“Damnation, but you’re so beautiful,” he rasped. She was all things soft and silken, the fulfillment of his dreams. He stroked his fingertips over the bow of her collarbone, and was rewarded by her sharp inhalation and closed eyes.
Yet she didn’t shut her eyes for long. “Let me see you, too,” she said throatily.
Never had he stripped so quickly. In seconds, he was nude.
Her gaze went straight to his upright cock, which jerked as if she’d actually touched him. A look of fierce hunger crossed her face, but her expression softened as she took in the rest of him.
“You haven’t been taking care of yourself,” she lamented as she touched the shape of his ribs, all too prominent in his thin body. “You should love yourself, as I love you.”
“Say it again.” His pulse hammered, and pleasure erupted through him at her words.
She closed the distance between them. Nothing had ever felt so good as her naked body against his, her lushness tight to his spare form. He ringed his arms around her.
“I love you, Sebastian.”
He went still, absorbing that simple but so complex phrase. A few words that contained the entirety of his happiness.
“I love you, Grace. I’ll spend my whole life showing you how much I love you.” He brought his lips to hers. “Let me show you.”
“Yes.”
It took titanic effort to break the kiss so he could bathe. But when he sank into the water, she stood behind him and took hold of the soap. “Permit me,” she murmured.
He held himself still as she dipped the soap into the water, then she used it to stroke down his arms and across his chest. His skin was delectably sensitive beneath her touch, and he groaned aloud as her hands moved over his body. She kneaded his sore muscles and caressed him with just enough pressure to make him growl. When she leaned down to wash his groin and thighs, her breasts pressed into his back.
“Jesus God, Grace,” he said roughly. But when he tried to wrap his arms around her, she pulled away and held up an admonishing finger.
“Not yet,” she said pertly. “You aren’t fully clean. There are some parts of you that need more attention.”
“I guarantee you, there’s nothing that— Fuck.”
He could say no more as she reached down to take his erection in her hand. His head tilted back and he gripped the sides of the tub as she pumped her fist up and down his aching cock. Ecstasy shot through him, blinding him to everything but the feel of her pleasuring him.
“Stop, stop,” he panted when his climax loomed. “When I come, I want to come in you.”
“I can deny you nothing,” she said breathlessly.
“Wait for me on the bed.”
“So commanding,” she said saucily. Then, her cheeks turning pink, she said, “I like it.” She hurried to perch on the edge of the bed.
He stepped from the bath and toweled off. Then he climbed onto the bed and edged toward the headboard, where he leaned back, his legs stretched out before him. He opened his arms, and Grace went immediately to him. She straddled him, her hands holding tightly to his shoulders. They both groaned at the feel of his cock against her slickness.
In this position, they could look into each other’s eyes, and their gazes locked together as he shifted enough to position the tip of his cock at her entrance. He went motionless, demanding patience of himself, as he stared into the depths of her eyes. Love gazed back at him, boundless love.
The last time he and Grace had had sex, it had been in a darkened barn, almost entirely clothed. But now, they were naked in every way, fully present, nothing furtive or illicit. This was their moment, completely theirs, unabashed and unashamed.
He gripped her hips. Then, with one sure motion, plunged up into her.
“Ah, God.” He groaned. Her heat surrounded him, clasping him deep inside her as he sank all the way in.
“Sebastian,” she breathed.
Don’t move, he told himself. Never move. Make this last forever.
Yet she had other plans. Her hips rose and fell, thrusting against him. Sensation, brighter than all the stars, shot through his body. She moved again, and again, and despite his wish for an eternity of stillness inside her, he could not stop himself from driving in and out, chasing ecstasy with her.