to come for me."
Her breathing grew shallow, breasts rising and falling in the water, sending ripples across the space toward him. Her eyes went black with lust, lost in her pleasure, and it took more restraint than he had to wait her out. Faster, her fingers worked. Over her clit, in and out of her channel.
"Come, baby."
She cried out, throwing her head back and tensing, jerking against her fingers. Her lips parted, and he came unglued. He groaned, seed hitting his chest in spurts, his body taut with spasm. He stroked twice more through the aftershocks and watched her go limp.
"Fuck, Raven. That was…amazing."
With her eyes still closed, one corner of her mouth quirked. "Not so bad yourself, Noah. Watching you stroke yourself is fantasy material."
Death of him. No doubt, she'd be the death of him.
"Scoot a little closer."
She opened her eyes in question, but shoved off the tub and complied.
When their knees brushed, he tentatively put his hands on her waist. She didn't shy away, so he slid them down her hips and to her thighs, parting them to wrap her legs around his waist. He grabbed a small pitcher from the ledge and dumped the potpourri his maid refreshed weekly onto the floor.
"Tilt your head back." With a raised brow, she did, and he filled the pitcher with water, pouring it over her hair. So many fantasies involved her hair. Adding shampoo, he lathered the soft strands and massaged her scalp when she didn't show signs of duress.
"That feels good."
"Yeah? Never done this before."
She moaned deep in her throat. "You have great hands."
He paused for just a moment. "You have no idea." Refilling the pitcher, he rinsed the suds out.
She blinked at him through wet lashes, dark as midnight. The honey flecks were back in her irises, a sultry mix with the warm chocolate. Reaching for a bar of soap, she held it up in question.
His jaw clenched, but he nodded.
Running her hands over his neck, she worked the bar into a lather. She stroked his shoulders, down his chest. Her gaze followed the movement, appreciation in her eyes.
"What sets off the panic?"
She avoided his gaze, rinsing her hands. "I don't know." She used the pitcher to rinse the suds from him and then poured water over his head. Silent, she washed his hair. She had pretty damn amazing hands, too. The tips of her fingers massaged his scalp, the nails lightly raking.
Once she'd rinsed his hair, he laid his hands on her forearms. "You let me touch you in the living room. You're letting me do it now."
Drawing in a deep breath, she looked at his chest. "Some contact from Nicole or my mother doesn't bother me. Hugging or pats on the arm. It's more of an aversion than a dislike. Before your proposal, you and I didn't touch often. Maybe because we've known each other so long it failed to make me uncomfortable." She shrugged. "I liked it. Until…"
"Until I laid on top of you."
She met his gaze. "Yeah."
Without taking his eyes from hers, he reached for the soap and lathered his hands. He held them up before going forward. "Just tell me if it's too much."
She nodded and worked a swallow.
Starting with her shoulders, he slid his hands down her arms, careful to avoid any intimate area. Her lips parted on a sigh. Encouraged, he traced her throat and collarbone, moving south and keenly watching for panic. To his surprise, her eyes went hazy with lust, her breathing shallow. How could she be so receptive one moment and freak out the next? It was driving him insane, not just the need to have her, but the need to release her from the fear. He traced around her nipples. She arched into him.
"Like that?"
Nodding, she closed her eyes.
Cupping her breasts in his palms, he closed his eyes. She was nothing like he'd imagined. She was softer, responsive, and there was no way he could've possibly gauged just how much she'd affect him. Part of it was their deep friendship, the way he cared about her, but having her like this…There was nothing comparable. His own heart started to pound.
He opened his eyes to find her staring at him. Something flickered in her gaze, part alarm, part…hope. Sucking in a breath, he shook his head.
He rinsed his hands and then her body. "Time to get out."
She stared at him another beat and then nodded. He let her towel off before climbing out and drying himself. Having her