A slight flush warmed my body as he drank me in, and when he brought the warm washcloth to rest over my heart, my mouth went suddenly dry.
A ragged exhale left me as he dragged the cloth down between my breasts, making slow, sensuous circles over my ribs before sweeping it back up.
Heat gathered between my legs as Kaden washed my front, his fingers brushing my flushed nipples and sending fresh waves of need skittering through me.
Leaning forward, I let him sweep my hair over one shoulder so he could massage my back and neck. A low groan escaped me as he dug his thumb into a particularly tense spot, and when I finally opened my eyes, I found him staring at me with a ravenous hunger that made my stomach clench.
My heart was beating so hard I was sure he could hear it, and what had started as a warm ache between my thighs had built to a torturous throb.
“Care to join me?” I asked. This time, I didn’t care how my voice sounded. Ineededmy mate. Needed to feel him skin to skin. I needed to feel his strength and solidity so that I would not fear tomorrow.
Kaden’s throat bobbed as he nodded, his eyes not leaving mine as he rose to his feet and unbuttoned his leathers.
My lips parted as his cock sprang free, the tip already damp with his arousal. I watched him hungrily as he shoved his pants down and stepped to the edge of the tub.
Scooting forward to make room for him, I gasped as Kaden slid down behind me, his muscular thighs coming to rest on either side of my hips as one corded forearm locked around my waist and tugged me against his warm chest.
A low groan rumbled through me as Kaden curled his body around mine. He was hard everywhere I was soft, and the heat of him was almost too much.
“Bad idea, little huntress,” Kaden purred in my ear. “Siran has made it very clear that I am not welcome past the morning. But with you here . . .” He dragged a calloused hand along my thigh, and I trembled at his touch. “I may never leave.”
Leaning my head back, I smiled at the thought of staying here, in this bath. Just the two of us forever.
Kaden’s hand drifted higher, and my inner walls clenched in anticipation of his touch. But he merely swept over the swell of my hip before snatching up a small glass bottle from the window ledge and pouring a dollop of something into his palm.
Heavy floral notes tickled my nose as he worked the liquid into my hair. I moaned as he dug those strong, dexterous fingers into my scalp, lathering the fragrant shampoo and causing little sparks of pleasure to erupt from every nerve ending.
I writhed against him, and Kaden growled his approval. “If I knew this was all I had to do to wring those sounds from your lips,” he murmured, “I would have bathed you a long time ago.”
I smiled lazily, nestling my backside tighter between his thighs so I could feel his hardness pressed against me.
Kaden made a low, guttural sound in his throat, but he was thorough in his ministrations and rinsed my hair with clean, hot water.
I collapsed against him, resting my head on his strong shoulder as he traced lazy patterns along my inner thigh.
“I have dreamt about this, you know,” he murmured, his fingers drifting up toward my center before skimming back down my leg.
“What’s that?” I rasped, wriggling in frustration at not having his hands where I wanted them.
“Taking care of you. Being close to you. Savoring every touch.” He tilted his head to plant a soft kiss along my neck, and a new kind of warmth bloomed in my chest.
In truth, I had never let myself dream of something like this — had never imagined that I would find someone Iwantedto be close to.
Sex was one thing, but intimacy . . . Intimacy was a weakness I couldn’t afford. One Istillcould not afford, knowing what I did. And yet, I let myself indulge.
“I like you like this,” I whispered.
“As I recall,” Kaden murmured, “you said youlovedme.”
Discomfort twisted my insides, and I screwed up my face.
I did love him, but I wasn’t sure I was ready to say it again.
Not like this. Not when he had me utterly defenseless.
“Tell me again?” he coaxed, his voice filled with a childlike vulnerability I’d never heard from him before.
Perhaps I wasn’t the only one who was defenseless.
