Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Chapter 28

Steam swirled through the bathroom as Jessica spun around in alarm, reaching for the towel hanging on the hook.

Her damp hair clung to the porcelain curve of her neck, droplets at the ends trailing down along the delicate lines of her shoulder blades toward the small of her back.

Turning quickly, she pressed the towel to her collarbones with both hands, letting it fall just low enough to cover the tops of her thighs.

Her long legs seemed to glow in the warm golden light-pale, slender, almost luminous.

In that moment, an image flashed through Timothy's mind-those very legs wrapped tightly around his waist.

His stomach tensed involuntarily.

Jessica's wide eyes were misty, lashes beaded with water, their shadows trembling beneath her eyes. She clutched the towel so hard that her knuckles turned a flushed pink, wrinkles bunching along the edge.

The shower continued to rain softly over her, quickly soaking the towel until it clung to her frame, tracing the curve of her chest beneath.

Timothy's gaze swept coldly over the anxious flush in her eyes. His voice was husky, low. "What are you hiding for?"

Jessica's grip on the towel tightened. She had no words.

Timothy, already dressed in his pajamas, tossed his own towel into the laundry basket.

Without another word, he turned and strode out of the bathroom.

locked the door behind him.

thought, the image

a

Annoyed, he lit a cigarette

one. Then another. Then a

in his gut refused to

her robe, she revealed a glimpse of straight, delicate calf—soft, fair, impossible

The heat surged back.

himself upright and moved behind her, slipping his arms around her

her neck, feather-light,

the faint, smoky scent of his

happening and tried to pull away, his kisses

jolt of electricity shot to her core, radiating out until every nerve felt

chance to resist, and

least utter a muffled protest, Jessica could make

of her breath,

against his chest, muscles trembling, as if she

caught her hands in his, pinning them above her head against

Jessica's face burned scarlet.

this alive in a long

ago in the bathroom, he'd played the gentleman, dropping off her things and walking away. She never expected