“Now stop second guessin’ yourself,” I growl, “before I have to put you over my knee.”
She rolls her eyes and scoffs. “You wouldn’t.”
The mere thought of it is making my dick hard. Having her bent over my lap, my hand coming down hard on her ass. The way she would sound when she cries out. Fuck.
My lips graze her ear. I whisper, “Try me.”
Her breath catches and she shifts on the counter.
I move back to the bathtub and restart the water. “Now, vanilla or rain?” Nodding to her shelf of bath products.
“Vanilla.”
I dump a generous amount of vanilla scented salts into the water. A warm sweet steam permeates the air. Turning back to her, I reach for the hem of her shirt. “Arms up,” I order.
Once she’s undressed I help her in and kneel beside the tub like some battle-worn guardian angel. The water laps at her skin. My thumb traces idle circles on her back.
“Gonna open Moonglow tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I can imagine one of the ladies is tired of hosting their morning tea party at her house. I can’t wait for the earful I’m going to get.” She trails the water over her shoulders, comfortable with me despite her insecurities.
I chuckle, watching the steam snake across her skin. She gives in a little more, the line in her brow smoothing out a fraction as the heat sinks into her bones.
“I bet they’ll just be glad you’re back.”
I reach for the soap, lathering it between my hands to wash her. She’s processing everything, getting used to her new normal. I’m partially to blame. I shouldn’t have let pleasure distract me from doing the responsible thing and now she’s blaming herself for it. I work out the stiffness, smoothing across her skin with steady strokes, attempting to remove the last of today’s stress.
“You’re okay,” I whisper in her ear. “Should’ve been more careful with you.”
Every move, every touch is deliberate, designed to pull her back into her body without dragging her under. I lean down and press my lips to the crown of her head.
She leans back, her eyes closed. She lets out a small gasp when I press my fingers into her skin. Her face flushes with something other than the heat of the water. She bites her lip ring and it’s all I can do to keep from climbing in with her. The sound of her breathing, the way her lips part. I love when she lets herself go like this, lets down those walls and really lets herself feel. And God, it sets something off in me every damn time.
I know this is something I should hold off on while she’s this raw. The clinic and everything that went with it is a heavyweight, and she needs time to sit with it. I should be giving her the space to do that. But I don’t stop. My fingers skim up her neck, thumb tracing the line of her jaw to tilt her head back further so I can look down at her and study her flushed cheeks.
“That’s it. Just let go.” I brush her bottom lip, tugging enough to pull her lip from her teeth. “You don’t have to think right now. Just feel.”
Her eyes go hazy and she shivers. For a fleeting moment, I feel guilty for using this against her, using her body’s natural reaction to take her mind off of things. But then she looks up at me with hooded eyes and the guilt evaporates like smoke.
“God, you’re beautiful.” My hands trail across her chest, caressing each nipple. “Lean back for me.”
She complies. Her back hitting the slope of the tub, her neck inclined, eyes closed. Her hands come up to grip the edges on either side. I’ve seen her vulnerable before but this is something else entirely. She’s offering herself to me in a raw, intimate way with nothing but the water between us. My heart slams against my ribcage with the weight of that trust.
“Keep your eyes closed,” I command.
My fingers continue skimming across the sensitive peaks that are already tightening. The slightest touch makes her whimper and I can’t get enough of the way she responds to everything I do. Right now, I want her to feel nothing but pleasure. This moment is all about her and what she needs. No pain. No hurt. No past. Just my hands worshiping her, tracing the lines of her ribs, the soft fullness of her stomach, the dip of her hips. I want to make her feel like she’s the only thing in my world, a delicate, treasured possession. It’s the only way I know how to show her how much she means to me, how wrong she is about why I shouldn’t desire her.
“I got you,” I rasp. “You’re safe.”
My hands never stop moving, every stroke of my fingers deliberate, worshipful. When they slide lower beneath the water’s surface, her breath hitches. The steam rising around us makes everything feel foggy, intimate, like time has slowed for this.
“That’s it,” I murmur, her hips shifting toward my touch. “Just like that, take what you need from me.”
And I mean every word, more than physically. If grounding her in pleasure helps quiet the storm in her head even for a minute? I’ll give it to her without hesitation.
I keep the pressure shallow, almost delicate. My touch is feather light as I skate along the edge of her center. My eyes are glued to her face, taking in every flicker of response, the flutter of her eyelashes, the way her lips part slightly. I could watch her like this for hours. I press inside her and maintain a steady rhythm as my thumb circles her clit.
“There you go,” I say as a soft whine tumbles from her throat. I lean forward, my lips brushing the shell of her ear. “Come for me.”
