Deeper (The Real Fling) by Lyla Bellatas Read Free Book Online

something you don’t want to finish, printsessa .” His mouth curved into a smile so sensual Adriana felt touched all over.
    Val exhaled and cleared the dishes away. Adriana closed her eyes and finished her wine. Her body was aching for him.
    With the dishes in the sink and the table cleared, he took her hand. “Let’s take a soak.”
    “You want to go into the hot tub to cool off?” She raised her brow. “Where’s the logic in that?”
    “Come on.” He drew her toward the stairs.
    She stiffened.
    “What?”
    She hadn’t thought this through. “I don’t have a bathing suit.” Her face was heated.
    “That did not seem to bother you a minute ago.” Val’s eyes sparkled and his lip curled slightly.
    With a nervous laugh, she tugged free of him. A kiss was one thing, but naked in a hot tub wasn’t happening.
    He took her hand again. “I’ll give you a pair of shorts and a T-shirt.”
    At the stairs he picked up her backpack, and they went up. The landing opened to the master bedroom. A king-size bed, decked in red flannel bedding and oversized pillows, sat against the left wall and faced another stone fireplace. Windows facing the mountains were on the far side of the room.
    “You have a fireplace in your bedroom.” She walked toward it. There was a large furry black rug in front of the hearth.
    “The bathroom is on the other side.” He pointed to the right.
    She went inside. It was huge, with a soaking tub in front of more windows and a double shower. The dark brown granite shimmered gold and silver. “There’s a skylight over the tub.”
    He moved behind her. “I love this bathroom.”
    “Of course, it’s your favorite color.” She turned, not realizing he was so close, and then took a step back. “Chocolate.”
    Val left her a moment and returned with a dark-blue shirt and jersey shorts. “Here.”
    “Thanks.”
    Adriana stiffened as Val reached over and unzipped her overalls and pulled the straps off her shoulder. He nodded and left, closing the door behind him.
    Sitting on the edge of the tub, she removed her pants. It was a slow process but eventually she shimmied out of them, her long johns, and panties. Val’s shorts were big, but thankfully they had a drawstring waistband which she tied tight. Good thing she’d had her legs waxed before she left New York or her dark hair would have been ugly.
    Crisscrossing her arms, she attempted to twist her sweater off and cried out in pain, doubling over.
    “Adriana?” Val called through the door.
    Hanging her head, she sobbed, “Can’t…get…sweater…off.”
    “Coming in, yeah?”
    “Yeah.” Wiping her face, she tried to hide her tears.
    He backed into the bathroom. The sight of him in shorts and nothing else felled her. He was stunning, with thick muscular thighs and well-defined calves. She couldn’t believe he didn’t dance. His back was even better, sinewy layers of strength culminating in a narrow, firm waist.
    “You can turn around.” She swayed in place. “How can it be only bruised? It hurts so bad.”
    Val walked toward her, and Adriana bit her lip. Talk about washboard abs. He didn’t have an ounce of extra meat on him. Satiny skin on muscle and bone. Not one inch wasn’t used to perfection. Hesitantly, he locked eyes with her and seemed to search her expression for something. He was waiting, but for what?
    She’d been so busy admiring his form and shaking away her pain that she hadn’t noticed initially. When she did, she refused to react. In fact, she kept her eyes locked on his but through her peripheral vision she saw enough.
    Rough, angry, purplish-red scars cut into Val’s smooth skin on his shoulder, arm and right leg from long, fairly recent surgeries culminating in a tremendous amount of stitches.
    “What?” His mood had darkened. He tilted his head, almost daring her to ask.
    Hoping to dispel the sudden tension, Adriana looked up at him through her lashes. “I think you’re lying.”
    He slanted his head