Reaching for the soap, he lathered his hands. The heady, sweet scent of roses perfumed the air. He stroked her shoulders, down her arms, relishing the smoothness of her skin. He took her hands, cupping them in his own.
“Mmmm,” Rose sighed, as his thumbs rubbed strong, slow circles over her palms. Her eyes drifted closed. “That’s lovely.”
“You’re lovely,” he whispered, drawing her closer.
He soaped his hands again, this time rubbing the foaming lather over the long sweep of her back. She purred, arching into his touch. He stroked her until every muscle was loose and languid, her body boneless against his.
Her hands moved over him in return. Suds ran down the center of his chest, trickled across his abdomen, dripped lower. He was so hard even that light touch was exquisite torment.
He knew she felt his surging desire. He could feel how every drop of water hit her sensitized skin as well, how his trailing fingers made her own heat rise.
It became a game, to go slowly. To see how slow they could go, before one of them snapped. Inch by inch, stroke by stroke, washing each other with painstaking thoroughness. No more darkness between them, no more charred ash and blackened secrets. Just the simple, clean truth of the mate bond.
“Ash,” she gasped, her breast pressing into his palm. “Ash!”
His fingers circled between her thighs, dipping into her hot slickness. She broke first, clenching around him as ecstasy swept over her.
The mate bond lay as open and ready as her body, dry tinder awaiting a spark. He could lift her now, slide into her, make her blaze…
He pulled away from her instead, bracing his hands against the shower cubicle. Before, that would have made her hesitate, wondering whether she had done something wrong. But now…now she just opened her eyes again, a rueful smile tugging at the corner of her mouth as she sensed his inner struggle.
“Ah,” she said. “You don’t want this to be over too quickly.”
“I want to be able to do you justice.” His breathing was ragged. “Just give me…a moment.”
Her tongue ran over her lips. She gave him a look that jerked his shaft to even stiffer attention.
“No,” she said slowly. “No, I don’t think I will.”
He gasped as she wrapped her hand around him. He collapsed back against the tiled wall, momentarily blinded by sensation.
And then her mouth slid over him.
All thought went up in smoke. All he knew was the exquisite heat of her, the play of her tongue, the softness of her lips.
He wound his hand into her hair, hips jerking upward uncontrollably. In mere seconds, he was coming hard, in great, shuddering spurts, emptying himself deep into her welcoming mouth.
Rose pulled back, a satisfied gleam in her eyes. “I have wanted to do that for a very long time.”
His legs were still shaking. He took her hands, pulling her up, crushing his mouth against hers. He kissed her long and deep, wordlessly telling her everything.
The water abruptly ran cold. Rose yelped. He slammed the dial round so fast the handle snapped off in his hand. He was left holding it, no doubt looking rather ridiculous, as she dissolved into giggles.
“Well, good thing we got thoroughly clean,” she said. “Since it doesn’t look like the shower will be working again anytime soon.”
“I am going to owe Scarlet yet another apology.” He balanced the broken handle in the soap dish, for lack of anything better to do with it. “But it was worth it.”
Rose had wrapped herself in a towel, but she was still shivering. He went over to her, folding her in his arms, and concentrated.
“Oooooh,” she sighed, relaxing as the wave of heat enveloped her. “All right, I forgive you for breaking our shower.”
He nuzzled her wet hair, breathing in her delicious scent—the perfumed soap mixing in with the richer, underlying warmth of her. “Will you forgive me for not being in my twenties any more?”
She shot him a quizzical look. “I’m not in my twenties any more.”
“You aren’t a man.” He gestured downward, rather sheepishly. “You did rather too good a job in there. I may need a little time to recover.”
She giggled again, nestling against him. “We have all the time in the world.”