“Oh.” I nodded. “Yes, I did. And I slept well for the first time in a long time.”
“Riley, it’s okay. If I were human and the FBI turned up at your door and told you I was dead after a five-year search, you would’ve grieved differently. You would've taken a few years to heal, then found someone else. But in this case, the circumstances were so extreme. Your emotions were confused. I’m not upset with you.” He grabbed my backside and lifted me up his body. “I’m just glad to be here with you now.”
I grabbed his shoulders, relieved that he was so understanding. Thankful for my strong new body, I wrapped my legs around his waist without any assistance from him. He turned us to the bed and laid me down. “You’ve always been beautiful, Baby. But I'm so proud of how fit you are now. How healthy you are.” His eyes traveled down my body.
As he studied me, it dawned on me that I’d last bathed in Mexico City, over thirty-six hours earlier. “Michael, I was so nervous and excited about being with you again, I didn’t think. I definitely need a shower.” I wrinkled up my nose, imagining how I must smell. “I wish I’d known you were coming, I would’ve put on makeup, and maybe done my hair.” I touched the top of my head.Gross. It was oily.Great.
“Baby, you could be covered in mud, and I’d pray to be able to be with you. Remember, I’ve seen you at your absolute worst.” His eyes crinkled as he smiled at me.
“And exactly what would you consider my absolute worst, Michael Effler?” I put my hands on my hips and gave him my best cocked eyebrow.
“I was actually remembering that last stomach bug.” He belly laughed before continuing. “Thesmell, oh, man. The three of you were sick and it was all I could do to stay inside and take care of you. With my heightened senses, I kept having to run outside and take deep breaths.”
I laughed with him. “I had no idea! If I’d known I would’ve sent you away. I could’ve muddled through, caring for the three of us.”
“Baby, wild horses couldn’t have pulled me away.” His eyes softened on mine, and he gripped my butt. “Hold on,” he said.
I tightened my hold around his waist with my legs, and he lifted me up and carried me into the bathroom. Setting me on the counter, he turned on the shower. It was just big enough for two.Hmmm. If the four of us do end up together, we'll have to build a tub we can get all naughty in.
Michael came to stand between my legs. I tugged on the hem of his shirt, and he raised his arms accommodatingly. I lifted his shirt to find his abdomen covered in scars. “Michael, my God. Is this from the torture?” I asked, even though I really didn’t want to hear the answer.
“Actually, those are from the sorceress. Or maybe the witches, I’m not sure. They didn’t use any magic when they tortured me. An injury with no supernatural aspect to it will heal with ease. These scars and the ones on my face are from small cuts being made, then some potion or another being poured into them.”
I peppered kisses along the small white lines. When I finished kissing them, I used the tip of my tongue to trace them. After I’d given attention to each scar on his front, I asked him to turn. His back was clear of scars.
“Why none on your back?”
“They always had me facing up.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe they thought the spells would be more effective if I saw them doing it? I’m not sure.”
I licked around his shoulder blades. When I reached his neck, I gave him a sharp bite. He jumped and whirled around, faster than I could've dreamed of moving.
The t-shirt I’d worn since we left the fancy hotel in Mexico City was ripped off of me in one quick motion. Since I’d removed my bra the night before, my breasts were exposed to the rapidly warming bathroom air, my body tight under Michael’s intense gaze. His hands moved to cover them leisurely, almost reverently.
I moaned when his rough palms made contact. Closing my eyes, my hands traveled up his chest and neck. I paused when I reached his hair. I’d forgotten he’d grown it long. He’d always kept it high and tight before, much like Elias, and my muscle memory expected to find his old haircut.
I pulled the hair tie out and he shook his hair out around his face. I grabbed his hair in both hands and pulled his face to mine.
Our first kiss in five years was perfection. He pressed his lips against mine and tucked his top lip between mine. Then he paused and inhaled. I hadn’t showered yet. It wasn’t the time to use his preternatural sense of smell. He didn’t seem to mind my odor too much, because after taking in a deep breath, he attacked my mouth with fervor.
My lips surrendered to his attention. He sucked and rubbed, licked, and bit. It was a kiss to rival even my first kiss with Elias, which was phenomenal. The first time Michael kissed me was G rated in comparison.He really did miss me.By the time he moved from my lips to my neck, my body was plastered against his, and the bathroom was warm and full of steam.
I grabbed his belt and unbuckled it as he nibbled his way down my neck. “Michael,” I moaned, “bite me, please.”
He hummed against my skin instead of answering, but he didn't bite me. I unbuckled his pants while he continued with his small kisses. A keening sound erupted from my throat as all my blood rushed south.
I jerked his pants down as low as I could. "You're not wearing underwear! You always wear underwear."
He gave me one more kiss before answering me. "They didn't give me any, and I got used to it. I like the way it feels now." I was far too turned on to ask him why in the world they wouldn't let him have undies.
He unbuttoned my pants, and I was embarrassed as his fingers brushed the loose skin hanging over my jeans. I sucked in my stomach as he pressed against me to get a grip on the button.
"What's wrong, Baby?" he asked with concern.
"I'm sorry, I'm still a little self-conscious about my body," I said, ashamed of myself. I'd workedsohard; I shouldn’t feel shame. I tried to tamp it down. Although, I went through all that hard work to be able to protect myself, not so I would look better, my enhanced body image was a nice byproduct of my training regime.
"Riley, it took me the better part of a year to get you to trust me when I first told you I loved your body. Then your beautiful body gave me two perfect sons. I've always worshipped you." Michael’s eyes soaked in my naked body.
I reluctantly let go of him. "Yes, Michael, I had finally convinced myself that you were one of those guys that got off on being with a big girl. I never lost the sense of amazement that came with being with a man that was far,farout of my league. But now, I look different. In clothes I look a lot better, but out of my clothes, my once plump curves are saggy. I had a stray insecure thought. Those kinds of thoughts are going to happen to someone like me."
