Free Tackling Her Heart by Alexandra O'Hurley

water
running into the tub.
    A bath! That sounds so wonderful. Her
ass was sore, and she needed to take the plug from her body. She
wanted to pull it from her, but he’d left her tied to the bed.
Having him pull it from her seemed awkward in some odd way. Sofia
needed some privacy after what he’d just done to her for some
reason. Maybe because this wasn’t the type of sex you cuddled
after.
    “ Here, let me,” he said,
returning without her catching him. The man moved stealthily, and
it unnerved her.
    She caught his gaze and then quickly
turned away, a little humiliation filling her at how much she’d
enjoyed their romp and how vocal she’d been in doing so. There was
no doubt in his mind he’d satisfied her. Had she satisfied him? She
quickly glanced his way as he drew the plug from her sore
bottom.
    “ I don’t do shy, Sofia.
There’s no shame in what we just did. You enjoyed it. I enjoyed it.
Why feel embarrassed?” He caught her gaze and held it. “Total
access, remember?”
    Total access? “This is beyond the
meaning I had for that term and you know it.”
    A grin played at his lips. “Perhaps,
but the coy looks, the embarrassment—it diminishes the fun we just
had. We shared pleasures, and you learned some new things about
your desires. There is nothing wrong with that.” Marc reached up
and undid the Velcro straps, freeing her hands. He took one wrist
in his hands and massaged a little life into it, his warm hands
feeling wonderful.
    He had a point. She had enjoyed
herself, and she was completely wiped out. “I will do my best, but
it’s hard when I barely recognize myself in your arms.”
    His grin turned into a full-fledged
smile, teeth included. “That’s when you know it’s good,” he said
before lifting her in his arms. He started walking toward the
bathroom, where she realized the water was still
running.
    Sofia startled. “What are you
doing?”
    “ I’m sure that bottom is
sore,” was all he said before he lowered her into a bubble
bath.
    Sofia sighed, the warm water feeling
heavenly. The consideration he’d had gave him a few good points,
but they still didn’t outweigh his bad ones. But she’d been seeing
little glimmers of another man within, one she didn’t think others
saw often.
    Kind of like the shy girl hiding
within her. Maybe if that guy met her innermost self they’d get
along.
    Marc leaned back, pointing to a bar of
soap and a washcloth. “There’s two robes in the closet by the door,
so you can use one, and there are fresh towels, as
well.”
    He turned to leave.
    When he had his hand on the knob, she
quickly blurted out, “Thank you.”
    “ It’s the least I could
do.” He looked over his shoulder and grinned. “By the way, are you
staying here at the hotel?”
    “ Yes,” she answered,
reaching to turn off the tap.
    “ Which room?”
    “ Five-thirteen,” she
answered, frowning. “Why?”
    “ No reason,” he answered,
then left, closing the door behind him.
    Once she was alone, her mind began to
whirl. Questions of why she was doing this, knowing it would ruin
her journalistic credibility in sleeping with the man she wanted to
write about. Her bias was now destroyed, but then, had she truly
ever been biased when it came to that man?
    She’d almost not added Maddox to her
drug scandal story, just because she’d been so infatuated with
Marc. Deciding that wasn’t the right course of action, she’d done
the right thing, only to be burned by it when she found out the
truth. Maybe it was time to do the wrong thing for the right
reasons.
    Right reasons? Yeah, your
lust for Marc Anders isn’t a right reason.
    Sofia sank deeper into the soaker tub
and tried to clear her mind. The little niggles of worry had to go.
She had total access to the sports star she wanted to write about,
and yes, she’d used questionable tactics to get that access. She
wasn’t the first and wouldn’t be the last. At least she’d wanted
him before the whole thing began.
    The