When Stars Collide (Light in the Dark #2) - Micalea Smeltzer Page 0,41

next—he won’t push this, won’t push me. He wants me to know the power is in my hands, and while I appreciate the gesture, he should know by now that I’m powerless when it comes to him.

I turn around and tug my hair to the side, exposing the zipper in the back of my dress. I look at him over my shoulder and take pleasure in the darkening in his eyes and the way he bites his lip. He reaches out a tentative hand to the zipper and slowly—oh so slowly—lowers it. My heart races in my chest and I crave his touch more than I ever have anything else. The dress begins to slip from my body and I let it fall, leaving me only in my lacy bra and underwear.

The dress pools on the floor along with his shirt, and before I can turn around to face him, he cages me in with his large body. The tile wall of the shower is right in front of me, and I brace my hands against it as he towers behind me. He rubs his hands up and down my sides before settling one hand on my stomach and pulling me more firmly against him. I gasp at the feel of him pressing against me and a moan leaves my throat.

God, I want this. I want him. This isn’t like the frantic night we shared in Vegas. This is raw and real and us.

I reach my hands up behind me and wrap them around his neck, tugging on the strands of his hair. I tilt my head back and the look on his face nearly undoes me. He looks at me like I’m everything he’s ever wanted in the world.

He moves his hands up my sides and cups my breast. I shiver against him.

“Please,” I beg. His fingers find the strap of my bra and he undoes the hooks. It goes slack, and I let it fall down my arms. I move aside the shower curtain and toss it out and then do the same with my underwear.

I turn, facing him, and he eyes me up and down. Maybe I should feel shy beneath his gaze, but the only thing I feel at the moment is beautiful.

I move forward, pressing my hands to his solid chest and relishing in the slight twitch in his muscles. He’s just as affected by this as I am.

“Please, tell me you want this,” I breathe the words above the sounds of the water beating against the floor. A drop of water slides down my nose and onto my lip and I lick it away. Xander watches the movement and his Adam’s apple bobs.

“You know I do,” he whispers. “I want you so much.”

Hearing those words … They feel surreal. For so long, I thought I was just another girl crushing on her brother’s best friend, but to know that he’s always felt the same feels pretty damn good.

“Good.” I take his face between my hands and kiss him. The spray of the shower covers us both, the water coursing down our bodies.

Xander pushes me away slightly and removes the last of his clothes.

I stare at him, overwhelmed by the feelings coursing through me.

This is … intense. I never knew it was possible to feel so many things at once.

Fear.

Lust.

Worry.

Hope.

Love.

Yes, even love.

“Turn around,” he says gruffly.

I do as he asks and then feel the water wet my hair more fully—since he’d been blocking most of the spray with his Viking-sized body.

When my hair is soaked, he steps in front of the spray once more and then I hear the sound of him squirting shampoo into his hands. He lathers the shampoo into my hair, working it into my scalp. I’m pretty sure having your hair washed—or brushed—by someone else is one of the best feelings in the world.

He moves aside and guides me back so he can rinse the soap from my hair. When it’s out, he moves on to conditioner. I feel relaxed, but somehow excited at the same time.

When my hair is clean he moves on to washing my body. He doesn’t try to use it to his advantage to tease me, but it works nevertheless. By the time the soap swirls down the drain, I’m a panting, wanton mess.

He washes his hair next—there’s no way I could reach his head to do it—and the whole time his eyes are locked on mine. Even though he’s not touching me and there’s nothing sexual