"My hair smells like cheese," she said. "I haven't been home in a couple of days. I used some random shampoo that someone had left in the locker room. You can tell me. It's cheesy,isn'tit?"
"You're perfect." There was a slight cheddary quality. "Do you need to go back to the hospital?" I asked, my lips onherneck.
Alex shook her head. "No, I wasn't scheduled," she said. She glanced up at me, her eyes sheepish and her cheeks coloring pink. "Or on call. I was lurking around, looking for surgeries. I just didn't want tobehere."
"Oh, Honeybee." She was clinging to me, her hands curled around my shirt. I sighed because I was doing the same. My fingers were digging into her hips like I was hoping to leave a mark on her bones, some proof that she belonged to me. "Come on. Let's get you a hotshower."
"Are you comingwithme?"
"Of course," I said, towing her into the bedroom. I ran my hands over her shoulders and arms, and tugged her coat's lapels. "It might not be the proper time for this observation but you are fuck-all hot in your doctorclothes."
"That's a bit of a stretch," Alex said, stowing the stethoscope in her pocket and shrugging out of the coat. She kicked off her shoes—ah, I'd missed her red shoes something fierce—and yanked off hersocks.
"It's not," I said, a proud smile stretching across my face as I studied the embroidery on the breast of her scrubs. It consisted of her name and a bunch of letters, and it reminded me that my girl was amazing. "I love that you're talented and capable. It's impressive, and it's reallyfuckingsexy."
Alex pulled her shirt over her head and let it fall to the floor. "That look of yours," she said, wagging her finger at me. "It'strouble."
I stepped into the adjoining bathroom and flipped on the taps. "Which lookisthat?"
"The one where you narrow your eyes and stare as if your cock is already inside me,"shesaid.
I leaned against the doorframe, crossing one ankle over the other and folding my arms across my torso. "That's good," I said with a shrug. "It's exactly what I'mthinking."
"But yet you're still dressed," she said as her pants joined the pile of discardedclothing.
"Right again, Doctor Emmerling," I replied. "I'm going to order some food, and give you a few minutes to rinse off without me. I don't want you hungry or worrying about whether your hair smells like cheese while I fuck you." I hooked my thumb over my shoulder. "Let's go. Wash up. Get that ass nice and clean so I can make itverydirty."
As she approached, I noticed the dark circles under her eyes and dull tone to her skin. Her shoulders were rounded, her steps unsteady. My heart lurched, knowing that she'd suffered these past days and I was responsible for it. It was one thing to put myself through hell, but it was something entirely different to do ittoAlex.
"Honeybee," I whispered. I reached for her, sliding my hands from her waist to her breasts. "I'm sosorry."
She dropped her head to my chest, nodding. "I know and I am, too," she said. "I jump to the worst conclusions and then I don't give anyone a chance to share their side of the story. I hold onto things for way too long, and I'm going to get better at letting go of the old shit." She looked up at me, her teeth sawing over her bottom lip. "But I think we should stop apologizing. It's been a really tough week and we've said so many things, and I just want to love younow.Okay?"
Tears spilled down her cheeks. "I'm good with that," I replied, sucking in a breath as I struggled against the same rush of emotion she was experiencing. "But I want to love you, too. I want a new arrangement. Something a little morepermanent.Okay?"
She sniffled. "Yeah," she said. "Meet me in the shower and we'll discuss the terms andconditions."
I escorted Alex into the steamy bathroom and closed the shower door behind her, then quickly called the best local pizzeria. It was a hole-in-the-wall place, the kind that didn't have a website or punny hashtags on Instagram. The lady who worked the phones was known for yelling at every customer who called, but their pies were made to order and there was something addictive about their redsauce.
I needed that small task to gain control of the hammering in my chest. My brain and body were gradually processing the news that I'd survived this disaster and I didn't require any additional bursts of adrenaline to fight throughtheday.
Following Alex's lead, I discarded my clothes and shoes as I made my way to the bathroom. There was a time for tidiness with laundry, and it was known as notrightnow.
When I returned to the bathroom, the steam was thick and I was half hard at the thought of Alex naked, soapy, mine. My cock twitched when I stopped in front of the shower to admire her form through the frostedglass.
"Mind if I join you?" I asked, stepping under thespray.
"I was starting to think you'd gone to fetch the pizza yourself," Alex replied. She folded her arms across her chest as the water pouredoverme.
"You can't get rid of me that easily," I said, wiping the water from my face. I stared at her, and at once, my entire body breathed a sigh of relief. "Get over here,Honeybee."
She came to me, and I wrapped my arms around her. Her lips were on my chest and neck, kissing every inch of skin, humming and murmuring as she branded me. "I love the way your skin tastes," she said. "I've tried to figure out what it is but all I know is that it's you, and Iloveit."
I tipped her chin up and bent to kiss her. "I love everything about you. Just fucking everything, Aly. The way you smell like a color and taste like a sin. Your brain, your moods, your desire." I dragged my hands down her sides, squeezing the globes of her ass before sliding back up to cup her breasts. "Hello, my lovelies," I said, swiping my thumbs over her nipples. "It's been fartoolong."
I pinched them both, and her breath caught, breaking into a cry. She dug her nails into my back as I pinched harder, a fine shot of pain. Every touch went straight to my cock, and all the relief I'd felt was now replaced with stiff need. My cock was heavy between my legs, my skinpulledtaut.
"Hands on the wall," I whispered, spinning her around. "Don't you dare move them." I leaned forward, catching her eye. "Do youunderstandme?"
