“Oh, miss, if there’s any advice I can share with you…” Lisa looked down.

“What? Please share.”

“I shouldn’t offer. If you ask, I’ll answer, but it isn’t my place to offer.”

I reached for Lisa’s hand. “You’ve been wonderful to me. I’m asking. Please offer me advice, anytime you feel the need.”

With a smile, she said, “Don’t doubt Mr. Harrington. He’s too busy of a man to not be straightforward. If he told you that you would be busy, you will be busy.”

“Thank you, Lisa. I believe I’ll take that bath now.”

“Do you need me to draw it for you?”

“No, thank you,” I said with a smirk. I’d always imagined someone sketching a picture when I’d heard that phrase. “I think I can manage.”

Wearily, I made my way to my room. My room? When had I started to think of it that way? It wasn’t really my room. Once we were married I’d be staying in Stewart’s room. He’d said that the first afternoon, and if I were to believe Lisa, I shouldn’t doubt that he meant it. Hell, I hadn’t even seen his room, but then again, yesterday morning I hadn’t seen him.

As the scent of jasmine bath salts filled the bathroom’s sultry air, I stood nude before the large mirror. With my long hair piled on my head, I wondered how I would continue to change. Tomorrow I had appointments with cosmetologists, estheticians, and manicurists. I already knew my wardrobe was changing. Truly, Susan had taken my preferences and molded them into the most incredible fashions. Would these beauticians do the same? Would my desires be taken into consideration? My hand slipped down toward my trimmed sex. I’d never thought about waxing. I’d heard about it, but the idea seemed too intrusive: I never wanted to be that exposed to anyone. Yet, when Stewart mentioned it—in the grand scheme of my situation—it seemed insignificant. Now, the idea added tension to my already taut nerves.

Easing myself into the hot, silky bath, I closed my eyes with an appreciative sigh. The warm water soothed my sore muscles and the remnants of bath salts coated my skin. Unconsciously, I caressed my arms, enjoying the smooth texture. My thighs and calves ached from hours spent standing in heels higher than I was accustomed. Between the measurements for my wedding gown and future wardrobe, I’d been tugged and pulled in every direction. Massaging my calves, my hands unconsciously moved upward.

My thoughts turned to Stewart: last night on the patio, with the sea breeze on my skin and his fingers inside of me. I remembered his voice as he spoke to Marilyn and Randall. Why didn’t it bother me that he’d interrupted my conversation? Perhaps, because, by using the speaker phone, I’d essentially invited him to participate. Nevertheless, it wasn’t that he’d intruded: it was how. His voice held more than enough power and authority to stop Marilyn Sound in her proverbial tracks. With merely a few words, he’d given me more support than I’d ever known.

The silky jasmine salts coated my legs as my fingers continued to move to my inner thighs and found the swollen lips of my sex. The sensation wasn’t even close to what I felt with Stewart’s fingers, but it was something: something to relieve the tension of the day, of the last thirty hours.

I let out a sigh as my fingers plunged inside my core.

With my eyes gently closed, I imagined Stewart’s handsome face. For a man so much older than I, he was incredibly handsome. His blue eyes could be so intense and yet so understanding. On the patio they’d been filled with lust, yet in the car, empathy and protection. Could I possibly be seeing so much? Or was it my youthful imagination?

My lips pressed together as the tension from the day found its way to my core. My hand moved faster, my fingers concentrating on the swollen bundle of nerves. My sole desire was to find release, one that I knew was near.

“Damn…”

I jumped as Stewart’s deep, raspy voice shattered my bubble of seclusion. My eyes sprang open and water sloshed about the massive tub.

“…you’re fucking beautiful.”

Instinctively, I stopped—stopped everything—moving, breathing, and thinking. Standing in the doorway, with the deep blue eyes from the patio staring down at me was the man I’d agreed to marry, the one in my current fantasy. Bashfully, I looked away from his gaze, only to see the tenting of his custom-made slacks grow before my eyes. Though his jacket and tie were gone he screamed importance. The bulge that continued to grow screamed something totally different.

“Don’t let me stop you, Tori. Watching you come is quickly becoming my new obsession.”

“S-Stewart, you startled me,” I said as I reached for a towel.

A shake of his head stilled my movements.

Biting my lip, I watched as he removed his shirt and marveled at the hard, massive chest I’d clung to the night before. His voice was velvet soft and yet rough. “When Ms. Madison told me that I’d find you in here, I had no idea what I’d find.” His lips quirked into an approving grin as he scanned my body, totally exposed through the water. “I’m sorry I didn’t find you sooner.”

Stewart knelt beside the tub. His warm, uncovered skin radiated a heat exceeding the hot water around me. Bashfully, I reached again for the towel, but this time, he touched my hand. “No, Tori, I want to see more of that sexy show.” He gently kissed my fingers and led them back toward my clit. “Give yourself pleasure. I want to watch.”

Blood flooded my cheeks. “I-I’m not sure I can.” It took all my effort to manage words through my embarrassment.