seemed to need that control and she would give it to him. When the time came and he explained that he’d had fun, but it was time to get back to real life, she would let him go and she would be friendly with him.
She would stop arresting him at every given opportunity just so she could be close to him. The need to be close to him would wane.
All she had to do was take that first step. Up the stairs.
To her room. To the bathroom.
Somehow she found herself there, and without another thought she pulled off her dress and tossed it to the side. The hum of the shower was soothing as she made short work of her bra and undies.
This was what she wanted. Time with him.
She opened the door, happy he hadn’t locked it, but then maybe this was what he’d hoped for, too.
She stepped in and up to the shower. It wasn’t huge but they could both fit. She stared at him for a moment, the mist from the shower making him look almost unreal. His back was to her, every inch of his glorious skin on display, but his head was down in a way that made her ache to soothe him.
She knew that look. Weary. Lonely.
She rather thought she looked a lot like that most days of her life.
Maybe they could ease each other.
His head turned and he was suddenly staring at her, the hungriest look in his eyes. He didn’t say anything, but the heat in the room had spiked and her whole body went taut with that one look.
It was like every inch of her skin came alive.
He turned and she could see his body. Muscle after muscle, each one masculine perfection. His hair was slicked back, making his face look starker. He always had that devil-may-care look in his eyes, but it was replaced with something primal.
“Are you sure?” The question came out of his mouth deeper than his usual tone. “I need you to be very sure, Roxanne.”
She was sure she couldn’t walk away. “I’m sure.”
He held out a hand. “Then join me.”
She placed her hand in his. So often she felt unfeminine and she was fine with that, but there were moments when she needed to feel like she was a woman. His big hand surrounding hers was all the reminder she needed. The worry fell away and she was left in the moment. Nothing mattered except being close to him for a while.
The warm water hit her skin, but it had nothing on the heat his hands made. He pulled her close and his mouth was on hers like he was a starving man and she was the sweetest treat he’d had in years. He kissed her over and over, his tongue surging in to dance with hers.
His hands moved down her back, tracing the line of her spine.
She shuddered and let her body brush against his, chest to chest. Her breasts got crushed in the most delicious way when he pulled her in snugly against him.
“Do you know how long I’ve waited for you to let me back in?”
“Over a year.” She didn’t doubt the fact that he’d probably had ten women or more since the night they’d spent together, but he’d wanted her. She believed that. She was the one who’d gotten away.
“It felt like forever,” he whispered against her lips. “I’ve been waiting forever. I have no idea how you do this to me, but I can’t deny it.”
She couldn’t, either, and she no longer had any desire to. All her desire was focused on him and the way his hands explored her body. She let herself explore, too. The night they’d spent before had felt rushed, and her senses had been dulled. There was nothing to keep her from focusing on the feel of him, how soft skin covered hard muscle, how his jawline had a light scruff across it though she knew he’d shaved earlier in the day. It whispered against her cheeks and tickled her neck.
She could feel exactly how much he wanted her. He pressed against her belly and she could feel herself softening, every muscle in her body getting ready to accept him.
“I want to remember every part of you. I can’t stop thinking about you. Ever since that night, you’re everywhere. I have to see if you taste as good as I remember.” He dropped to his knees and then she was holding on to his shoulders because