Page 116 of Hate Me Like You Mean It

He walked right in.

I crossed my arms, not to hide my breasts, but to emphasize the judgmental look I was fixing him as my feet backed up to accommodate his massive frame. “What are you doing?”

“What good is a butler if they don’t even help condition your hair?”

“Do you actually know what a butler is?” I jested as he shook his head like a wet dog, pushing his hair away from his forehead.

“This is a nice shower, lots of room,” he noted as we got rained on. He gestured toward the built-in stone bench to his right. “That’s going to come in handy, I bet.”

“Super quick, define ‘butler’ for me,” I pushed.

He ignored me, turning products so he could scan their labels. “You have whatever body soufflé is but no shampoo?”

“I dropped it. Here.”

He grabbed me by the waist before I could bend down to retrieve it. “Allow me.”

Crouching down, he snatched the bottle off the floor and clicked the plastic lid open.

“You forgot to take off your bow tie.” I flicked at the soaked, drooping fabric.

He chuckled. “You did always hate them.”

“I truly can’t think of a stupider men’s accessory. Except fedoras, obviously.” I snapped my fingers and pointed one at him the second I saw inspiration hit. “Donotwear a fedora.”

That cheeky grin told me everything I needed to know.

“Dominic, I will put on a metal chastity belt with multiple locks and flush each key down a different toilet.” And I was only half-bluffing.

Another deep, warm laugh drifted out of him. He squeezed a generous amount of white goo into the center of his palm, then rubbed his hands together. “I’d still make you come.”

I snorted, which he, of course, took as yet another challenge. “Wanna bet?”

The rain ceased, replaced by a comfortable mist, and then his fingers were in my hair, coating the soaked strands with perfumed goo. “Yes, Dominic. Idowant to bet that you can’t make me orgasm if you don’t have access to my literal vagina.”

He wasn’t deterred. I could tell by the cocky tilt to his lingering smirk. But he’d started massaging my scalp, and it felt so good that it was melting away the ragged edges of my apprehension.ThisI could get used to.

My eyes had shut by the time he moved on to the conditioner, and before I knew it, I was leaning into him, my cheek resting on his chest as he gently stroked my hair.

“I might fall asleep. For real,” I mumbled while he rinsed the conditioner off with one of the detached showerheads.

“Told you the bench would come in handy. C’mere.”

I was lifted off my feet and settled on his lap, my back pressed to his chest. He adjusted himself before pulling my hips back. “Comfortable?”

“Very.”

I snuggled closer when the loofah he’d lathered dragged over my arm. I’d never been pampered like this before. It was pure heaven. He maneuvered me this way and that as he attendedto every inch of my body, until my bones no longer felt like creaking wood, weighed down by yesterday’s events.

“Thank you,” I eventually muttered, turning my head so I could place a warm kiss on his cheek. “This is really nice.”

“Does that mean I win?”

“No.” As much as I would’velovedfor him to dote on me like this for the next two weeks, the idea didn’t sit right.

He’d been lied to and furious, and I couldn’t confidently say I wouldn’t have acted the same way had I been in his shoes. I wasn’t angry with him anymore. I was angry with Rachel, and a little at myself, but I didn’t have it in me to be angry with him anymore.

Dominic tossed the loofah to the side and ran his hands across my stomach, up my ribs, and over my breasts. “That’s a shame. I was really hoping to have convinced you by now.”