His hand finds mine underwater, our fingers tangling together. I should pull away. I should remember all the reasons this is a bad idea. We work together, he's not the settling-down type, this was supposed to be pretend.
Instead, I slide closer until our thighs touch beneath the bubbling surface.
"What are we doing, Bash?" My voice is barely audible over the hum of the jets as I continue to look up at the night sky.
He reaches up, brushing a damp strand of hair from my face with such tenderness it makes my chest ache. "I don't know, Shortcake. But I know I don't want to stop."
And neither do I. That's the terrifying truth of it. Whatever this is, this connection, this feeling, I don't want it to end when we leave Colorado. I don't want to go back to being colleagues who once shared a night together. I want...more.
The realization should send me running.
Instead, I sit up, water sluicing down my skin as I shift through the bubbling currents. Bash watches me with those ocean-deep blue eyes, his body tensing when I swing one leg over his lap, straddling him. The jets send vibrations through my thighs where they press against his.
His hands land heavily on my hips, fingers pressing into my skin like he's not sure whether to pull me closer or push me away. "Tease," he murmurs, thumb tracing the edge of my bra where it rides up.
I lean in, brushing my lips against his—once, twice—just enough to feel the hitch in his breathing. He chases my mouth when I pull back, but I smile and tilt my head away, trailing fingertips down the tense line of his jaw instead. "Impatient," I counter.
His grip tightens. "You’re killing me."
"Good." I press a kiss to the thrumming pulse point below his ear. His answering groan sends heat spiraling lower in my stomach. His fingers dig into me, but he doesn’t rush, letting me set the pace as I trace the hard planes of his chest through the water.
I catch his lower lip between my teeth, tugging just enough to make him twitch beneath me. His hips jerk up instinctively, and the friction draws a sharp gasp from me. His laugh is rough with restraint. "Payback's a bitch, Shortcake."
"Worth it." I seal our mouths together again, slower this time, deeper, swallowing his groan when I roll my hips against his. The hot tub jets churn the water around us, the heat between us eclipsing the steam rising into the cold night air. His hands roam up my back, unhooking my bra with ease before I can protest.
"Cheat," I mutter against his mouth.
"You started it." His grin is feral.
Chapter twenty-five
Bash
Charlie’s muffled cry floats through the dimly lit bedroom, strained and breathless. I lift my head just enough to see her. Cheeks flushed, lips parted, I feel her pulling on the sheets as her fingers twist into them, clinging for dear life.
God, she sounds so fucking good.
But, we made a deal.
I press a slow kiss to the inside of her thigh and lick, teasing the already marked skin. “Quiet, Shortcake,” I remind her, voice rough. “Everyone's back now and you promised.”
Her chest rises and falls rapidly, eyes squeezed shut like she’s concentrating on not shattering. “I’m sorry,” she whispers as she shoves her pillow into her mouth.
Hell, if that doesn’t just make me want to ruin her more.
I smirk against her. “Now… can I finish my dessert please?”
She nods desperately, and because I’m not a fucking saint, I drag my tongue through her just to hear that muffled whimper again.
She tastes incredible. Slick against my tongue and so tight against my fingers as she clenches around them. The first filthy glide of my fingers inside her earns me a choked-off groan, muffled tight into the pillow she's still mashing against her mouth. Christ, every hitch in her breathing goes straight to my cock, already aching where it’s trapped against the mattress. My free hand grips the soft flesh of her thigh hard enough that I know I’ll leave bruises, but she just bucks againstme, her hips jerking in sharp little rolls like she can’t decide whether to chase my fingers or my mouth.
As if I’d let her choose.
I press deeper, fingers crooked just right, and she gasps, her back bowing off the bed like I’ve shocked her. Her heel digs into my shoulder, nails dragging through my hair, messy and desperate. I don’t let up, licking a broad stripe over her clit before sucking lightly, my fingers curling up inside her the way I know she—
There.
Her entire body seizes, muscles going rigid as the first wave crashes through her. For one suspended moment, she's perfectly still, quivering like a plucked string. Then it hits. Her whispered moan fills the room, back arched impossibly high as her heels slip from my shoulders. Her thighs clamp against my ears, muffling everything except the rhythmic pulse I feel around my fingers. I don't stop, just soften my approach. Languid, lazy strokes of my tongue between each deliberate curl of my fingers, drawing out every tremor. I work her through it all, slowing only when the trembling turns to twitching, her breath hitching with each too-sensitive touch.
