A few minutes later when she didn’t return, he knew she was indulging in a bath.
It was incredibly distracting. He kept picturing Ivey in the tub, her flyaway hair pinned up haphazardly, her smooth skin wet and warm, her body relaxed.
At the same time he enjoyed that visual, he tried to rein in his mother’s gusto, while also fending off her matchmaking efforts. Now that Lang wasn’t in the hot seat, he appeared to enjoy seeing Corbin put there.
Hope hadn’t joined them for dinner tonight, and Corbin wondered if his brother had warned her away. It had become the norm for them all to eat together. Given that Hope was still so reserved, sometimes more so than Justin, Lang probably thought it would be better to introduce them once their mom had wound down a little. Corbin would ask his brother about it in the morning.
The unexpected visit had really thrown off his plans. He’d wanted to go through the box of stuff he’d amassed from Darcie’s car: photos of Justin, a few things he’d drawn, an old toy. The idea of sitting with Ivey and looking at everything together had appealed to him.
Instead he’d walked into a circus. Nothing new with his overly exuberant mom. She brought a whirlwind with her wherever she went.
To his relief, she and Hagan had declined the offer to stay in the house, and instead planned to sleep in the RV parked in the driveway. Hagan claimed they already had everything set up. Corbin had the feeling they wanted their privacy—but yeah, he didn’t want to dwell on that too much. He liked Hagan, the two of them got along well together, but he didn’t want details of his mother’s romantic adventures.
Tomorrow they’d need to recharge the RV, so their plan, according to his mother, was to find the nearest RV park for a nice long stay, then they’d rent a car so they could drive back and forth in frequent visits.
It hadn’t taken long for Justin to warm to his mother, a fact that surprised Corbin since she could be overwhelming. Or maybe Justin hadn’t been able to catch a breath to object.
He grinned at that idea.
Either way, his mother doted on Justin and he seemed to like it.
As far as Corbin was concerned, his son couldn’t get too much love from family. His mother came with a lot of chaos, but she also brought a lot of love.
Finally, the house was quiet again. His mother and Hagan were settled in the RV, and after seeing Justin ready for bed and giving him a good-night hug, he’d left Lang reading to him.
Corbin went into the master bedroom and tapped at the bathroom door. At Ivey’s lazily murmured “yes?” he stepped in.
With damp curls all around her face, she smiled. “Oh good, you survived.”
No matter how much time they spent together, it never failed to strike him just how perfect she was for him. “By the skin of my teeth.” Coming to stand by the bath, Corbin looked down at her utterly relaxed posture. “You’ve been in there over an hour.”
“So? It was a hectic day.” She heaved a long sigh. “You should try it next. You still look tense.”
Walking in to hear his mother trying to marry him off could make anyone tense. “I already took a quick shower.”
“Too bad.” Ivey closed her eyes as if she planned to be in there longer still.
Bubbles circulated around her, constantly stirring the water but not doing a damn thing to obscure her body. “Enjoying yourself?”
“It’s very relaxing.”
Letting his gaze roam over her, Corbin felt her never-ending effect sink in. That, more than a jet tub, worked to unkink the stress knots in his shoulders and neck. “Ivey?”
“Mmm?”
“Did my mother embarrass you?”
“Of course.” Her mouth curved in a small, secret smile. “I like her, though. She’s funny, boisterous and well-intentioned.”
Yup, that summed up his mother. “She likes you as well.” To resist reaching down to touch her bare body, Corbin flattened a hand to the wall. Ivey wasn’t yet ready to leave her bath, and he didn’t want to cut her time short. “About what she said—”
Green eyes that looked amazingly bright opened to stare up at him. Very softly, she said, “I do love you, you know.”
His breath stalled. She loved him.
As if that weren’t enough to level him, she added, “Someday, when you’re ready...if you’re ever ready, I would love nothing more than to marry you. With you, Corbin, I feel more like me, if that makes any sense.”
“It does.” He pulled off his T-shirt and, wearing only sleep pants, knelt down at the side of the tub. “Because with you, I feel like myself, like I have a grasp on things.” It was a wonderful illusion, one he wanted to hold on to.
Ivey drifted her fingers along the surface of the water. “You have a better understanding of life and the people you love than anyone I know.” Her gaze trapped his, and her voice lowered. “When I think about Justin and all the things he might have gone through, I’m so grateful that you’re his dad.”
Corbin swallowed heavily. “Me, too.”
“Justin needed someone strong, someone who would accept him, appreciate him and love him unconditionally.”
What did Ivey need? Was he enough for her? Could she overlook all the challenges that lay ahead? Despite her assurances, he didn’t want to put it to the test. Not yet.
Dipping a hand beneath the water, he stroked her thigh. “So you love me.”
Her smile twitched. “Yes.”
“I like hearing it.”
Her gaze warmed. “I love you, Corbin.”
There were a million things he needed to say to her. A lot of things they had to work out. But in that moment, he wanted her. No, actually, he needed her.
So damned much.
Without explaining, he turned off the jets and pulled the drain on the tub.
Ivey laughed. “I take it my bath is over?”
“Sorry.” Very seriously, he said, “If I don’t have you soon, I’m going to explode.”
Satisfaction replaced her humor. “All right.”
Coming to his feet, Corbin shook out the towel and held it open for her, then wrapped her up when she stepped into it. He didn’t bother drying her, not yet. Not now.
He couldn’t.
Instead he backed her to the wall, heard her quick inhalation as her warmed skin met the cool tiles, and he kissed her.
God, he loved kissing her.
Her lips were open, her tongue inviting. Ivey always gave so much. All that she had. Everything he needed.
After indulging her mouth for several minutes, he shifted to trail his teeth along her throat, then her collarbone.