It Stings So Sweet by Draven Stephanie
Author:Draven, Stephanie [Draven, Stephanie]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Romance
ISBN: 9781101598801
Publisher: Berkley
Published: 2013-02-05T07:00:00+00:00
CHAPTER
Ten
The regrets come later when I’m soaking in a hot bath, listening to jazz phonographs playing in the bedroom nearby. In Leo’s claw-foot tub, I loll shyly in the steaming water while he washes my back with lavender soap and a soft scrubbing brush. All my life, I’ve chewed up men and spit them out and never cared a damn what anyone thought about it. But all that’s changed now; I’m terrified that he’ll see it.
“How badly do you hurt?” Leo asks.
More than he’ll ever know, but not the way he means. “I’m just sore, is all.”
“So what do you say? Did I keep my promise?”
“You’ll wish you didn’t,” I say, trying to put some distance between us. “Now I’ll just want to do it again.”
He grins, sliding his hand under the water. “Can’t I keep you sated for even a few hours? If you need more . . .”
I hiss like a cat. “Don’t you dare. I’m quite sated.”
“Good.” Leo kisses my wet shoulder. “I wanted to wreck you just a little bit.”
“You certainly did that.”
He’s holding me, caressing me, kissing me, practically humming a little tune against my skin. I’m all broken inside and yet, he seems so . . . happy. “That was even more fun than I thought it would be, Clara. I think you’d better tell me everything else you’ve never done before.”
“I’ve done everything.”
Doesn’t he, even now, know what kind of girl I am?
“Well, I don’t object to revisiting old favorites. But I’m sure there’s something else you’ve never done before.”
“Nothing,” I snap.
“I don’t believe you.”
“Well, I’ve never been in love before.” It just slips out, and when it does, my eyes fill with tears. It’s not like me to be so careless with words. Not like me at all to tell the truth when artifice would suffice. And now that they’re out, the words just float there in the bath between us.
Leo clears his throat. “Are you saying that you’re in love with me, Clara?”
I try and fail to swallow back my tears. “Don’t be silly, Ace. If anything, I’ve fallen quite helplessly under Mr. Aster’s spell.”
His expression falls. “You’d better be joking . . .”
“Of course I am,” I say, wiping my tear-streaked cheeks with the backs of my hands. “I don’t fall in love. It would ruin our arrangement and I’m enjoying our sordid affair too much to spoil it.”
He isn’t fooled for one moment and rushes forward in gallantry. “Well, I’m in love with you, Clara. I have been from the start.”
“Leo, stop,” I say, trying to get out of the tub before he feels the need to save me from further humiliation.
He folds me into a towel. “I’d have said it before now if I thought you’d wanted to hear it.”
“Well, I don’t want to hear it.”
“Too bad. You’re gonna hear it. I’m busting to say it. I loved you the moment you said, ‘When I take a man to bed, it’s got everything to do with the size of his bank account and what he’s got between his legs.
Download
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.
The Highlander's Princess Bride by Vanessa Kelly(8102)
The Lover by Duras Marguerite(7589)
Storm and Silence by Robert Thier(6501)
Devil in Spring: The Ravenels by Lisa Kleypas(5915)
Stormfire by Christine Monson(5573)
London's Perfect Scoundrel by Suzanne Enoch(5218)
Marrying Winterborne by Lisa Kleypas(4662)
In the Midst of Winter by Isabel Allende(4380)
Burning Man by Phillip Margolin(4266)
Once and Always by Judith McNaught(4212)
From Sand and Ash by Amy Harmon(4203)
Lady Bridget's Diary by Maya Rodale(4160)
Under Mr Nolan's Bed by Selena Kitt(4150)
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson(4070)
Romancing the Duke Castles Ever After by Tessa Dare(4054)
How to Rescue a Rake by Jayne Fresina(3875)
A Matter of Temptation by Lorraine Heath(3814)
Separate Beds by LaVyrle Spencer(3637)
Seduce Me at Sunrise by Lisa Kleypas(3586)
