into clean clothes.
I stepped out of the stall and dried myself with a white towel that smelled of spring flowers. The material was soft against my skin. It seemed impossible that these comforts still existed somewhere in the world, and more impossible still, that I could enjoy them after so long without them.
With the towel wrapped around me, I walked out of the small bathroom. A pile of clean clothes selected carefully to accommodate my wings rested on the bed where the Dean had tended to me. The dirty sheets and blankets were already gone and replaced anew. I was about to start dressing when there was a light knock at the door.
“One moment, please.”
I picked up the strappy, halter-necked shirt and turned it to make sure it would work with my wings. The door opened before I had a chance to slip the garment over my head. I jumped back, clenching the towel close to my body. Vaughn poked his head in, and as he caught sight of me his eyes widened.
“Um…” He seemed speechless for an instant, then his expression of surprise change to something quite different. One of his eyebrows went up, and he licked his chiseled lips. Without a word, he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.
“I take it you’re feeling better?” The question was loaded with an insinuation that didn’t escape me. A shiver ran up my legs meeting at the apex. How could he have this sudden effect on me?
“I am.” The words left my lips in a hot breath.
Vaughn locked the door behind him and walked in my direction, his eyes hooded.
He had showered, too. His hair was wet and his clothes clean. He wore a white T-shirt, khaki pants, and a thick watch he hadn’t had before. His eyes traveled the length of my body, taking long pauses at my naked shoulders and legs.
“Forgive me if my thoughts have gone from concern to something entirely different,” he said, his voice becoming a deep growl that sent a thrill deep below my belly, making me painfully aware of my nakedness under the simple towel.
He stopped an inch from me, his fingers pushing wet strands of hair away from my shoulders. He touched my collarbone lightly from one end to the other, his thumb traveling up my neck, sending delicious shivers in places I never knew existed.
With a sharp intake of breath, he pulled his hand away. “I’m sorry. We haven’t even talked and I’m…” He took a step back, lips trembling. “How are you?”
I blinked, trying to switch from wanting his touch to engaging in conversation. “Well. And you?”
“All healed.”
We stared at each other for a long moment, then in unison, stepped forward and pressed our lips together. His mouth traveled over mine as his strong arms slid around my waist and pulled me tight. Heat sizzled over my skin as my blood boiled with passion.
Yes, we should be talking, should be saying how relieved we were to see each other alive and standing. But maybe, this unrestrained desire amounted to the same. It was relief and delight all wrapped into one. My hands and my lips could tell him things that no words could. I caressed his face, slipped my fingers into his silky, wet hair, explored his hard torso with eager fingers.
His hand came dangerously close to the edge of the towel as his lips trailed a path across my jaw. It was unfair that he had a T-shirt on. I wanted to rip it off and explore his shoulders, the way he was exploring mine.
“Tally.” My name rumbled in his chest, igniting something wild within me.
I whirled him around, pushed him onto the bed, and climbed on top of him, wrapping my legs around him. He looked up at me, his hands on my thighs, his eyes wide, very well aware that I was straddling him and wearing nothing underneath the towel.
“So not fair,” he said.
I leaned forward and kissed him. The towel unwrapped itself and fell to the sides, leaving my back exposed. I almost sprang up and gathered it around me, but that thought went out the window when his hands glided under my wings and caressed my back.
Slowly, his hold slid to my waist. There, he gripped me tightly and thrust upward, giving me a feel of his desire for me. A moan escaped me, which seemed to ramp up his desire because he deepened his kiss and held me tighter.
“I want you