thought about that for a long minute or two, the pitiful sound of the low-water-pressure shower in the background. “Fine. You can stay in the room, but no looking.”
He snorted. “I’ll try to control myself.”
And it would be an effort, he thought but didn’t say. The room was so small, they were practically standing in the same space. The short, narrow sink dug into his thigh as he moved aside to let her get to the shower.
“Turn around,” she ordered.
He did and found himself staring into the mirror—something she clearly hadn’t considered. Behind him, she was reflected in the glass as she slipped out of her robe. He gritted his teeth as his gaze followed the line of her spine right down to the curve of her truly amazing behind. Her hair danced across the top of her back as she moved and he wanted to tangle his hands in that thick, soft mass as he had before.
His body throbbing, aching, Colt held his ground, though it cost him every last ounce of his self-control. Never before had he been forced to not take what he wanted. To stand back and let the woman driving him insane slip through his fingers. His teeth ground together and his breath came short and fast. Still, he couldn’t look away and was rewarded—or tortured—with a glimpse of her breasts, high and full, as she pulled the striped curtain back and stepped into the tub.
The water ran and he heard her blissful sigh and that was nearly enough to push him over the edge. Colt looked at the curtain and imagined her behind it, naked and wet, tipping her face up to the stingy flow of water. He couldn’t help wondering what she would think of the shower at his place, with its six massaging heads and the heated seats carved into the granite enclosure. In his mind, he laid her down on that wide seat, parted her thighs and—
“Ow.”
“What?” he snapped, dream dissolving instantly. “What is it?”
“Nothing,” she said. “I just moved too fast and I’m still a little sore, that’s all. I’m fine.”
He didn’t believe her. If she pulled her stitches out, they’d be back to square one.
Pulling the curtain aside, he looked at her and instantly knew it had been a mistake. His imagination had nothing on the reality of a slick, wet, naked Penny. Her long, dark red hair hung in thick ropes over her shoulders. Drops of water clung to the tips of her hardened nipples and her face was flush with warmth and surprise. She looked like a damn water nymph and his body’s reaction was instantaneous.
The tiny window over the shower was open, allowing a cold breeze to whisper through. The sea-green paint was peeling on the ceiling and the porcelain on the ancient tub was scratched and pitted. Yet all he gave a damn about was the wet, naked woman looking at him with raw desire in her eyes.
She shook her head and chewed at her bottom lip before saying, “Go away, Colt.”
“No,” he said, unable to tear his gaze from her. There was no way he was leaving. If it had meant his life, he still would have stayed exactly where he was.
Raw, frantic lust pumped hot through him. Desire clutched at his throat, making breathing nearly impossible. But then, he asked himself as he reached out one hand to cup her breast, who needed to breathe?
She gasped at his touch, and rather than moving back, she stepped closer and licked her lips, sending a lightning bolt of need slicing through him. Then she covered his hand with hers, holding him steady against her breast. Struggling for air, she whispered brokenly, “We can’t. We shouldn’t. I mean, I shouldn’t. I mean—”
He knew what she meant. She’d had surgery a few days before. Everything between them was a mess, with neither of them happy with the other at the moment. And yet... “We’ll be careful....”
“Colt—” she gasped again as his thumb caressed her hardened nipple. “Oh, my.”
He smiled to himself, then stepped back long enough to shed his clothes and toe off his shoes. Then he was joining her in the made-for-munchkins shower.
Suddenly, he was liking the small space. She couldn’t have backed away from him even if she had wanted to. And one look into her eyes told him she didn’t want to.
“This is so not a good idea,” she whispered.
“Stop thinking,” he said.
Then he kissed her.
As the trickle of water splashed over their entwined bodies, he kissed her long and deep, losing himself in the taste and feel of her. When she parted her lips under his, he took the kiss deeper, tangling his tongue with hers in a frenzied dance of need and want. Here it is, he thought wildly. That amazing jolt of passion that he’d never felt for anyone else. The elemental, nearly primitive need to touch and take and have.
Only with her. Only with Penny.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned into him, her breasts sliding against his chest. He ran his hands up and down her body, the slick feel of her skin beneath his hands a match held to the dynamite crouched inside him. “Damn, you feel good.”
“You, too,” she whispered. “Blast it, you, too.”
He smiled against her mouth. She didn’t want to want him, he thought. But she did and that was good enough. Colt turned her so that her back was to the water tumbling from the narrow, outdated showerhead. She looked up at him as the hot water landed on her shoulders to roll down her body in rivulets.
“Colt—”
“Let me touch you,” he whispered, sliding one hand down from her breast. His fingertips trailed along her rib cage and down over her abdomen.
She shivered, closed her eyes and hissed in a breath. “I don’t know...”
“I do,” he said and kissed her again as he dipped first one finger and then two into her tight, wet heat.
She gasped and clutched at him, hands grabbing at his shoulders. Her breath came fast and shallow, small puffs against his skin. He touched her deeper, stroking her intimately until she rocked into his hand, reaching for the climax he was pushing her toward. His thumb moved over the heart of her, that one nub of sensation that fueled the fire inside her until it became a raging inferno.
She spread her legs for him, welcoming his touch, his caresses. Then she slid one hand from his shoulders, down the length of his body until her long, delicate fingers closed around the hard length of him. Then it was Colt’s turn to hiss in air and tremble under the onslaught of too many sensations.
“That’s cheating,” he said softly.
“All’s fair—you know.” She groaned as he stroked her again, rubbing the core of her harder while his fingers delved deeper inside her body.
He took her—and she took him. Her fingers moved on him until it was all Colt could do to keep his feet. His vision blurred as completion roared toward him. But he wouldn’t do it. Wouldn’t surrender to what she was making him feel. Not until he’d seen her shatter in his arms.
It
