Caelan pulled me to my feet and kissed me deeply, not seeming to care about what my mouth had just been doing. I bit his lip and he groaned.
“I don’t have condoms,” I said, regret thick in my voice. “But we could go buy...”
He shook his head, expression growing more serious. “I want to. God, Riley, I want to more than anything. You have no idea how much I want to be inside you right now.”
I felt the second part of the sentence already forming. “But?”
He took a breath. “There are things I need to tell you first. Before we do that.”
My stomach dropped. “What things?”
“Nothing bad.” He cupped my face, thumbs stroking my cheekbones. “At least, I hope you won’t think it’s bad. Just things about me. About who I am. Things you should know before you decide to let me in all the way.”
Alarm bells rang in my head. What could he possibly need to tell me? Was he married? A criminal? Secretly a serial killer? Was he going to tell me the bodies were buried under his apartment?
He kissed me softly before I could spiral.
“Not tonight,” he murmured against my lips. “Tonight I just want to be with you. Is that okay?”
I wanted to push and demand answers. I was not a patient person and I was very, very intrigued by his secrets. But his eyes were so sincere, and his hands were so gentle, and I was exhausted and happy and didn’t want to ruin this.
“Okay.”
“Thank you.”
“Shower?” I asked. “We’re both still covered in rain and... other things.”
He laughed. “Shower sounds perfect. Actually, do you have a Band-Aid? I have a cut.”
Alarm shot through me. “What? Really? First aid kit’s in the bathroom. I’ll leave it out for you, unless you want me to-”
“It’s fine, it’s just a silly scratch.” He said, so I went to the bathroom, dug out the kit, and left the box of Band-Aids on the counter before stepping into the shower. The hot water feltincredible on my skin, washing away the rain and sweat. I was just starting to relax when the curtain pulled back and Caelan stepped in.
“Room for two?”
“Always.”
I smiled and looked down to his sculpted, dreamy body…And his thigh. There were four Band-Aids there, clustered together, covering a spot on his inner thigh. Huh.
“That’s a lot of Band-Aids for one cut,” I said.
“It’s a long cut. I walked into a table.” He didn’t meet my eyes. “Very pointy table.”
“Uh-huh.”
That explanation felt wrong, but I filed it away for later, added it to the growing list of questions I had about this mysterious man.
The shower should have been sexy, and parts of it were. His hands soaping my back, sliding over my curves with reverent attention. His fingers tracing down my spine, over the curve of my ass, making me shiver. My fingers running through his wet hair, scratching lightly at his scalp. The way he pressed me against the tile and kissed me until I forgot my own name.
He washed every inch of me with careful attention. His soapy hands cupped my breasts, thumbs circling my nipples until I gasped. They slid down my stomach, between my thighs, cleaning me gently where I was still sensitive from before.
When he reached my feet, he actually knelt in the shower spray and rubbed circles into my arches until I moaned.
“You’re ridiculous,” I told him.
“You’re tired. You deserve to be taken care of.”
“No one’s ever...”
