Ash sighed and sank even further against her, his shoulders relaxing. “When you said you were going to do all sorts of things to me when we got home, I don’t think I realized what you meant.”
“You worked hard carrying me all the way home. Maybe I wanted to pamper you a bit before getting you all worked up again.” Willow kissed his neck. “Are you disappointed?”
“God, no…” he replied. “This is…” His eyes fell closed. “Why have we never done this before?”
She continued dragging the sponge up his torso, down his arms. She filled it with water and held it above him, letting a steady stream of water trickle over his skin, and Ash thought he might just want to call the whole career thing quits and live here, in Willow’s arms, letting her pamper the hell out of him.
“Because you had a closet for a shower on the tour bus, we didn’t see each other for four years, and then I backpedaled when things were getting too serious too quickly after the camping trip. Which was amazing, by the way.”
“But you got spooked,” he replied.
“I got spooked,” Willow admitted.
He wrapped his arms around her thighs, and his hands on her skin must have made her lose concentration because she dropped the sponge right on his face.
Ash laughed and then shook his head like a golden retriever. “Did I spook you again?” He grabbed the sponge and tossed it gently over his head in mock retaliation, but Willow caught it.
“You did,” she confessed. “I mean, not by touching me because Ireallydo like that, but with Annabeth this morning.”
Ash sat up straight and clumsily spun himself in the tub. A pile of bubbles joined the small puddleon the tile, but he was facing her now in all of her naked, bubble-spotted glory.
“So why are we here now, Wills?” He scrubbed a palm over his face, trying to hide the worry in his expression. They didn’thaveto talk this out. He knew she was ready and willing to just let whatever was happening between them happen. But he needed to know if tonight was any different from the night in the tent. He needed to know how to keep her from getting spooked again.
Willow bit back a laugh. “Sorry… Let me just…” She wiped the bubbles from his chin and jaw. Then she draped her legs over his, slid closer, and cupped his face in her palms. “Bubble stubble,” she told him.
He rested his hands firmly on her hips. “Are you sidestepping my question?” he asked, brows raised.
She made a move to scooch forward, but he held her in place, waiting for an answer.
“Oh…you want me to answer you now?” she asked, feigning innocence. “Because I thought it was time for me to do all of those fun things to you.”
Ash growled softly. “You arenotplaying fair. But yes…answer now. Please. Complete and total honesty, no matter what. You can do anything you want to me after.”
Willow grabbed his hands and slid them considerably lower so that he was now gripping one very naked cheek in each palm. She laughed as hegritted his teeth, jaw pulsing as he held on to every last shred of his resolve.
“Okay,” she relented. “You win, but if you ever try to tell me I’m irresistible, I’m going to remind you of this very moment when youresisted.”
He exhaled a shaky breath through his nose but said nothing, so she had no choice but to fill the silence.
“We’re here now, cowboy, because performing with you tonight was the most fun I’ve had onstage in years, even if that stage means the soles of my sneakers will be sticky for weeks to come.”
This made him smile. “Me too,” he told her.
“We’re here now,” Willow continued, “because it turns out that you were just as young and naïve as I was four years ago. You made a mistake, one that hurt me more than I knew I could hurt…” He flinched, and she cupped the side of his face in her palm. “Complete and total honesty, right?” Ash nodded slowly, and she sucked in a steadying breath. “We’re here now because after what you did for me tonight—what you’vebeendoing for me since the moment you came to after I knocked you out cold—I trust that you would never hurt me like that again.”
He let her move closer, so close that he was right there, between her legs. But he needed tonotbe holding her ass when he said what he was going to say next. So he wrapped his arms around her back,holding her as tight and as close as he could while still being able to look her in the eye.
“I will never hurt you like that again, Willow.” He kissed her, slowly and sweetly, letting his lips linger on hers before he spoke again. “Do you really trust me?” he asked, his voice rough.
“Yes,” she whispered.
“And if people post about us on social media after tonight?”
She shrugged. “Let them post.” Then she hooked her legs over his hips and whispered, “I loved you once too.”
Ash’s breath caught in his throat. He’s spent four years dwelling on how he’d loved her and lost her, and he hadn’t realized until that moment that Willow had never uttered those words. Even if they were past tense, they were an admission…a redemption…and maybe, if he was lucky, a promise.
“Willow,” he whispered, but that was the only word he could manage. So he lifted her slightly and placed her exactly where he needed her to be.
