“Those are very good thoughts.”
“Sorry I got home so late. Thanks for the plants.”
“It’s fine. I entertained myself by digging through your couch cushions.”
“I knew it.” I stepped to the sliding glass door of the shower and slid it open, poking my head out for a moment. “Can you hand me my shampoo and conditioner from my toiletries bag? I forgot to grab them.”
His eyes went to my boob that was now pressed against the glass. He reached out and ran his hand along the glass on his way to the counter where I’d moved my bag earlier.
I laughed. “I think you missed.”
He freed my hair products and walked them back over to me. I took them and stood for a moment in the open doorway, wanting him to not miss this time.
His eyes went to mine and he took a step closer. His fingers lightly brushed over my damp skin, starting at my stomach and ending on my breasts, cupping them in his hands and rubbing his thumbs over my nipples. Then, slowly, lowering his head to draw one into his mouth. I’d made the mistake ofnot putting the shampoo and conditioner down right away, and now they were like cuffs, keeping me from grabbing hold of his hair.
A shiver went through me and he pulled back. “Get back under the warm water. I’ll let the fern enjoy you for now, but you’re mine when you get out.”
The shiver hadn’t been from the cold. “You don’t want to come in?”
He smiled and looked at the shower. “I’ve only had you in small places. I’m ready for more room to work.”
I swallowed and nodded.
“Can I stay, though? Watch? Is that creepy? That’s creepy, isn’t it? I’ll…” He backed toward the door.
“No! You can stay. It’s not like I don’t know you’re here.Thatwould be creepy.”
He stopped right as he hit the threshold of the door and leaned against the frame with a nod.
I poured some shampoo into my palm, rubbed my hands together, then began massaging it into my scalp. After rinsing, I repeated the process. This time, I let the shampoo sit for a while and took the bar of soap to my skin, rubbing it all over. Was I doing it differently because Elijah was watching? Absolutely. I was lingering, touching myself in different ways than I normally did. My skin tingled under his gaze, under my touch.
I rinsed out my hair like I was some sort of swimsuit model, looking up at the ceiling, flaring my elbows, and pushing out my chest. I couldn’t even decide if I was being sexy. I probably looked ridiculous. But when I reached for my conditioner and poured it into my hand, Elijah ran a hand through his hair. “How many steps are there?”
“This is the last one,” I said with a smirk. “I’m almost done.” I let my conditioner sit as I turned to face the showerhead, rinsing off the front of my body. Then I turned again and repeated the hair rinsing I’d done earlier. I knew I was taking longer than I needed to with my thorough rinse, teasing him. I wasn’t a teaser, but he brought out a different side of me. A side I liked.
“Get your ass out here, Sutton,” Elijah growled after another full minute of me rinsing my hair.
I chuckled and turned off the water. “Where is your patience?” I brought my hair around to the side and twisted it, wringing out the water. Maybe I was taking too long to complete that task as well because Elijah slid open the shower door, stepped inside, and picked me up into his arms. He carried me out of the shower, depositing me onto the bath mat. I laughed while he took a dry towel and placed it around my shoulders. He used the ends to run along my face and neck, drying me.
I wasn’t sure why the act of being dried off by someone made me feel so cared for, but a warmth spread through my body, and I wrapped my arms around him. I was still dripping, which soaked the front of him even more. He continued drying me, taking the towel to my hair, where he ran it up and down a few times and then to my back. After that, he was squatting down and drying my legs. Then the towel was back around my shoulders.
“Do you want to blow-dry your hair or anything before I… what was that word you used in the parking lot of therapy that first day? Pound?”
I laughed. “Yes.”
“Would you like to dry more before I pound you?”
I probably should’ve at least run a brush through my hair,but his thumbs were digging into my hips and his erection was pressed against my stomach and my nipples were hard and I didn’t want to wait. “No, I think you did good.”
He threw the towel to the floor and lifted me back into his arms, not needing to be told twice. Then we were in my room, and he was lowering me to the bed and pulling the covers up to my chin. Then he tore off his shirt.
“Have I told you how sexy you are yet?” he asked.
I nodded, watching him undress. Maybe I was biased, but he seemed to do it better than most people. Undressing, that was. I lifted the blanket when he was done, and he crawled under it with me. My hands immediately went to his smooth skin, and I turned on my side to press my body against his. He met me halfway, turning to face me as well. Then he was brushing my wet hair back from my face and kissing my forehead.
“God, Sutton…” he said on an exhale. “You make me feel things.”
I pressed my hips against his. “I can tell.”
