Page 39 of Never Gonna Lie (Forbidden #2)

Chapter Thirty-Nine

RAVEN

I would follow this man to the ends of the earth, so it’s a no-brainer when he told me to follow him. I wasn’t lying when I said I was still sore. He ruined me in the best way possible, and painkillers will only last so long before I’m reminded of our night together.

James takes my hand, entwining his fingers with mine. Leading me into his bedroom, he says, “Wait here.”

I do as I’m told and stand in his room while he walks off to the bathroom. I hear running water and know he’s making me a bath. I get the warm fuzzies at the thought of him taking care of me. Is this normal? Did he do this for the other women in his life, or am I just special?

Before I get down the rabbit hole of why I’m never going to be special to him, James strolls into the room.

“Strip. ”

I clench my thighs at his command, his low, gravelly voice doing things to my body I could only ever dream about. I do as he asks and slowly remove my clothes, maintaining eye contact the entire time.

James’s eyes flare with heat the less clothes I have on. I’m standing in my white bra and lace panties when he licks his lips slowly. I track the motion with my eyes, desperately wanting to kiss him.

Seductively walking toward him, I stop a hair's breadth away from him, leaning in close. I gently rub my lips across his, and he groans, grabbing my hips and tugging me into him. “You’re gonna be the death of me, pretty girl,” he breathes out.

“Never,” I whisper. “I’m going to be the light to guide you home.”

James lets me go without a word and walks back into the bathroom. I follow behind, wondering if I said too much.

Reaching the door, I notice he’s filled the bath with bubbles and lit candles throughout; those combined with the smell of the bubble bath, and my body instantly relaxes. The bath’s big enough for at least two people, raised on a platform that’s sunk beneath.

I remove my bra and panties and climb into the tub.

The bubbles cover the entirety of my body as I sink below the water.

I hum in approval as I release all the stress from the last few weeks.

For someone who loves the water, I don’t take nearly as many baths as I’d like—not having one in the dorm kinda hinders that option.

“You coming in?” I purr, watching him stand against the sink, his eyes on me.

He nods before reaching behind his head and removing his T-shirt. I’m going to have to ask him to go shirtless more often because, dear lord, that is one hell of a look.

I sit up, keeping my eyes trained on him as he pushes his sweats down, revealing his hard cock. Knowing I’ve had that inside me causes my clit to vibrate with need .

James smirks. “Move over, Raven.”

I move so he can get in behind me, his legs on either side of me, and my back against his chest. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a more comfortable position in my life.

Wanting to soak this up as much as I can before it inevitably ends, I run my hands down his thick thighs, touching him everywhere I can and committing him to memory.

James grabs a sponge and starts washing me down.

I almost purr like a cat, it feels that good.

He continues running the sponge over my body in slow, maddening strokes.

Starting at my collarbone, he brings it down across my breasts, paying each one its own particular attention before moving onto the next one.

My breathing becomes labored the more he continues his careful washing of me, my pussy clenches with the need to have him between my legs again.

I stifle back a moan when he runs the sponge across my slit, desperate for him to either keep doing it with the sponge or to use his fingers.

He does neither, moving the sponge back up to my collarbone and starting the cycle again.

“Theo thinks your dad is innocent,” he says quietly.

I sigh, my good mood evaporating at the mention of my dad. “So does Mia.” I’m silent for a moment before I add, “Do you think we were wrong to judge him? I mean, he’s my dad. He’d never hurt me.”

“I’ve known Drew for a long time… you’re his entire world, Raven.

” He pauses. “I think he made a mistake, but I don’t think that’s what’s going on here, and we need to find out what.

I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions with him, but seeing as I don’t have a great relationship with my own father, I kinda lumped Drew in the same pile,” he chuckles, but there’s no laughter with it.

“What was your dad like?” I ask, wanting to know everything I don’t already know about him .

I feel James shrug behind me. “Overbearing, abusive—verbally and physically. Nothing I ever did was good enough for him.”

“What about your mom? Where was she in all of this?”

“Dosed up on pain pills. She loved them more than she loved me.”

I turn around, the water sloshing around with my movements. I wasn’t expecting a heart-to-heart, but I want to see his reactions when he tells me these things.

“I’m sorry you went through that,” I say gently, cupping his face in my hands. “No person should ever grow up without the un-devoted love of a parent.”

“I got over it a long time ago, pretty girl.” He smiles, and my heart pinches in my chest; his dimples pop, and the slight crinkling around his eyes makes him look that much wiser. “I just have an unhealthy outlook in general. It’s easier to blame someone else before getting all the facts.”

I smile back at him. “That’s very true. I was bullied at school purely because of my looks.

Add in the fact that my dad had money, and people assumed I thought I was better than them.

” I roll my eyes. “You should have heard the rumors about my stepmom. They didn’t care about the fact that my mom had died when I was a baby, or that Dad had met Emma years later.

They just assumed she was a home-wrecker and was only with my dad for his money. ”

James brushes my hair back from my face, water droplets from his hand running down my face. “People are strange, baby. You just have to find your people and stick with them.”

James goes quiet after that, so I resume my position between his legs, and he starts washing me again.

I chew on my bottom lip before asking the question I have to know the answer to. “Not to be the weird, clingy girl here, but what are we doing, James? ”

“Enjoying a bath together,” he quips.

I slap his leg and he laughs. “That’s not what I meant, pretty boy, and you know it.”

His voice becomes lower, more serious. “I know what you meant.” He breathes in deeply, his chest expanding and pushing me forward before he sighs.

“I don’t know what all of this means. All I know is that I couldn’t stay away from you anymore.

Ever since that night of your birthday, it’s like you’ve been engraved into my soul. One kiss and you’ve ruined me.”

I gasp. He’s never said anything like this to me before. “Bu-but you said it was a mistake,” I stutter, my heart pounding at the thought he’s been just as obsessed with me, and I didn’t know it.

He cups my breast as he says, “You could never be a mistake, pretty girl.”