Page 58 of Faith

“Modesty.”

She rolled her eyes, then dropped down on the mattress. He slipped his arm around her and pulled her close. She settled against his chest with a sigh. “When something is important, I try very hard at it.”

“What I meant is that I would have pegged you for a Domme, not a sub.”

She shrugged. “I wanted one place in my life where I didn’t have to be in charge.”

He absorbed the comment. “Your relationship with Oliver?”

“Yes?”

“You were the one in charge?”

“In the bedroom? Do you really want to talk about that?”

“Good God, no. I meant, your relationship was tangled up with your skating career. From everything I saw, you were the one in charge of those interviews.”

She shifted, and he realized she did that so she could see his face. “You watched my interviews?”

“A few.” All of them he could find, in fact, but he would never admit it. When Nicola had gone on vacation, he’d started his search for them. He told himself that it was for research, which had been a lie. Interviews over a decade old wouldn’t tell him anything about Nicola. It was because he missed her, and now he could admit it to himself.

“What?” she asked.

“Nothing.”

“You just had a look on your face.”

He shrugged but said nothing. He was coming to the realization that this woman was more to him than simply the average sub. She was in his mind, his head. Fuck, as corny as it sounded, she was in his bloody soul. He was approaching forty and had never really been in love—well other than with heroin when he was still using. That had been his focus for so many years. He had beeninlikea few times, and definitelyin lust, but he was beginning to worry that he was falling in love with Nicola.

“Jensen, really, you’re freaking me out.”

He shook his head. “I’m worn out. Seems I have this sub who likes to challenge me.”

She gave him a blinding smile. “I told you I like to succeed.”

“I need some rest before round two, so go to sleep.”

As she settled her weight against him, he stared up at the ceiling. The few days they had left in Hawaii would never be enough. The idea of just walking away now left him slightly ill and frantic.

It struck him then that she was a bit like his addiction. He worried that she might not be there someday. Now that they had stepped over the line, he wasn’t sure he could ever go back. One thing was for sure: he would do everything in his power to convince her to continue their affair.

chaptertwelve

Nicola awoke slowly the next morning. It wasn’t like her. Usually she woke up refreshed and ready to take on the day. When she moved, she groaned. Her muscles were sore. Like a hard workout on the ice sore. She opened her eyes and realized she wasn’t in her room.

The memories from the night before washed over her. She turned her head and found the bed empty. Sitting up, she looked around the room. The first rays of sun crept into the room through the opened French doors.

“Well, that’s a pretty sight,” Jensen said.

She turned her head in the direction of his voice. He was shirtless, wearing those same silk blue PJ bottoms as the day before. His hair was mussed. She had seen it that way on long plane rides, but she had never seen him like this. The morning after made it even more intimate.

“Nicola?”

“Sorry.” He walked toward the bed and she realized he had two cups of coffee. She took the one he offered her and took a sip. It was made up just the way she liked it. Her eyebrows rose.

“What?” he asked.

“It’s made the way I like it and it doesn’t suck.”