Forbidden - Karla Sorensen Page 0,75

few meaningless scraps of material, and I’d be his.

Please, I mouthed against his cheek.

“Fuck,” he whispered, a tortured whisper that made my thighs clench around his hips. “I can’t,” he hissed.

Aiden shoved away from the bed and stood, striding out of the room before I could take my next breath.

I fell back on the bed, hand pressed over my hammering chest, and wondered if it was possible to die from built-up sexual tension.

Even though the door was open, and I heard the bang of a kitchen cabinet, I stayed right where I was. There was nothing to be gained from following him out of the bedroom, from pushing him on why he held up this imaginary line.

Or not now.

This night felt like a crossroads. The moment we just shared was a road diverging into two distinct paths in front of us.

Admittedly, his was even bigger than mine. He was moving on from a love he’d lost. I was simply taking a first step toward something that large.

Wearily, I rose from the bed and walked into the massive bathroom attached to his room. The sunken white tub looked pretty amazing, along with stretches of gleaming tile and a glass-enclosed shower. My whole body ached, and I couldn’t even tell how much of it came from what just happened with Aiden, a letdown of energy that had propped me up for that moment in time.

In the mirror over the double vanity, I leaned in and studied the cut on my forehead. There was minimal bruising around it, which was good. Maybe Paige wouldn’t lose her shit too badly when she saw me.

Everything about the past twenty-four hours was hitting me at the same time. The entire roller coaster almost too much for my body to process.

I just wanted … to float. Feel warm and clean and good.

Decision made, I walked over to the tub and flipped the water on, testing the water when it got to the right temperature. There was no fancy bath soap in his bathroom, but I found some good old-fashioned Epsom salt in the linen closet, which I poured under the running water. It dissolved in the water as I swept my hand around the crystals.

There was no more banging in the kitchen, and I walked back into the bedroom to grab the clean clothes out of my backpack. As I straightened, I caught sight of Aiden sitting on the couch, his head in his hands.

When I paused in the doorway, he lifted his head, and our eyes met.

“If it’s okay with you, I’m going to take a bath,” I said.

His eyes burned bright, but he didn’t answer.

“Unless you feel like explaining to me why you can’t,” I added. “Because I’d love to understand it.”

Aiden dropped his chin to his chest, shielding his gaze from view. “You’re injured, Isabel,” he said quietly.

I shook my head. “That’s not it.”

His head snapped up, but he didn’t argue.

The specter of his wife hung between us. I knew it.

“I know that’s not it.” My voice gained strength. “And I wish you’d explain it to me.”

Those eyes of his, I’d never seen any quite like them. A wordless answer hit me straight in the heart as he stared at me. I can’t. It was as clear as if he’d spoken the words out loud.

“Don’t tell me you can’t,” I told him quietly. “You won’t, and there’s a difference.”

My lungs didn’t work quite right as I gripped the knob on the bedroom door, and he disappeared from view, jagged bursts of oxygen making my whole chest ache. The door closed with a quiet click, and I sank against it for a moment.

I pushed off the door and walked into the bathroom, stripping off my clothes and letting them fall haphazardly onto the floor. As I slid into the water, I knew he wouldn’t come in. I wasn’t willing to pretend anymore, like I didn’t have big, scary feelings for this man. Twice now, I’d begged him to do something. And he hadn’t.

I had a feeling I knew why.

But I needed him to open up a little too. Not all the way, and not all at once. But if he was unwilling to give me anything, then I had to decide if I could make peace with that.

Chapter Twenty-One

Isabel

A few hours later, Emmett and I were ready to get home.

Well … Emmett wasn’t.

I sure was. My bath had revived me, and with the help of one more dose of Tylenol, even though my body was