His lips tightened. “You’ve lost weight.”
“I can’t eat when I’m stressed.”
Jason didn’t comment directly, he just reached over to uncuff her wrist on the far side of the bed. His chest hovered near hers, their faces inches apart. Gia couldn’t deny how much she craved his kiss again.
Instead, he stared, silent and inscrutable, as if trying to see down to her soul. His sharp blue eyes enthralled her. Stubble covered his strong jaw. His broad shoulders eclipsed so much of the room beyond. God knew he was good in bed. Maybe she could resist if she didn’t love him.
Finally, he popped a latch, and her left cuff sprang free. Jason eased back and released the other, then began massaging her shoulders. “Do they ache?”
Gia wasn’t dumb enough to lie. Besides, she deeply suspected that her wrists would be in those same cuffs again in the very near future.
“A bit.”
“Come with me.” He peeled off her shoes and helped her to her feet.
Swallowing down her questions, she trailed him to the massive bathroom as he began running the tub. As the water turned warm, he eased the stopper down and added a bit of some exotic bath oil with a hint of coconut and musk before turning to her.
At the gravity of his stare, she swallowed. With fingertips skimming her shoulders, he slid the baby-doll nightie down her arms and off her body. When she stood bare before him, raw lust seared his face. That expression said he wanted to lower her to the floor and fuck her right that second. Gia wanted to let him.
He held out his hand, looking her up and down. “Get in.”
It didn’t once occur to Gia not to comply. She closed her eyes in delight as the warm water enveloped her feet and lapped at her ankles.
Since she’d moved in with Mila and the kids, the little house’s only bathtub was on the other side of the place, and Gia hated to intrude in the children’s space. She’d missed the luxury of being immersed in warm, fragrant water.
“Sit back.” Jason helped ease her down into the water.
Though she usually liked to wait until the tub filled to avoid the cold surface against her skin, she didn’t argue. But when she lay back, Gia was shocked to realize the entire surface of the tub was comfortably warm.
“The back is heated?”
He smiled faintly. “Yes. It’s also an air tub with colored LED lighting. The towels are heating now. So is the floor.”
Wow. She never even stopped to consider such luxuries. Money had always been tight in her family. Now it was a downright issue. She’d better enjoy all this pampering while she could, but it was far more special because Jason shared the luxury with her. In her stupid heart, he did it because, despite his anger, he still wanted to take care of her.
“Thank you.” She settled back again and closed her eyes.
“You’re welcome,” he murmured.
He ran his fingers through her hair. Another touch she’d always loved. And he remembered. Gia moaned as he gently rubbed at her scalp, brushed his hands over her temples, applied the perfect pressure to the back of her stiff neck. He touched her as if they didn’t have a care between them. It would be so sinfully easy to slip again into the fantasy of being Jason’s fairy-tale soul mate.
Once upon a time, she’d fallen hard for him. It had nothing to do with his money and everything to do with the very personal way he cared for her. Insistent, yes. Hands on, definitely. But she’d never felt more adored in her life than she did with Jason.
“Relax,” he whispered.
Her eyes slid shut. “You’re making it impossible to do anything else.”
“Excellent.” He gathered her hair in his hands and clipped it atop her head.
Then she smelled something new, a blend of lavender, rosemary, chamomile, and a few other scents she couldn’t identify. Suddenly, his big hands covered her shoulders and began kneading, working the oil down her arms, then back up to her neck. She gave a low groan and melted against him.
“Jason,” she whispered.
He bent and brushed his lips against her ear. “You like that.”
“Hmm…” she breathed. “Yes.”
When Gia had first arrived, she’d been sure that he would immediately force her into bed. Not physically. After all, she’d agreed to give him her body at any time in any way he wanted until their anniversary. But instead of ordering her surrender, he seemed intent on coaxing it from her. And he was doing a damn fine job.
“Still sore?” He massaged the tense muscles and tendons of her shoulders and arms, dissolving her accumulated stress with every gentle dig of his fingers.
“No.”
“Good.”
Jason dipped his hands in her bath water, rinsing them. Then he caressed his way up her hips, her waist. Gia’s breath caught and held as his fingertips traced a path over her damp skin until he cradled her breasts in his hands.
“These are perfect,” he murmured, thumbing his way toward her nipples.
They beaded in anticipation of his touch, tightening, lengthening. He captured them in his grip. She eased her head back against the rim of the tub and drew in a shaking breath before exhaling in an aroused rush. Why did he always turn her inside out?
He slid his cheek against hers, the stubble prickly soft. The slight abrasion of his skin added another layer of texture to his possession. His woodsy-musky scent surrounded her and reminded her of the hundreds of times he’d driven her to ecstasy with seeming ease. Now she was on his turf, playing by his terms…and heading for his bed again. For a blissful moment, she didn’t regret it.
The last eleven and a half months had been so devastating, so stressful and terrible. Temporarily dropping all the crushing responsibilities for finding Tony’s killer while juggling her small niece and nephew was such a wonderful, guilty relief. Giving Jason anything but her body wasn’t smart, but Gia didn’t think she could hide the fact that she still cared.
When Jason released her nipples then clamped down on them again, she arched into his hands, reveling in the way he cradled her in his grip. Pleasure clouded her thoughts, as if she’d consumed a whole bottle of wine. Tomorrow she would care that she’d given in too easily. Tomorrow she might even resent him for being so able to unravel her restraint.
Tonight, she just didn’t care.
He buried his nose in her neck and inhaled. “God, I’ve missed your smell. For a month after we left Vegas, I sniffed the nightgown you wore on our wedding night. It made me hard and hungry to fuck you every damn time. Just like I am right now.”
“You’re trying to seduce me.” She couldn’t seem to make her voice sound accusing.
“I don’t have any plans to stop at trying. You’re my wife, at least until the twenty-fourth. That’s how I intend to treat you. I’m going to strip you, bind you, penetrate and possess you every chance I get.”
She didn’t doubt him. Jason might be motivated by revenge or a need to work through whatever residual emotions he had, and he might want to be indifferent to her in every way except sexually, but she sensed he wasn’t.
“Stand.” He grabbed a towel from the nearby rack.
As she complied with a shiver, he wrapped the warm terrycloth around her, tucking it between her breasts. Dizzy and off balance, Gia swayed closer. Her chest met his. As Jason wrapped his arms around her, she grasped his shoulders and eased her head back. She couldn’t help but stare into his eyes. They didn’t look crystal cold now, but a hot, dark blue. His jaw clenched. His nostrils flared. Desire tightened his face.
It might be the stupidest thing she’d ever done, but Gia lifted her face, stood on her tiptoes, and brought her mouth toward his. Jason met her halfway, his lips crashing over hers.
He held her tight and sank deep, as if he could inhale her all at once. The inexplicable need to be close to him, along with a sense of rightness, stunned her.