She hesitates. Her hands flutter at the hem, caught between modesty and obedience. I don’t wait. I grip the neckline and pull, tearing the seam. The fabric peels away, ruined, and I let it drop to the floor.
She stands naked, skin marbled with goosebumps, eyes huge and wet. I want to fuck her right now, want to push her into the glass and leave a permanent print of her body on the world, but instead I step back and strip off my own shirt, my own pants, tossing them on top of hers. The air bites at my skin. It feels good.
Note to self: burn these.
I take her hand and lead her to the bathroom. The tub is big enough to drown in, set into a platform of white marble, with brass fixtures and a view of the city. I turn on the water, hot as it goes, and watch steam fill the air. Rummaging around, I find bubbles, epsom salts and a bath bomb.
Having money pays when it comes to things like this.
I step into the tub first, settling back, then pull her after me. She hesitates, toes the water, then sinks in, hissing at the heat.
We lay, side by side, silent except for the slosh of water and the distant murmur of traffic twenty stories below.
Repositioning her so she’s between my legs, I reach for the soap, squeeze a mound into my palm, and start at her neck. I scrub the dried blood away, careful not to break the skin. I work down her arms, over her chest, along her thighs.
I tip her chin up and wash her face. She closes her eyes and lets me do it, lets me erase the evidence.
We don’t talk. There’s beauty in the silence.
When I finish, I rinse her and quickly wash myself before leaning back and wrapping my arms around her. Her body fits perfectly, every line aligning with mine.
She leans back, boneless, and lets me hold her up.
For a while, I just breathe her in.
She smells like soap and blood and the end of the world.
Like the beginning of a new one.
Eventually, she opens her eyes and says, “What happens now?”
I answer without hesitation. “Whatever we want.”
She nods, once. The water ripples around us, pink and warm. Outside, the city is waking up, the streets below a blur of movement and light.
In here, there is only us. Only what we choose.
I press my mouth to her temple. I taste the salt of her skin and memorize the moment.
We don’t move until the water goes cold.
The sun sets behind a curtain of glass and steel, city lights erupting in the twilight. The penthouse terrace is empty, a plateau above the world, and the infinity pool glows blue, as if some goddamn deity made it just for us.
I guide her out, still naked underneath the big, white robe she wears loosely. She tries to cover herself when I start undoing it, but I stop her with a hand on her wrist.
“No one can see us,” I say, pulling it off and shedding my own. “Don’t worry, baby girl, I’ll pluck the eyes out of anyone who looks at you the way only I can.”
We step onto the tiles. The night air raises goosebumps, but the pool steams, surface trembling with its own private climate. She slides in first, water rising over her chest, hair floating behind her like a halo. I follow, the heat feels nice in the spring chill.
The city hums below, but up here there’s only the pulse of blood and water. We drift toward the edge, nothing but a thin strip of stone between us and the empty air.
She looks out for a few minutes before jumping down and swimming to the shallow end and sitting on the ledge, legs dangling in the water, and I wedge myself between her knees. My hands run up her calves, over her thighs, and I watch the shiver ripple through her.
She leans in, lips parted. I kiss her hard, biting her bottom lip until she gasps, and then I push her back, splay her on the edge,and kiss my way down her neck, her breasts, her stomach. Her scars are a map, a story I know by heart now. I want to add more.
I kneel in the pool, grip her hips, and yank her to the very edge. Her ass slides on wet stone. I spread her legs and bury my mouth between them, tongue working the nerves until she’s writhing, hands clutching my hair, breath coming in little animal sounds. I don’t stop, don’t slow, don’t let her run from it.
She comes fast, her whole body locking up, heels digging into my back, and I drink it in, savor every tremor.
