Page 110 of At His Beck & Call

She walks to the bathroom and stops.

“Holy hell.”

It’s such an odd exclamation from her that I walk up behind her, looking inside to see if there’s something amiss. But it’s the same as it always is.

“This is the most beautiful bathroom I’ve ever seen.”

I frown down at her as she walks inside. The black marble and gold accents always felt ostentatious to me. I had it done when I first moved in, when I thought gold and black were ‘classy’. If I had to do it over, I would probably choose grays and silvers, but Lissa’s approval is evident as she spins around.

“This is bigger than my whole apartment,” she says, laughing softly. “Look at the shower! It’s the size of the Empire State Building!”

I can’t help laughing at her as she flits about excitedly, exclaiming at the bathtub and groaning as she bends over it.

“Wow. That looks amazing.”

“Would you like a bath instead?”

“Oh no,” she says quickly. “No. It’s far too late.”

I shake my head. “Not at all. You should definitely do it if you want to.”

She looks over at me, her eyes shining. “You wouldn’t mind? I haven’t had a bath in way too long and I totally adore a good soak.”

“Then a good soak you shall have. I’ll turn it on for you, and you can adjust the temperature. There are bath salts and a couple of other things in the basket there.”

I’d just bought these items recently with the thought that maybe someday, if Lissa were here with me, she might want them.

“Thank you, Oliver,” she says, beaming at me, making my insides lurch unhelpfully.

“Enjoy,” I force out. “And soak as long as you’d like.”

I need to leave before I jump in there with you.

She’s practically vibrating with glee as I leave her to it, pulling the door almost closed behind me.

I glance over at Truman, where he’s now sprawled on the bed, just like Henry, and glower at him as I go to retrieve my book and glasses from the bedside.

Truman cracks one eye open as I hear the water start running. He watches me warily, no doubt expecting to be pushed off the bed, but his fur is almost the exact same shade as the comforter, and I let him be, enjoying how coordinated and comfortable he looks.

As I pass the gap in the bathroom door on the way out of the bedroom, I catch a glimpse of Lissa disrobing inside and swiftly look away.

Lissa takes me at my word and luxuriates in the bath for almost forty minutes. I make an herbal tea, convincing myself I’m not waiting for her to come to bed, even though it’s obvious I am.

It’s late, and I’m usually asleep by this time, but I can’t settle.

Even the sound of her moving around in the bathtub is enough to have my cock at half-mast. I frown down at it irritably as it rises to attention when she steps out into the bedroom with a towel around her body, holding onto my clothes that she was wearing before her bath.

She looks panicked for a second, glancing back at the bathroom door.

I hide a smile as she puts the shirt on before pulling the towel out from underneath as if I’ve never seen her naked body.

She turns, looking over me quizzically, and I raise an eyebrow. “What’s the problem?”

“No problem. I just haven’t seen you in casual clothes before.”

I glance down at the T-shirt and loose shorts I wear to bed. “I suppose you haven’t. I stopped wearing suits to bed; they’re too itchy.”

She laughs, approaching the bed. It’s absurd how awkward we both are. I’ve been deep inside this woman dozens of times, and yet it’s as if we’ve never met.