into me again, and I got to feel the play of every muscle under his skin, because right now, in this minute, Holden Whittaker was mine.
He pushed harder into me, pressing me into the bed. His muscles bunched as he kept control. He moved a little faster, finding just the right angle as both of us gasped. He was feeling the same thing I was, the perfect pleasure of him and me. The way our bodies—his hard, mine soft—were made for each other. The way we sent sparks of pleasure through each other without even trying. The way there was no awkwardness, no fear, no second guessing. Just trust. And pleasure.
He moved harder, harder, and I held on. A few minutes later he came, his body going rigid and his breath coming hard. And as we lay in bed afterward, in sweaty bliss, I knew some things would never be the same again.
Nineteen
Holden
We’d just had hot, sweaty, incredible sex—at least I had, and I’d worked hard to make damn sure she felt the same—and I still had a hard time convincing Mina to take a shower with me.
“I’ve never had a shower with a guy before,” she said, crossing her arms over her breasts and leaning against the counter as I stood in her bathroom, my hand under the shower spray until I got it the right temperature.
“So?” I said. “We’re already naked. What’s the difference?”
Her gaze moved to my bicep, to my tattoo. “When did you get that?” she asked.
I adjusted the hot water. “I lost a bet with Caleb. I had to get whatever tattoo he chose. He actually went easy on me—it’s just a design with H and C in it, our initials. It could have been much worse.”
“It’s nice.”
“I think so too.”
Her gaze had dropped down to my cock, unfocused. “Sorry, what? Did you say something?”
I grinned at her, and her gaze moved back up to mine, her cheeks going red.
“Keep looking,” I said. “I like it.”
“You shower first,” Mina mumbled, backing toward the door. “I’ll take mine after.”
I grabbed her wrist and gently tugged her toward the shower. “No deal. Get in.”
“You’re bossy,” she said, though she let me guide her under the warm spray.
“You like it,” I said, following her. I pressed her forward, my chest to her back, and let the water run over us. It soothed my aching muscles. There was no doubt I was exhausted after my double shift, but I had no desire to go to sleep just yet.
I could sleep anytime. I only got one chance to shower with Mina Maple.
I found her flowery body wash and put some on my hands, slicking it over her shoulders, her back, her waist. “You’ve really never done this with a boyfriend?” I asked.
Mina’s eyes were closed as I rubbed her. “Boyfriend,” she said. “Very funny.”
“Lots of people have one.”
“I’m not lots of people, I guess.” I rubbed my hands over her shoulders, and she tilted her head back. “It isn’t that I’m against dating. I’ve just been focused on trying to build a theater career, and keep my day job, and have a life.”
I could see that. But I also knew that despite how outgoing she was, Mina was also shy. It was why she liked fictional people so much.
I’d also seen her reticence at getting naked in front of me, and though I didn’t press her on it, I knew that had something to do with it. Mina wasn’t completely confident in her body, and she’d assumed it would matter to me.
Frankly, I didn’t give a fuck. Mina was hot. Her breasts were hot, her hips, her waist. Her mouth was hot. Her tummy was hot. The insides of her thighs were hot. Her pussy was definitely hot. To me she was just hot, full stop.
Men really aren’t as complicated as women think they are sometimes.
“Fine,” I said, running my soapy hands up under her armpits, making her squeak in surprise. “You don’t have boyfriends. I’m not going to complain.”
“You have girlfriends, I bet,” she said, twisting to look at me through narrowed eyes, as if she’d just caught me with one.
I grinned at her. “Relax. My last girlfriend and I broke up a year and a half ago.”
“So it’s just hookups, then.”
“I don’t do hookups. They’re not my style.”
Mina twisted to look at me again, this time in shock. “You’re telling me that you haven’t had sex in a year and a half?”
I felt my brows rise. “Do you