Chapter 26

Owen

I walk past the bathroom and lower Mira into a seated position on the bed. She immediately falls backward and lands on the pillow, her beautiful hair forming a halo around her face. She closes her eyes and begins to drift off to sleep.

“Don’t get too comfortable,” I warn her, adding a few pillows behind her head to prop her up. “I’m not done with you yet.”

I know how tired she is, but if she falls asleep now, she’ll miss everything I have planned for her. She deserves a night of pampering, and I’m going to make sure that she gets it.

But considering how tired she is, I think I’m going to need to call for backup. I pick up the phone and press the button to page the front desk.

“Can you send someone from housekeeping up here?” I ask the operator.

“Right away, sir. You’re in the honeymoon suite, correct?”

“That’s right,” I confirm. I hang up the phone and turn to look at Mira, who still looks a little sleepy but is at least making an effort to keep her eyes open. “Now let’s get you out of these clothes.”

I start with her shoes, sliding them off her feet and letting them fall softly to the floor. Next, I take off her skirt, revealing her smooth legs and a pair of soft lace panties in pale pink.

Button by button, I open her blouse, letting it fall open to reveal the delicate lace bralette underneath.

She’s so fucking beautiful that I have to stop undressing her for a moment to catch my breath. She’s perfect from head to toe, and it takes all the willpower I have not to climb into bed with her and pretend it’s our wedding night.

When the maid appears at the door, Mira is still spread out on the bed, wearing nothing but her undergarments. Following my gaze, the maid peeks around the corner and sees Mira in all her glory. Her hand shoots up to her face to hide her smile.

“Where are you going?” Mira calls to me, still unaware that we have company. “You’re not finished yet.”

When I don’t answer, she sits up on the bed and peeks into the hallway, looking for me.

She sees the maid standing in the doorway and instinctively covers her chest with her hands. But the look on her face suggests that she doesn’t mind having an audience. Not one bit.

“I’m coming for you soon,” I promise Mira.

Then I lead the maid into the bathroom, away from the spectacle on the bed. “Will you please draw us a bath?”

The maid nods and gets to work—plugging up the drain, turning on the water, adjusting the knobs, and testing the temperature with her hands. I could have done this myself, but I don’t want to leave Mira alone for too long, or else she’ll fall asleep.

She’ll sleep better if she’s clean and warm—that’s what I keep telling myself, at any rate.

I return to the bed and strip Mira down, sliding her panties down her legs and reaching behind her to unhook her bra. I’m tempted to caress and kiss every inch of skin I uncover, but I resist touching her most intimate parts. I promised her—and myself—that I’d take it slow.

When she’s fully nude, I pause to take one last look at her before I get started.

“Do you like what you see?” she asks me, opening her eyes to catch me staring at her.

“You have no idea.” Before I lose my resolve, I lift her off the bed and carry her to the bathroom. “You’re going to love this,” I whisper in her ear.

Inside the bathroom, the maid has filled the bathtub with steaming hot water. Foam is now bubbling up to the surface, forming billowing piles of soft bubbles that smell like French lavender.

The maid has arranged the tiny bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash in a semicircle in front of a washcloth, which she’s folded at the bottom and spread out like a fan at the top.

Best of all, she’s pulled back the curtains behind the tub to reveal a panoramic view of the city skyline. Gleaming skyscrapers shimmer beneath the glow of the full moon. Neon lights beckon from across the street, promising music and dancing and everything that makes city life fun.

Mira gasps when she sees the view.

I’m not sure what I did to deserve such a perfect night, but I’m grateful for it. This is much better than anything I could have planned on my own.

I’m grinning from ear to ear when Mira finally escapes my embrace and sits on the edge of the tub to inspect the bath.

She runs her hand along the bubbly surface, sighing when the hot water meets her bare skin. She stands up, and without even bothering to grab a towel, she turns to the maid.

“Thank you. The temperature is just right.”

At the sight of Mira’s nude body, the maid’s eyes grow wide, and her cheeks turn pink, but she says nothing. She places a towel on the shelf nearest the bathtub for easy access, spreads the bathmat on the floor, and shuts the door behind her without saying a word.

But before she goes, she looks over her shoulder at Mira once more as if she still can’t believe her eyes. I follow her to the door, slip her a wad of bills, and shut the door behind her, pulling the chain across the door to seal us in.

“Does it bother you, being watched like that?” I ask Mira after the maid has left the room. “I thought the maid would never leave.”

“Not at all,” Mira says. She gives me a coquettish smile. “I have nothing to hide.” She stands in front of the tub, daring me to get a closer look.

If I leave Mira fully exposed in front of the tub for even one minute longer, I might fucking explode.

It’s time to get to work.

“Into the tub you go, you dirty girl,” I say to Mira.

Standing on the fluffy bath mat to keep my feet from slipping, I lift Mira off the floor and place her in the tub. She lands in the water with a tiny splash, sighing contentedly as the warm water envelops her body.

Rolling up my sleeves, I kneel before her on the bathmat and reach across the tub to move her hair away from her shoulders.

“You’ve had a long day, Mira. Let me help you relax.”

She scoots closer to me and turns around, waiting for me to continue. As gently as I possibly can, I grip her tired muscles with my hands and start to rub out the tension and stress of the day.

“Does this feel good?” I ask her, moving my hands from her neck to her shoulder blades and down to her lower back.

“Mm,” she says, closing her eyes.

I love the way she starts to melt right in front of me. Although I’d be lying to myself if I said I’m not trying to seduce her, my main objective for the evening is to earn her trust.

If what we’re doing is wrong, I need to do everything in my power to make it feel right. Even if we’re the only two people in the world who see it that way.

I want her to feel completely comfortable with me. And I can’t think of anything more comforting than a hot bath, a gentle back rub, and a beautiful view of the city lights.

But I’m not looking out the window right now. Why should I? The best view in the entire city is sitting right in front of me.

Inside the tub, Mira is rising from the sudsy bathwater—the foam clinging to her curves, giving me a peek-a-boo view of her wet, naked body as she sits up and leans back to receive my touch.

I can see that she’s ready for me, but I don’t know if I’m quite ready for her. I look away from her and count to five. I want to enjoy this moment for just a little while longer.

I scan the room for a distraction, but instead, my eyes settle on the washcloth and the bottle of body wash.

When I imagine dipping the washcloth into the warm, soapy water, my head fills with an assortment of bad ideas—bad ideas that are going to feel so, so good.