Andy nodded and continued to follow her. She walked him to the other side of the living room and opened a door. The door led to a large bathroom with both a standing shower and a separate garden tub. Dark gray tile made up the floor, and the walls were white subway tiles. Pink and yellow candles lined the back side of the tub and the shelf above the sink in front of the mirror.
“This is your favorite part, isn’t it?” Andy asked.
“How did you know?”
“The way your eyes lit up and the way you watched me for my reaction gave it away.”
Her lips tugged into a shy smile. “It doesn’t get much better than coming home to take a nice hot bath after a long day. Come on. The loft is the last part.”
She took his hand once again and made her way to the staircase back near the door to her apartment. They climbed the stairs to her bedroom. Calling it that would have made her too nervous to show him. Her bed was situated in the far corner, and she had hung sheer curtains along that side of the loft to provide some sort of barrier between where she slept and the rest of the apartment. Her dresser was just in front of the curtains, across from her bed. The other wall was taken up by a large bookcase with the back corner of the room as a reading area.
“Your second favorite part?” Andy asked, focusing on her reading corner.
“Did I give myself away again?”
Andy nodded and stepped closer to her. “I love your place.”
“I feel more nervous about you being here than I did bringing you into my parent’s house for the first time since I’d been back,” Samira admitted.
Andy studied her. “Why is that?”
She hesitated for a moment. “I’m not sure. Maybe because my parents’ house was from the life that included you, and it didn’t belong to me. This is me. Part of me you’ve never really seen before. I’m not sure how I’d feel if you didn’t like it.”
“Samira, if it has to do with you, I’ll like it. This place may be in a big city, but it’s still you. And I happen to like both the old you and the new you. Because they’re the same person.”
Samira closed her eyes and tried to swallow past the tightness in her throat. The tingling she had felt in her chest since opening her apartment door began to spread to her arms. From the beginning, she had been planning on spending two months with him while she stayed in the house and then easing back into her old life when it was over. Andy’s life was on Miller’s Island and her life was in Washington, DC. The obvious conclusion would be to go their separate ways.
“You shouldn’t say those things,” she said quietly.
“Why not? It’s the truth.”
“Because my time on the island is almost over. It’s going to be hard enough …”
Andy didn’t allow her to finish what she was saying. He closed the distance between them and placed a hand on her cheek. The gentle brush of his thumb against her lips stopped her from continuing. She closed her eyes and parted her lips at his touch. His mouth replaced his thumb, and she surrendered to the sensations that threatened to overwhelm her. His mouthclaimed hers and she eagerly met his tongue with her own when he deepened the kiss. Gripping his shoulders, she pulled him closer. The tingling began to travel south and turned to longing.
It wasn’t until she felt the mattress against her thighs, that she realized he had been backing her toward the bed. She could feel him smile into the kiss when she reached her hands under his shirt to feel his bare abs.
“What were you saying?” he asked when he stepped back to pull his shirt and sweatshirt over his head.
Samira smiled, knowing he didn’t expect an answer. She sat on the bed and made a space for him to stand between her legs, placing her hands on his naked back and pulling him close. She placed wet kisses on his chest, gently licking and sucking until he stepped out of her reach.
“I don’t have a condom, and if you keep that up, I won’t care,” he said gruffly.
“It’s okay. I’m on the pill. I trust you and I’ve never been with anyone without a condom before.”
“Neither have I,” he said quietly. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” she answered confidently.
Samira removed her shirt and tossed it to the floor, watching his dark gaze track her every move. He didn’t look away as he stepped closer, unhooked her bra, and tossed it to the floor behind him.
“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured, his eyes taking in her naked breasts.
He gripped her waist and moved her further onto the bed before joining her. His hands were hot and trembling when they felt their way across her bare skin. Her back arched and she let out a loud gasp when his hand finally found its way to her breast, squeezing possessively. Shuddering in anticipation, she guided his hand to the waistband of her pants.
“Touch me,” she whispered.
“Not yet,” he responded. “Take off the rest of your clothes.”
