With the warm bath bringing the temperature of her shivering body up, Emmeline felt much better.
Her heart raced especially when her bare flesh came in contact with Abelâs scorching but firm pecs.
Come to think of it, Abel was in his birthday suit too.
It was hard to keep her eyes closed as her eyelids were giving her away.
Emmeline had to slowly come to.
âWhere am I? What happened?â
Abel caught a whiff of a strong stench of paprika when Emmeline opened her mouth.
Abel furrowed his brows.
What did it taste like when I took Worryfree again?
I donât remember much of it.
I donât recall the smell of smoked paprika though.
Sigh. Waylon is peculiar to come up with some type of drug. Even the taste and smell were unique.
âEmma⦠Are you awake, babe?â Holding Emmeline tightly in his embrace, Abel breathed into her ear.
âWhy are you holding me? This is no way for a gentleman to behave.â Emmeline put up a struggle.
âItâs my fault, Emma. I love you. Iâm your husband, so itâs okay that I hold you. I donât have to be a gentleman in our bedroom.â Abel refused to let her go.
âBut I donât love you. Youâre not my husband. Did I marry you? Donât try to take advantage of me when Iâm most vulnerable.â Emmeline pulled a straight face.
Abel answered, âWe will soon get married. The wedding planner picked a date for us last month, and itâs not long now.â
Emmeline pouted. âBut I donât love you. Why must I get married to you? I donât want to be in a loveless and unhappy marriage!â
âWe get along well. Besides, I will love and spoil you. I believe that you will fall in love with me all over again,â Abel patiently soothed her.
âNot necessarily. I donât have any feelings for you. I wonât fall in love with you.â Emmeline shook her head.
Feeling less than confident, Abel asked in a soft voice, âWill you fall for someone else then?â
With her head tilted, Emmeline gave it some thought. âSomeone else? I bet I will since Iâm surrounded by amazing men.â
âAre you talking about⦠Benjamin and whatnot?â Abel cautiously inquired.
âYeah. Youâre not the only fish in the sea.â
Abel scowled. âIâm not a fish. I, your husband, am a man every socialite in the city dreams of marrying.â
âBut Iâm not one to dream. Youâre free to marry whoever. Just leave me out of it.â Emmeline pursed her lips.
âEmmaâ¦â
Emmeline put her finger up his chiseled chest. âItâs indecent of you to hold me while youâre naked. You have no shame. Let go of me now and get out!â
Abel had no words.
âGet out. Go on. Donât try to pull something on me.â Emmeline pushed him out.
Abel put his hand behind the back of her head to pull her close for a passionate kiss.
Emmeline raised her hand to hit him and cried, âMgh! Hmph! You perv! Thug!â
Her catfight did not scare Abel as he deepened the kiss, nearly sucking all the air out of her.
The little lady went limp in his arms. All her strength was channeled to catching her breath.
As if that was not enough, Abel got a little too excited, and it showed.
Still, he dared not touch Emmeline under such circumstances.
She did not love him anymore and taking her by force would only complicate things.
Still, he could not keep his soldier down. Abel cussed, âGodd*mnit!â
He jolted up from the water.
His manhood, standing tall and proud, brushed against the tip of Emmelineâs nose.
Emmeline shrieked.
Abel wrapped a towel around his waist and left the bathroom.
Emmelineâs heartbeat went erratic. The only thing on her mind was a replay of that beast.
Feeling a stir in her core, she wiggled to shake the feeling off.
She had âlostâ her feelings for Abel, so she could not fall for him so easily.
Otherwise, Emmeline downed half a bottle of smoked paprika for nothing.