Her skin was as perfect as I’d always remembered.
Her eyes stayed closed as I ran my hands over her back, down to the dip of her spine, and over the curve of her waist. I was relearning her, remembering her curves, discovering what had changed and what had stayed the same.
When I reached her hips, she turned to face me. Water streamed between us, soap making everything slick. Her blue eyes had darkened, pupils blown wide.
I rinsed soap from her collarbone, and as the suds slid down between her breasts, my cock grew so hard it hurt. She had to know how hard I was, and yet she didn’t reach for me. I wanted her hands on me. No, I wanted more than that. I wanted all of her. Needed her.
But I needed her to want me, too.
I reached for the shampoo. “Turn around.”
She obeyed, and I worked the shampoo through her hair, massaging her scalp with gentle pressure. She seemed to melt under my touch, moaning and dropping her head back as I worked out the tension in her neck and shoulders.
“That feels amazing,” she murmured.
I rinsed her hair, and my hands slid over her shoulders, down her back, to rest on the bare flesh at the curve of her hips. She leaned back against me with a sigh, and I wrapped my arms around her waist, holding her close while the water cascaded over both of us.
For a few minutes, we just stood like that—her back to my chest, my arms around her—and the world reduced to steam and water and skin against skin.
Then Sapphire turned in my arms and looked up at me. The vulnerability in her eyes gutted me.
She studied my face, searching for something. Whatever she found there must have satisfied her because she leaned in and kissed me. Not urgently or desperately like when we’d first reunited. Just ... grounding. Real.
I kissed her back slowly, thoroughly, forcing my body to take its time. Her lips were soft and warm. When she opened her mouth, I deepened the kiss, one hand sliding into her wet hair while the other found the small of her back, pulling her closer.
She whimpered and pressed against me. The feel of her wet skin against mine, her breasts crushed against my chest, was almost too much. I was already hard, my body responding to her closeness with embarrassing urgency.
But I forced myself to slow down. To just kiss her. To let the hot water beat down on us while we stood there wrapped around each other, breathing in sync.
When we finally broke apart, we were both breathing hard.
“I need ...” She swallowed. “I need you to help me forget everything that happened today, even if just for a little while.”
I understood. God, did I understand. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.” She kissed me again, her tongue gliding against mine. Her hands slid over my chest, then down to my groin. She cupped my balls. “I need you, Kayden. I need this.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I turned off the water and grabbed two towels. We were like a couple of teenagers again as we raced to dry off, smiling at each other, checking each other out.
I made her climb the ladder before me, giving me a glorious view that I’d remember forever.
She waited for me at the top, and the second I reached the loft, she gripped my cheeks and crushed her mouth to mine. With our lips together, I picked her up and carried her to my bed. I lay her down and stepped back to look at her.
The last of the sunset light filtered through the window, painting her skin gold as her wet, blonde hair spread across my pillow. The last time I’d seen Sapphire naked, I’d been too young and stupid to know how precious she was or to understand what I’d been feeling. I had every intention of making up for that now. “Wow. You’re incredible.”
“Kiss me, cowboy.” She rolled her knees side to side as she looked at me, running her gaze over my body. The intensity in her eyes made my cock grow even harder.
I kneeled beside the bed and took a moment to study her. Blue eyes watched me with equal parts trust and desire. Her perfect breasts rose and fell with her breathing.
“What are you doing?” She giggled.
“Just checking you’re real.”
She reached for me, driving her fingers through my hair. “I’m real, babe.”
“I like it when you call me that.”
“Hmmm, then kiss me, babe.”
