The MC President's Forsaken Wife (Zara and Knox) novel Chapter 37

Chapter 30-1

Zara

For a moment, neither of us moves. Then Locke rises from the couch, with me still all wrapped around him, and gently sets me on my feet.

“You relax,” he says. “I’ll go start the bath.”

Clam

Before I can answer, he brushes a kiss across my forehead and disappears into the bathroom. A second later, I hear running water.

Silence settles over the apartment, real silence this time. And suddenly I’m very very aware of exactly what is about to happen, and my pulse stumbles.

Oh. My. God.

The realization arrives all at once: a man is going to see me naked. Not a doctor or somebody examining scars or checking wounds or discussing recovery. A man. A devastatingly hot man. A man that I want all over my body, inside my body.

The thought sends heat rushing through me so quickly it almost steals my breath. I stare at the sofa bed, then at the rain-spattered window, then at absolutely nothing. I don’t know whether I’m terrified or excited.

Maybe both. Probably both.

For years, my body belonged to a marriage that slowly hollowed itself out until there was nothing left inside but loneliness and obligation and silence. For years, desire became something I stopped thinking about because thinking about it hurt.

Wanting something you’re never going to have eventually becomes exhausting. So you stop wanting – or at least you pretend to.

But now? Now there’s a man in my bathroom. A man whose touch makes my pulse race. A man who makes me laugh. A man whose concern somehow feels sexy.

And suddenly every insecurity I’ve ever had decides to introduce itself.

The scars. The bruises. The body that survived surgery. The body that survived Knox. The body that spent years feeling unwanted.

Locke comes out of the bathroom now, takes one look at me and stops. “Hey.”

I try to smile back, but it doesn’t work. “Hey yourself.”

He crosses the room without hesitation, his arms slide around me. “Talk to me, baby.”

A laugh escapes me. “I was doing fine until I started thinking.”

“You really need to stop doing that.”

“You’re probably right.”

His lips brush my temple. “What happened?”

1/2

Chapter

The answer feels ridiculous once’l say it out loud. “I’m nervous.”

For a moment, he says nothing, then his arms tighten slightly. “About being in the bath together?”

I nod against his chest, “Uh-huh,”

Cla

The silence stretches, then he tips my chin upward until I’m looking at him. Those incredible eyes search mine for a long moment.

“Zara,” he says. “We don’t have to do anything.

I swallow. “I know.”

“If you want the bath alone, take it alone.” His thumb brushes lightly across my cheek. “I’ll wait out here for you.”

My chest tightens unexpectedly.

Because he means it, and because there’s exactly zero pressure in his voice. No expectation, and no disappointment.

And suddenly I get what the hell’s going on here: this isn’t about bath, or being nervous. It isn’t even about Knox or Locke, really.

It’s all about me, and what I want. For the first time in a very long time, I get to choose what I want… and I choose myself. Maybe this – this choice – is the beginning of finally coming back to life.

My fingers curl lightly into the front of his shirt. “I don’t want to be alone in the bath.”

“Yeah? You sure?”

“One hundred percent.”

“OK, baby.” He turns to the bathroom. “Let’s get in there.”

Steam curls thickly through the room, softening the edges of everything into gold and shadow and heat. Locke pours a generous stream of bubble bath into the tub, the scent of citrus rising thick and soothing. He glances back at me, his eyes wolf-gray with concern – and also with something deeper, hungrier.

“Let me help you,” he murmurs, stepping close. “Hands up.”

His fingers brush the hem of my sweater, lifting it slowly to avoid tugging at the tender spots on my back and side. He eases it upward inch by inch, his knuckles grazing my skin as he worked the material free from where it clings to me.

Comments

LUCK DRAW >

Vote

299