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.

padded across the tiles, bare feet silent, and locked the door behind him. Timothy

thought, the image of those pale,

a month since they'd last

in his abdomen. Annoyed, he lit

smoked one. Then

the ache in his gut

revealed a glimpse

The heat surged back.

pushed himself upright and moved behind her, slipping his arms around her waist.

lips brushed her neck, feather-light, barely

froze, every breath filled with the faint, smoky scent of his cologne and

happening and tried to pull away, his kisses had grown urgent and insistent, scattering across her

of electricity shot to her core,

chance to resist, and

a muffled protest, Jessica could make

her reactions in the quickening of her breath, the way her body tensed beneath

trembling, as if she

pinning them above her head against the

Jessica's face burned scarlet.

alive

things and walking away. She never