“Come here, Willa.”
Chapter 19
Willa returned to the tub, reaching for him and he for her. She squeaked in surprise as he pulled her into the water on top of him. It was a snug fit. He adjusted her until she was curled in his lap. A long firm hardness pressed into her outer thigh. She slid her hand beneath the edge of the helmet to his nape and rested her head on his shoulder. His hands roamed over her back, the fabric of her shift translucent in the water.
He cupped her breasts. “I wish I could see all of you,” he said. “I hate this helmet. Once it's gone, I never want to see it again.”
She shivered, not because she was cold, for she was warm all over. But the force of her emotions were locked inside her, shaking the doors of her control as if they had a battering ram, fighting to be let loose.
“See me with your hands,” she said.
His possessive hands roamed over her breasts, his thumb massaging her nipple, moving down her abdomen to her hip and down the length of her thigh to her knee. Her sisters had spoken to her about the intimacies between a man and a woman, more than just generic descriptions about the marriage bed. They told her about the pleasure she could experience. How a man could please her and she him. She wanted him to touch her in ways that she'd only touched herself—alone at night under the covers of her blankets and the candle blown out. She parted her thighs, and his hand slipped in between, following the line to the apex of her legs.
Her shift floated up, and his fingertips brushed the curls of her most private part. He teased the sensitive flesh, sliding along the seam of her core. Willa clung to him, holding her breath as her fingers dug into the hair at the nape of his neck. His breathing was harsh against the metal plates that covered his face. He toyed with the entrance of her body, teasing her flesh as it grew slick under his touch, but it wasn't enough. She wanted more pressure as desire danced along her veins. Her muscles squeezed and pulsed for pleasure.
Her hand covered his and showed him the pressure she wanted and where she wanted his fingers. She couldn't help squirming against his arousal, and his hips moved in answer. Water sloshed over the edge of the tub in steady rhythm with their movements. He entered her with one finger, testing the resistance of her inner flesh.
Willa closed her eyes and dropped her head back against his shoulder, biting her lip as she held his hand, but she no longer had to direct him to what she wanted. He was giving it to her in slow, steady strokes, his thumb brushing the sensitive bud in the hood of her sex.
Another finger entered her, and she gasped, curling her hips into his hand, riding wave after wave of sensuous delight. Ripples of ecstasy reverberated out through her limbs. Her body squeezed around his fingers as her pleasure eclipsed and a glorious release rushed through her.
His hand slowed, leaving her tender flesh, and sweeping along her thigh in soothing strokes. She shivered as her sated limbs melted into his, and he held her, his strong arms coming around her.
“This might be—as far as I know—the best night of my life,” he said.
Willa snorted. “Out of the last four I'd have to agree.” She grinned.
He eased her forward. “We should get out of this tub. The water is too cool for you. I don't want you to catch a chill. Should we have the chance to do this again, I recommend a larger tub and warmer water.”
She heaved herself up and stepped out. He followed, wrapping a towel around his waist before she could glimpse the organ she'd intimately felt against her skin. He handed her a towel, and she wrapped it around her wet shift. Willa was tempted to remove the garment altogether right here in front of him.
She bit the inside of her cheek. Why not? They’d come this far. This wasn't a moment she'd ever be able to forget. Willa may as well make it as memorable and as lovely as possible. She didn't know where the evening might lead, and she didn't care.
Willa draped the towel over the chair and loosened the neck of her shift, untying the ribbon and easing the damp sleeves over her shoulders. From the corner of her eye she saw him watching her, his chest moving with rapid shallow breaths but he didn't stop her.
Willa turned to face him and slid the wet fabric down her body seductively, she'd like to think. The front of him tented under the towel, and she let herself admire him in return.
“I thought what the doctor did earlier was torture, but this surpasses that. I want you so badly. I want to taste you.”
“Then taste me.” She stepped forward, and he took her in his arms. She pressed the length of her body to him, reaching for the towel.
“Don’t. As much is I’d like to, I can't have everything I want. Not yet.”
She bit her lip in disappointment. It was reasonable and logical that they not make love, but that didn't lessen her regret that they couldn't.
“What do you mean you want to taste me?” she asked. Willa kissed his chest and his hands cupped her bottom, holding her hips to his. He was just tall enough that she could nip his chin underneath the helmet and even steal a quick kiss.
“Just like I touched you with my fingers.” His fingers dipped between her thighs, teasing her core. “I want to kiss you here with my lips and my tongue, taste your very essence and give you great pleasure.”
Willa closed her eyes, resting her cheek on his chest and hearing the steady drum of his heart.
“I want that too,” she said.
When this helmet is off, nothing will stop me. Nothing.Not even a future that might take you away from me.
She pushed those dark thoughts away. Not tonight. Not right now.
They belonged to each other, helmet or no helmet, and then she remembered something Josie had told her about. Josie was the most lenient of all her sisters. Josie told hereverythingWilla ever wanted to know.
