She did, water streaming down her back. I squeezed lavender into my palms and worked it into her hair, slow and careful, massaging her scalp with my thumbs. Muscles I hadn’t even realized were clenched started to ease under my hands.
She let out a low sound, almost a moan. It shot straight to my balls.
“That feel okay?” I asked, kissing the spot where her neck met her shoulder.
“Feels…” she sighed, leaning back into me, her ass pressing against my hips, “dangerously good.”
I rinsed her hair, then grabbed the body wash. I took my time, lathering my hands and smoothing over her shoulders, arms, the dip of her waist. I dropped into a crouch to wash her thighs and calves, my thumbs tracing the strong lines of muscle I’d watched work a hundred times in the arena.
By the time I stood again, she’d turned to face me.
Her eyes were dark, pupils wide, something more than gratitude simmering there. She plucked the soap from my hand.
“My turn,” she said.
Her palms slid over my chest, thumbs flicking my nipples until they hardened, then down my stomach. When she wrapped her hand around my cock, slow and sure, I nearly forgot how to stand upright.
“Fuck,” I groaned, head thunking lightly against the tile. “Win…”
“Talk to me,” she said, voice steady even as her hand stroked from base to tip, twisting just enough to make my breath catch. “You’ve been in your head all night. Even when you’re right here, you’re somewhere else.”
I dragged my gaze back to her face. Steam blurred the edges of everything, but her eyes were sharp.
“My mom called,” I said, words scraping out. “She… unloaded. About you. About me. About how I’m going to wreck your life if I stay here. How this is some phase. How she ‘won’t watch me throw everything away for a girl I met three months ago.’”
Winnie’s hand slowed but didn’t stop. “And what do you think?” she asked carefully. “Do you think she’s right?”
“No.” The answer flew out of me, fierce and immediate. “I think she’s scared. I think she’s never seen me want something that wasn’t on their approved list, and it freaks her out. But I also…” I swallowed. “Winnie, I brought this shit here. The articles. The cameras. Your name coming out of strangers’ mouths. I hate that for you.”
She let go of my cock and pressed both hands flat to my chest. I missed her touch instantly, but the look on her face pinned me in place.
“You also brought your tired ass to my barn at five in the morning to muck stalls,” she said. “You brought someone who tells Pops dumb city jokes until he actually laughs. You brought someone who looks at me like I’m not a mistake.”
Her voice wobbled at the end. It damn near broke me.
“Do you want to leave?” she asked quietly.
“No.” It wasn’t just a word. It was a vow. “God, no. I want to stay here. With you. With this.” I gestured weakly around us. “I just… don’t know how to not be scared I’m going to fuck it up.”
She exhaled, a shaky sound. “Then don’t decide my feelings for me,” she said. “You don’t get to. If you have to go because of money or contracts or whatever, fine—life’s messy. But youtellme. You don’t sneak out. You don’t ghost. You don’t let me find out from a goddamn headline.”
The thought of her hearing from anyone but me made my stomach turn.
“I won’t,” I said, fingers coming up to frame her face. “I swear it. If I have to go, you’ll hear it from me first. No disappearing act. I’m not doing that to you.”
Some of the tightness in her shoulders eased. “Okay,” she whispered.
“Hey,” I added, softer. “I’m not planning on going anywhere, Winnie.”
Something in her eyes melted. She surged up onto her toes and kissed me.
It started slow. Thank you, I’m scared, I want you. Then her mouth opened under mine and everything got louder. Hotter.
I gripped her hips and walked her backward until her back hit the tile. She hooked her legs around my waist like it was the easiest decision she’d ever made. The slide of her slick body against mine was torture.
I reached between us, lined myself up, and pushed in.
Her head thumped back, a sharp cry tearing from her throat. “Oh, fuck—Beau—”
