Page 85 of Ricochet

I’d have never let you in the water, Bree. I couldn’t have lost both of you that day.

In my heart, I knew I couldn’t have saved my mother, but that was the shit thing about feeling helpless—the mind searched for blame. Irrational blame that could possibly justify the weakness of feeling unable to do anything, and perhaps erase the horror of what I’d seen that day. My father, as strong a swimmer as he was, brought her lifeless body back to shore, and not even he could save her.

I hated her for dying. Hated her for enjoying something I feared, something I couldn’t save her from. Something I couldn’t save myself from. The more I thought about it, the more furious I became that something had such a fierce hold over me for so many years. It’d given Michael something to use against me.

Taking Nick’s hand, I stepped down into the warm water, cringing at the surface line against my shins as it separated the warmth from the cold. My heart beat against my ribs, and I realized, when the room spun, that I’d been panting.

He rose up from the water until towering over me and pulled me into his body. Hot, slick hands wandered my skin, down my sides and back up my spine, until he gripped me tight and pressed his lips to mine.

The dizziness of before kicked up, and I gripped his arms to steady myself in his embrace. When I closed my eyes, the room spun out of control, as his hand gripped my nape and his kiss turned fierce, demanding. The sudden violence and passion consumed me, stole away my preoccupation of standing in the tub. Against my stomach, his erection told me what he wanted, and as the heat of his body spread into mine, my muscles softened, melting into him.

I opened my eyes.

The water level sat at my breasts as I straddled Nick’s body. Sucking in a breath, I wrapped both arms around his neck, holding him for dear life, and his arms enveloped me, clutching me to him. My muscles shuddered, locking my lungs. Cold blanketed my chest, and I drew in short bursts of air, crawling higher onto his lap.

“Shhh.” His hand stroked my hair, and he kissed my ear. “Relax, Aubree. I’m right here. I’ve got you.”

Those three words again. I’ve got you.

Clamping my eyes shut, I tensed, batting away images of my mother’s blue skin, her lifeless brown eyes, and her gaping mouth, into which my father had attempted to restore her soul with part of his. I saw the sunlight reflecting off the water’s surface and my small hand reaching for it, fighting against the pressure at the top of my head. I hated the vulnerability—the place inside someone could reach me.

So, I let go.

I opened my eyes to a calm blue staring back at me. Nick stroked my temple with his thumb as he held my face in his palms. Exhaling a shaky breath, I relaxed my muscles, taking long, easy breaths, just letting him hold me.

“That’s it. Just breathe.” His whisper echoed in the vastness of the room.

Submerged in the water, pressed into his body, I stilled. Just breathing.

His lips skated down my throat to my collarbone, distracting my intense concentration until all I could feel was want. I desired him so strongly, needed to feel his calm inside of me.

He shifted beneath me and slid into my body.

I eased myself over him, knees against the seat of the tub, and slowly ground myself until he glided to the hilt. My quiet moan echoed off the walls, and I rocked my hips, circling, before slamming down on him with each thrust.

His mouth claimed my nipple, and I cried out when his teeth pinched the sensitive nub. Tingles shot beneath my skin with each slick glide of his body against mine. The tension of before, wound so tight inside of me, unraveled, transforming into a new kind of pressure that built toward battling my fears.

His moans bounced off the walls in a sound so beautiful, I craved it while he was silent. I needed to hear those small confirmations of his pleasure. Nick’s moans, grunts and growls brought forth a primal need to sate him. Please him. Upping my pace, I rode him fiercely, wantonly, while the water splashed around us in an exhilarating celebration of passion.

His tug of my hair tipped my head back, and he continued to torment my swollen nipples. My body came alive in the water, and in spite of my exertion, each movement felt like slow motion. The euphoria of conquering my fear, alongside Nick’s touch, his voice, sent me to the edge.

I dug my nails into his scalp, my body tensing, easing, tensing, tensing, holding onto fringes, until I opened my mouth to a scream ripping through my chest and his name reverberating inside my head.

His mouth slammed against mine, and he pulled me into him. Deeper, deeper, I fell into silence and came to a distant awareness that I’d gone below the surface. As I slid against his body, riding out the last of my orgasm, with his kiss staking its claim, I didn’t need air. I didn’t fear the silence. My desire for him transcended my needs and what terrified me more than anything. I could’ve stayed underwater with him forever, straight into certain death, safe and comforted by his arms while we fell into eternal sleep.

When we breached the surface, I felt his smile against my mouth, and I opened my eyes to those beautiful blue irises pulling away from me.

He captured my face in the palm of his hands once more.

“That was fucking amazing.” A chuckle escaped my heaving breaths, and I wrapped my arms tight around his neck, kissing him as if I’d devour him right there.

“You’re amazing,” he murmured at my ear, before his teeth grazed my jawline. The smile in his eyes withered to something serious, pained. “You make me dream things I shouldn’t dream. Crave things I shouldn’t crave. My weakness.” His lips slanted over mine in a kiss that stole my breath. “You’ll destroy me, Aubree. And I won’t stop you.”

I felt the same, like we’d breached a dark place, from which there was no return. I was trapped in the arms of a killer, as vulnerable as a kitten to a lion and, yet, stronger than I’d ever felt in my life. Nick didn’t take from me, he infused me, showed me the woman I could be—the one I wanted to be.

Sexy. Fierce. Shameless.

One who took what she wanted without apology.