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“Relax,” he ordered as he banded an arm across her chest, forcing her to recline against him.
She didn’t realize she had a death grip on the lip of the tub until he grasped her hand and placed it in the water. As she lay there, partially floating, the hot water began to turn her bones to mush. She gave in and rode the steady rise and fall of his chest. Her eyelids shut against her will. The urge to sleep was overwhelming, but she kept her mind active by letting her fingers dance beneath the surface of the water, tapping rhythmically as if she were playing the piano.
For a time, she drifted, but inevitably the haze cleared. For three days, her imagination supplied countless ways for Roth to make an entrance. She was braced for his wrath after everything had gone so horribly wrong. The last thing she expected was for him to disarm her with kisses and take the time to arouse her before handing her the reins. She was at his mercy in every single way. Why seduce when he could take?
Her eyes opened as the last rays of light leeched from the sky, making the track lights around the bathroom give off a soft glow. From her slouched position in the tub, she could see a hint of the twinkling lights of the city far below. 432 Park Avenue was the tallest residential building in the Western hemisphere. Being so high up, it was easy to feel like they were more part of the heavens than earth. Roth, who rarely stayed still long enough to brush his teeth, seemed strangely content to sit in the scented bath.
He was so different from the man she married seven years ago. Back then, he had been introspective, focused, and driven. He took everything in stride, even the fact that he would have to leave the country and start over. The only time his control splintered was in bed. That’s when he became a dominant animal. She had been so sure that she knew him. She didn’t see a different side of him until she surprised him in London when he treated her like a disposable nuisance. So, why marry her again? To soothe his ego because she walked out on him? As a final fuck-you to her father for his years of exile? He admitted that his takeover of Hennessy & Co was already in motion before he ran into her in Colorado. Had she always been a part of his plan, or had the events in Colorado changed things?
She gripped the arm on her chest and felt the muscles flex. She was wary of breaking the unspoken truce between them, but she had to know.
“Roth?”
“Hmm?”
He sounded drowsy. When she tried to straighten, his arm tucked beneath her chin in a loose headlock.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Keeping you where I want you,” he muttered as he buried his face in her hair.
She stiffened as his lips cruised over her bruised shoulder.
“Does it hurt?”
“No.” The only person she’d seen in the past three days was a medical professional who examined her arm without asking a single question. The woman instructed her to rest, ice her arm, and gave her painkillers she hadn’t used before she left as quickly as she appeared.
She sank her nails into his thigh as his mouth lightly suckled and blurted, “I’ve been trying to call Kaia.”
Plastered against him as she was, she would have felt any tension in him, but there was none.
“And?” he muttered as his free hand moved over her.
“She didn’t answer.”
“She’s fine.”
She gripped his marauding hand in both of hers. “You went to Colorado?”
“I have people watching her.”
She lost her grip on his hand, which then went to her breasts.
“You have people watching her?” she asked distractedly as he began to play with her nipple.
“It’s for her own good.”
Her stomach knotted. “What are you going to do to her?”
“Nothing.” When she remained stiff, he nipped her neck, making her jump. “If I was going to do something, I would have done it long ago.”
Before she could process that, his phone rang. She scooted forward as he rose, splashing water everywhere. She rolled her eyes as he swiped the phone from the counter. Of course he always made sure that damn thing was within easy reach, even when he was soaking in a tub.
“Gray?” he said in a clipped tone. “No, I’m in New York.” He stepped out of the tub and reached for a towel. As he wrapped it around his waist, he paused. “When?”
Something about the way he said that made her tense. Without another word, he strode out of the bathroom. She was pretty sure he was going to his office, which was on the other side of the penthouse. She stared at the empty doorway and then at the water level, which had dropped below her breasts. She took Roth’s spot and tried to mimic his pose, arms stretched out on either side of her. Her feet scrabbled for purchase as she slid down the side of the tub.
He answered her questions about Kaia. She should be relieved, right? He omitted things, but he didn’t outright lie. When Lyle asked what was going on in the library, Roth admitted that Maximus had blackmailed him. He could have come up with some crackpot excuse for his abhorrent behavior, but he hadn’t. He told the truth. But would he have been so forthcoming if he’d known she hadn’t read the full contents of her father’s letter?
