Page 23 of Glorious Sinner

I didn’t like the way that made me feel. Hated it, in fact.

His bathroom was manly white with the exception of black and white tiles on the floor. A towel lay on the ground, and the shorts he’d been wearing in the kitchen this morning beside it. Tiny zaps shot through my belly, along with a rush of warmth.

God, he’d looked so beautiful standing there, bare, glistening with sweat from his workout. When he went to leave, I’d been desperate for him to touch me. I thought he was going to keep on walking, but then he’d pressed a kiss to my forehead.

I looked in his shower, picked up his shower gel, flicking it open. Yep, that was it, the scent that I was breathing in last night when I was pressed up against him. So good. I didn’t care how desperate it made me, but I memorized the brand and type. I’d forever associate that scent with Tomas, with the way he made me feel.

When this was all over, would that be it? Would he let me go?

The thought sent panic through me, so I shoved it aside, chose not to think about it.

What the hell are you doing?

I needed to get out of there. What if he found me in here sniffing his goddamn shower gel like some sad, desperate weirdo? I quickly rushed from the room and took the stairs down to the ground floor.

Maybe I’d hide in the TV room for a while. I wasn’t ready to see Tomas, not yet, not with my emotions all over the place like they were. I didn’t trust myself or what might come out of my mouth.

I was heading across the foyer when Arthur walked out carrying a cup of coffee, heading to Tomas’s downstairs office. The doorbell went just as he got to the office door and he muttered under his breath, then spotted me.

“You wouldn’t mind taking this in, would you?” The guy looked frazzled.

I had no choice. “Yeah…sure.” I took the cup from him, and he rushed off to answer the door. Shit. I took a couple of deep breaths to try and release the tension thrumming through me and knocked.

“Yeah,” he called.

I pushed the door open.

Tomas was on the phone and his brows rose when he saw it was me. I walked over, thankful he was busy on the phone and I could make my escape without having to say anything. I walked around and put the drink on the only clear space right beside him and turned to leave…

His fingers curled around my wrist, gently holding me, stopping me from going.

I turned back and his eyes met mine as he talked. He didn’t let me go while he finished his call, and every so often he brushed his thumb over the inside of my wrist. By the time he finished, the skin there was tingling and I had goose bumps.

“Where’s Arthur?” he said as soon as he put down his phone.

“He was busy. Someone was at the door,” I said lamely.

Tomas didn’t look happy. “You don’t wait on me. You don’t wait on anyone,” he said, low and pissed off but also sexy. Yep, somehow he made pissed off sexy as well.

My world was topsy-turvy. At this point I had no idea which way was up, but my axis had somehow become Tomas. This was a frightening thought, but I realized it was the truth. I just didn’t know what it meant. What any of this meant.

“It’s fine. I didn’t mind,” I said, forcing my thoughts back to the conversation. I didn’t want Arthur getting in trouble.

Tomas didn’t look convinced, but thankfully dropped it. “I’m glad you’re here, actually. I was going to come look for you,” he said, gently tugging me closer.

The little zaps shot up my arm from where he touched me. He pulled me in closer still, so I was facing him. Tomas was leaning back in his chair, and I was right beside him, my butt resting on his desk facing him.

I had to squeeze my thighs together when the warmth there turned to a slow steady pulse that had my face heating.

His gaze moved over me and his lids lowered in a way that was unnerving, and yeah, extremely hot. I was turned on, I realized. Beyond turned on.

Being this close, having him touch me. God, the memory of him standing in the kitchen this morning, hard…everywhere. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d truly felt like this, since I’d felt sexual, excited.

I didn’t know what to do with it, how to hide it, and the longer those dark eyes stayed on me the hotter I got.

I started fidgeting. “You wanted to talk to me?”

He stared at me for several long seconds. “I thought we could go out for a meal tonight.” Another swipe of his thumb over my wrist. “I promise you’ll be completely safe with me. I’ll have men watching us, watching the restaurant, making sure we’re not tailed.”