AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“And you never will,” he says back.
I smile and lift my head so I’m looking him straight on. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you’re mine.”
“Oh, really.”
“Yes, really.”
“And you’re not worried about getting me pregnant?”
“I’m not worried about anything when I’m with you.”
“That’s not really an answer.”
“It wasn’t really the right question, was it?”
“I guess not,” I admit softly, taken aback by the directness of the last few moments. I know what he’s trying to get at. “I’m not sure I’m ready to ask.”
Ben stands and lifts me with him. I release my legs and stand, still held tightly in his arms. “Well, when you’re ready to ask, the answer is yes.”
Time stumbles as yet another unimaginable promise escapes the lips of that man.
How did I get so lucky? How do I deserve this?
“I’m getting overheated,” I say, feeling a bit lightheaded now that we’re back in the stream of hot water.
“Perfect timing,” he answers cryptically.
And then he reaches out and turns the faucet as if he’s turning it off but stops when it’s ice cold. I shriek and try to escape, but my strong man has too good a hold on my body.
“It’s good for your nervous system,” Ben replies, holding me tightly as I squeal and squirm.
“I hate you!”
“You’ll get used to it.”
I’m still shrieking when he finally hits the handle and turns the tortuous shower off.
My anguish turns to laughter as he brushes my hair off my face and kisses my forehead. I might be a teeny bit hysterical.
“C-c-can I have a towel?” I ask, grinning up at him even though my teeth are chattering. I’ll never admit it to him, but the blast of cold water made me feel amazing. Maybe not in the moment, but now that it’s over, all of my senses are online, and I feel a lot less foggy headed than I did two minutes ago.
“We’ll dry off in here.” He pulls me across the wet tile and through the glass door of a dry cedar plank sauna.
“Jeez, Ben. You dry off like a crazy rich person.”
It’s his turn to laugh as he stretches out on the top bench and motions for me to take the lower. “My grandfather would be rolling over in his grave if he knew.”
“They had to have been pretty extravagant to have built a house like this. You think he’d disapprove of your sauna?”
“They were old fashioned. He may have sprung for the estate, but he was a penny pincher.”
“You didn’t inherit that gene?”
He’s shaking his head and smiling, eyes closed. “I only use about a quarter of this house, but the part I live in, I made just the way I want it.” He rolls to his side and looks down at me. “Speaking of which. You have free rein of the place. It could use a bit of freshening up. It’s quite the bachelor pad.”
“It’s beautiful, Ben.”
