“She said . . .” She moans when I hook my fingers inside, finding that spot that always sets her off. “She said as long as I feel up to it.”
“And do you feel up to it?” I ask seriously, because I could be as horny as a mustang in heat and I wouldn’t do anything to hurt her.
Instead of answering with words, she tips up on her toes, grabs my jaw, pulls my mouth open, and dives in, commanding the kiss. It feels like I’ve been holding my breath since I last had this. I go deeper, exploring the hot, sweet interior of her mouth. Our heads bob as we try to get more of each other. Teeth colliding, tongues slipping and slurping. It’s a wet, hot, heart-racing mess, and I’ve missed it. Missed her so damn much. Skimming my hands down the wet satin of her back, I dip to slide my arms beneath her ass, and my hands are full of naked woman. I lift her from the tub and she wraps her legs around my waist, dampening my shirt and jeans. I rush to the bed and lay her down gently, staring at her for a few seconds. Self-consciousness spreads over her in the hand she reaches for her hair, and the way she crosses one leg over the other, trying to hide the lesions.
“Don’t,” I tell her, the one word ragged on my lips. “Don’t you dare think I see you as any less beautiful than I ever have or that I want you less.”
“Canon.” She closes her eyes. “If I thought you stayed out of guilt or—”
“I can’t leave because there’s nowhere else to go. So it won’t do you any good to drive me away, though I can see you tried tonight.”
“Not very effectively,” she says, looking at me with a teary smile.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
I traverse her thigh, knee, calf with the back of my hand, tracing the dry places on her skin with the same reverence I do the smooth. I take her foot, kissing the arch. When my breath dusts the sensitive sole, her toes twitch.
“It tickles,” she says, her laugh husky. Our gazes catch and cling, amusement evaporating like steam the longer we stare at one another. Looking into her eyes, the glass becomes clear again, the frost swiped completely until I see all her emotions. The desire, the fear, the self-consciousness.
The love.
And the glass is suddenly a mirror, reflecting back to me something I should have told her weeks ago.
“I love you, Neevah Saint.” I chuckle, emotion crowding my throat. “Or Mathis—whatever your damn name is. I love you.”
She’s wet, naked, with rashes and all the things she’s afraid I’ll reject her for on full display, but I’m the one holding my breath. Exposed. Waiting, my future in her hands. And while I wait, watch, a single tear skates over the rash covering her cheek.
“I love you back.”
Her words, spoken softly in a wobbling voice, with a steady stare, land like a boulder. They crush my control and steal my breath. The fact that I love her is a secret I’ve been keeping from her for weeks.
I want you to find someone you love more than your art.
Mama said the magic hour was waiting on a miracle you knew would come. I’ve waited all my life to want someone, to love someone the way I do Neevah, but I didn’t actually believe it would happen.
She sits up, widening her legs so I’m standing between them, and tips her head back to meet my eyes through a spray of long lashes. When she reaches for my belt, her throat—smooth and burnished and brown—moves as she swallows and licks her lips. Every part of my body clenches when she undoes my jeans. Her cool fingers dust the muscles of my stomach as she urges the shirt up. I yank it by the collar over my head, my chest heaving as I wait for what she wants next. She pushes my pants down and then my briefs. Predictably, my cock is at full stand, begging for her attention. She obliges, leaning forward, letting her breath mist the wet tip before sneaking her tongue out for one torturous swipe.
Fuck.
My teeth grit around a collection of expletives. Her grin is all salacious mischief. She opens her mouth, sliding over me while her eyes penetrate mine. My breath hiccups at the brush of her tongue, the sweet grip of her mouth around me. She cups my balls, and the muscles in my legs go rigid. Instinctively, I cup her head and push her farther down on my cock.
Her head. Her hair.
I open my eyes, concerned that I’ve ruined this for us before it’s gotten started, but she’s not bothered, her eyes closed, full lips wrapped around me, head bobbing as she sucks me off.