matter what.” He peered at my face as he reached up to undo the messy braid I usually wore to bed. “Your hair is like my favorite brandy spilling down on your back—a deep, rich, sensual color, promising a decadent, heady flavor.”
I shivered as he ran his fingers through the soft, thick waves, catching a small handful of the ends which he brushed against his lips.
“Your skin is smooth and lightly kissed by sun,” he continued, reaching up to slowly part the collar of my robe, exposing my shoulders that the spaghetti straps of my cotton nightgown didn’t conceal. “And a sprinkle of freckles tell me just where the sun had kissed you, inviting me to follow the trail.”
I let the robe slip off of me and sucked in a steadying breath as his hands glided up my arms and along my neck to settle on each side of my face.
“Your eyes are large and a melting chocolate brown—expressive and kind,” he said as he gently traced his thumbs over my eyelids after they fluttered close. I opened them and stared at him and his entranced expression. “They’re eyes that pull you in, shatter your will and render you completely helpless.”
I smiled. “You must be immune if you still keep bossing me around.”
He grinned and moved his thumbs to fill the deep indentation on each of my cheeks. “Trust me, it’s a hard struggle. Especially when you smile at me and flash me these dimples. They make you seem sweeter and more playful than you already are. My breath clogs in my chest every time I see you smile. It’s not very good for me.”
“No, it is not,” I laughed although my cheeks warmed.
“Ah, when you blush,” he exclaimed, spreading his fingers over the curves of my cheeks. “It makes me think of a dewy rose—innocent and delicate.”
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Virtue and Vice
General Fiction"If I'm going down, I might as well pick my poison. I pick you." *** A Cobalt Bay Billionaires story. *** She couldn't be sure whether he was her predator or protector... but she was doomed to love him either way. *** It was a summer they wi...
