Page 43 of House of Scarlett
Oh. My. God.
Mortification rolls over me, but only for a moment. Arousal drowns it out as Gabriel keeps going, his fist gripping harder and faster. His blue eyes drill into mine.
It was dark the night we were in his office, and I didn’t get to see every detail and nuance of his face when he came, but I can see them now. The steam and water can’t hide the moment of surprise when he realizes he’s going to come. Right then. Right there. With an audience.
His face contorts and his mouth opens, and it’s the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen. Splatters of white hit the glass door of the shower, and I clench the door frame to keep myself upright.
His eyes close, and his forehead presses against the glass as one word is torn from his throat.
My name.
Twenty-Five
Legend
“Scarlett.”It was supposed to come out as a whisper, but my groan sounds like a roar in the small bathroom. My lungs are burning, my balls have finally stopped flexing, and my dick is slightly less hard than granite in my hand.
I can’t believe I just fucking did that.
She stood frozen at the door—watching. As soon as I saw her, I should have stopped. Turned around. Doneanythingexcept what I did.
It hasn’t even been a day since she had surgery, and here I am, yanking it like a thirteen-year-old in her shower because it was the only thing I could think of to take the edge off.
But, instead, it just made it worse. Because now I want to see her face when she’s coming at the same time, and I can’t have that yet. She needs to heal, and I need to regain her trust after what I did.
Judging by the red-faced woman in front of me, it’s going to take a few years for the embarrassment of this moment to fade away.
I rinse as fast as possible and shut the water off. Before the spray stops, the end of a towel flips over the top of the shower door. By the time I tug the towel to my body, Scarlett is speaking twice as fast as she normally does.
“I shouldn’t have seen that, and I should probably just go get back in bed and pretend this never happened, but I can’t. Still, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have intruded. Clearly, you needed ... um ...personal time, and I interrupted. I apologize.”
In no time at all, I scrub my body dry and secure the towel around my hips before opening the shower door and stepping out into the small bathroom. She won’t meet my eyes, and that’s the one thing I can’t handle.
Using my thumb, I maneuver her chin to the side and up until she meets my gaze.
“I’m not complaining, ladybug. Only downside right now is that I gotta wait for my chance to see you do the same. But you better believe me, babe. It’s gonna happen.”
Her face was rosy before, but now it’s approaching a shade of fire-engine red.
“I ... I ...” She blinks twice. “I don’t even know what to say to that.”
“You don’t have to say anything, as long as you’re on board.”
Those gray eyes are almost hazy when she replies. “Then I guess this conversation is over.”
I do a mental fist pump of victory. “Let’s get you back in bed. You need some rest before you’re gonna be in fighting shape.”
Together, we move out of the small guest bathroom, and wearing only the towel, I follow her to her bedroom.
Once she’s tucked into bed again, her lashes flutter against her cheeks and she yawns. “I can’t believe how tired I am.”
“Healing takes more energy than you realize. I get the feeling that you don’t hold still much, but right now, that’s what your body needs. Everything will still be here when you’re feeling better. It can all wait.”
“Okay, Dr. Legend.” A note of sarcasm enters her tone.
“’Fraid that isn’t going to work as a nickname either. You’ll find one. Keep going.” Another yawn interrupts whatever she was going to say, and I reach out to brush her hair off her face. “Good night, ladybug.”
“’Night, Gabriel.”
