Chapter Nine

Grace stood in the doorway of Robert’s office. He’d told her to come to him when she was finished putting his daughter to bed. “Hannah’s asleep. You told me to come here when she was.”

Robert looked up. “Yes. I want to start swimming lessons tonight.”

Grace felt her stomach tighten. “Oh, well…”

“No excuses. I don’t like you around the water if you don’t know how to swim.”

She watched Robert turn off his computer and stand up. She could feel her nipples stiffen as he made his way to her. God, would she ever get used to him?

He took her hand. “Come on. It will be okay.”

She let him lead her down a hallway and into the solarium, where the pool and hot tub were.

“I don’t have a swimsuit,” she said.

“That’s okay. There are some in the dressing room. You go in there and pick one, and I’ll put my swim trunks on in the bathroom.”

“Okay.” She walked into the bright room and saw several swimsuits on hangers. She looked through them and couldn’t find a one-piece or anything modest. Grace took the one she thought covered the most and put it on.

Her eyes widened when she saw herself in the mirror. The white two-piece barely covered her ass, and it looked like her breasts would pop out of the top if she sneezed.

She almost screamed when he knocked on the door.

“Come on, Sweetheart. No stalling.”

Grace exhaled and wrapped a towel around her midsection.

Her first look at him in only black swim trunks made saliva pool in her mouth, and her fingers tingled to touch him. To run them over every hill and valley on his muscular body.

He turned to face her and held out his hand. “Come here.”

She walked toward him.

He cupped her shoulders. “Do you trust me?”

She nodded. “Yes. You’re the only person I do trust.”

She could tell from the satisfied expression on his face that he liked hearing that.

“Good. Just know, I won’t let anything happen to you,” he said.

“Okay.”

He turned and stepped into the pool before he looked at her.

Her hands shook when she untucked the towel and let it drop. His mouth dropped open, and his eyes widened.

“This is the most modest one I found,” she told him.

She waited until he came out of a daze.

Robert cleared his throat. “It’s fine. Come here. I’ll help you down the steps.”

She took his hand and carefully took the three steps into the water. It came up to her stomach. The warmth that surrounded her was different than she thought it would be. Maybe it’s because Robert had a hold of her.

Grace looked up at him and waited. When she saw him exhale in what sounded like frustration, she felt her emotions plummet.

“You know, I think I’d rather do this another time,” she said.

One of his brows lifted. “Really? Why?”

She fidgeted. “Because you don’t want to be here, and I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“I am uncomfortable, but I don’t think you know why?”

She swallowed a few times to keep the tears from falling. “I do. And it’s okay.” She tried to pull away, but he brought her closer and held her tighter. “It’s okay if you have other things to do.”

He grunted. “I can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing than being here with you.”

Grace blinked. “W-what?”

“Baby, I’m uncomfortable because I want you so much right now. My cock is throbbing.”

Her eyes widened, and she looked down, but it was hard to see his penis in the water. “Really?” She reached between them and moved her hand, and cupped his cock.

He growled, but she was too enthralled by what she was discovering to hear him.

“Goddamn,” he hissed.

That got through to her, and she jerked away. “Am I hurting you?” she asked.

“Fuck, no.”

“And it’s okay to touch you?” she asked.

“Yes. I’ve wanted your hands on me from the very beginning,” he told her.

“I’ve wanted that, too.”

He lifted her to bring her level with him, leaned forward, and pressed soft kisses to her mouth, which helped her feel his lips on hers. When she pressed against him, he captured her lips in a kiss so blatantly hot it took her breath. Her arms and legs instinctually wrapped around his body.

Grace felt like she would pass out from lack of air and then realized she could lift her head to take a breath.

They stared at each other as they calmed their breathing,

“Jesus, woman. I’ve never felt this way before in my life,” Robert said.

“Me, either,” she said, blushing when he grinned because they both knew she had never had a chance to meet a man, so she had nothing to compare it to.

“I would love to stand and kiss you all night,” he said. “But I’m afraid this is going to get out of hand quickly.”

Grace had to bite her lip to keep from begging him to continue.

“How about we practice putting your face in the water?” he suggested.

She nodded as he set her down, so she stood on her feet. The water wasn’t high, so it was easy to bend forward, but she stopped before her nose hit the water, losing what little courage she had.

“Like this, Sweetheart,” Robert said, dunking his face in the water. When he came up, he wiped the water from his face with his hand. “Let’s try it.”

Grace did it again and let her face drop enough for it to get wet. She came up sputtering.

Robert ran his hand up and down her arm. “Easy. Take a deep breath and do it again.”

The second time, it was easier for her. She practiced several times before he called it a night.

“We’ll come here every night if I’m not busy.”

“Okay. But I don’t want to bother you.”

He pressed his lips to her forehead. “You’re not. I enjoy being with you.”

“I do, too. You make me feel safe, and before coming here, I hadn’t felt safe after my mother died.”

She could tell he wanted to ask questions, but she didn’t want to talk about her father anymore.

“I’m tired.”

Robert sighed. “All right. We’ll wait until later to talk about your father. But eventually, you’ll answer all my questions.”

They got dressed, and he walked her through the hallway to her room. “Pretty soon, we won’t have to be apart,” he said and hugged her against his chest.

“Why are we waiting?”

He ran his hands up and down her arms. “Because I want to make sure you’re ready. I don’t want to pressure you in any way.”

“I don’t feel pressured.”

“I want to make sure, Sweetheart. Because once I’ve got you in my bed, that’s it. You’ll be there for the rest of your life.”

Her eyes widened. “Really?”

“Yes. I’m not going to let you go.”

She smiled and hugged him. “I don’t want to go anywhere. I want to be with you and the others.”

“Then let’s see if we can’t make it happen,” Robert said. He kissed her again. “Get some sleep. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”

“Okay. Good night.”

“Good night, Sweetheart.”

Later in bed, she couldn’t settle enough to sleep or get the smile off her face. She would tell him that she was ready because she couldn’t imagine what she needed to do to be with him.