I moan.
He chuckles, and it vibrates against my skin. “You have a huge scrape here. Am I hurting you?” He traces around the tender part of my neck that was injured during the car’s tumble down the embankment.
“No.”
“Are you sure? Because you have bruising on both sides of your neck.”
“It’s okay. They don’t hurt.”
I allow my eyes to fall closed and tilt my head back as his hands make their way to the button on my pants, fiddling to get it undone. Once he succeeds, he pulls them toward the floor. One foot at a time, I step out of them. I can’t take it any longer. I reach down and take his head in my hands, urging him back up to me.
“What?” he asks, desire coating his voice.
“Your wrap, mind if I help you? I’ll do my best not to hurt you.”
“Don’t worry, not gonna happen. When I’m with you like this, all I can feel is you.”
“Is that so?” I ask in a flirtatious tone.
My hands shake as I loosen the cloth binding his ribs, and my eyes settle on the road rash and bruises that cover his skin. Without hesitation, my lips lightly touch his wounds. Inch by inch, I brush my kisses over each spot. He runs his hands run through my hair as his breathing quickens with each kiss.
I smile at him, and then he presses his lips to mine with such urgency and desperation my head spins. His lips are so warm and so soft, and I can taste the sweetness of his breath. Our lips part, and our tongues meet, and we kiss in unison like our mouths were meant for one another. He cups my face as I wrap my arms around his waist and press my fingers into his back. Our breaths quicken as our kisses become deeper. For a moment, everything is as it should be. I am lost in him.
We continue to kiss. I feel a drip of what I think is sweat down my back—or maybe it’s the steam. Whatever it is, my flesh burns with desire.
Smoothing my hair away from my face again, Cole drops his lips to mine, and our breathing goes haywire. I open my mouth slightly, inviting his tongue to graze mine, and as soon as our tongues touch, I shiver. He groans. It’s a connection I can’t explain, but instantly, it sends electricity through my veins and burns me to the core. His kisses become eager and harder. I wrap my arms around his neck as he pushes me up against the wall, overpowering me, which only sends my craving for him into overdrive.
“Cole,” I say, almost breathless. “We should take this into the shower.”
“Good idea.” He removes the rest of his clothing in a matter of seconds.
We both get into the shower, and a few seconds pass before he wraps his arms around me and leans in, trapping me between him and the wall, again.
I know I should be enjoying myself, relaxing and allowing myself to feel every single touch, every amazing kiss. But in the warmth of the shower and Cole’s body, I’m worried I might faint. Why am I so nervous?
“You feel incredible,” he says between kisses.
His lips leave mine, and he kisses my cheek, my chin, and down the trail of my neck, across my collarbone, and back up my neck. It’s nearly impossible to steady my breathing. Next, he sucks my bottom lip into his mouth, caressing it with his tongue, and I let him. Of course I let him. I crave him.
We’ve been deprived of closeness for so long. I run my fingers down his back, and he presses me harder against the wall. He licks away the water from my mouth and kisses my lips with urgency. Suddenly, I can’t remember where I am. I can’t recall my name.
I can hardly hold myself upright any longer, and I start to slip.
“Easy, girl, I got you.”
Cole holds me up and hands me a bar of soap that smells like roses and an orange washrag that looks like it’s been through the shredder. And in that moment, I have everything I need.
“We better hurry,” he says. “The water’s already getting cooler.”
I respond with a shiver and rush to clean the grimy layers off my skin, hardly able to focus with Cole standing so close. We switch places, and I wash his back, putting the soap in its small dish on the shower tiles.
As he reaches up, a tiny, wiggling object drops in front of my face, its eight legs unmistakably searching for a landing spot.
A scream escapes my lips, and my hands search for a shower handle as my feet slide out from beneath me. Darkness clouds my vision, and then nothing.
When I open my eyes, I’m lying in the bed with my knees to my chest. The faint glow of a half-melted candle sits next to the bed. My breathing is steady. I feel Cole’s warm arms wrapped around me, my back up against him. His fingers lightly stroke my hair, and I know I’m safe.
“I’m so sorry,” I manage to say.
“Don’t,” he says. “Please, don’t apologize.” He squeezes me tight. “I’m right here, like I promised I’d be.”