Way of the Warrior (Troubleshooters #17.5)(28)

Inch by inch, he kissed his way down her chest to her stomach before kneeling to peel her jeans down, his mouth exploring each patch of soft skin, his hands roving down her sides. He felt the raised scar along her side, maybe four inches long. The reality of that sent rage pumping through him.

She stroked her hands over his hair. “I’m okay. We’re together. Don’t let anything or anyone steal this from us.”

Nodding, he pressed a lingering kiss to her scar before standing.

“Shower,” she demanded, “together. Now.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He kicked aside his shoes and jeans, the rustle of hers coming off as well urging him faster toward the overlarge shower stall. Pausing by the medicine cabinet, he patted the shelf until his hand rested on the box of condoms. He pulled out a packet.

She plucked it from his hand and backed into the shower… “Uh, which is the hot, and which is the cold?”

Chuckling, he took her hand and pressed her fingertips to the braille words. “I’ve got this.”

He cranked on the shower, and she squealed at the first splash of cold water an instant before the spray warmed over them. He pulled her flush against him, skin to skin, his erection pressing against her. Her hands speared into his hair, and she tugged him back to her, kissing him, open mouth and emotions. His hand slid between her legs, and he felt her slick core, finding her every bit as ready as he was.

Urgency pumped through him and just when he thought he couldn’t wait longer, he heard her tear open the condom packet and slide it over him. With a low growl, he lifted her against the tile wall, and her legs hooked around him.

Finally, finally, he slid inside her, deeper, her hips arching to bring him closer still. She rested her head on his shoulder, her face pressed to his neck, her fingernails digging into his back as she murmured her needs and wants. And how very much he enjoyed giving her that and more. She writhed against him, meeting each thrust as they rediscovered a rhythm they’d perfected back when they’d assumed they had forever together.

Holding her in his arms, being inside her again, he couldn’t remember a time his life hadn’t been all about Stacy. Her face against his neck, her mouth on him, his on hers, had him bracing a hand to the tile wall to keep his feet under him. Their slick bodies moved in sync, the friction bringing him to the brink, but damned if he would go without her. He stroked and listened, waiting for her husky gasps, the kittenish purrs that told him…yes…her sweet cries of completion and the grip of her orgasm pulsing around him sent him right over the edge with her, his hoarse shout muffled in her hair.

Aftershocks rocked through her, rippling through him as well as they held on to each other, the shower spray hitting his back. The years they’d spent apart evaporated as quickly as the water on their hot flesh. This was right, them together. If only he’d had the sense to come to her. He could have saved her so much pain. His life might have been different, too.

He pulled her closer. The water on his face. The spray of the shower stinging his skin sent him back in time for an instant. So many missions had started in the water. He’d trained by swimming for miles. Jumped out of planes into rough waters. He’d loved his job, the mission, the adrenaline, and ultimately making a difference in the world. He was somebody. He had a purpose. And that had all been taken from him in a flash.

He’d finally found his way back to this woman at the very time he had so damn little to offer her.

? ? ?

Basking in the afterglow of damn good sex, Stacy let the shower flow over her, her eyes closed as Gavin massaged shampoo into her scalp. There was something so seductive about focusing solely on his touch. She didn’t want to think about tomorrow or even their past. Right now, here in the shower, they had a narrow window of time to be together.

And she intended to enjoy every second of it.

His hands slicked over her hair, brushing suds down her shoulders and forward over her breasts. “Could you pass me the conditioner?”

She forced her eyes open, the bottles labeled with words as well as stickers in braille. “Even your bottles, they have braille labels.”

“Mixing up shampoo and body wash, not to mention cleaners, is not a good idea.”

He lifted her hand and rubbed her fingertips along the bumps as he had when they’d stepped into the shower.

“I want to learn,” she said before thinking, then realizing that implied a future when she’d been so determined to live in the moment.

“Reading in braille increases the sensitivity of touch.” His hot breath flowed over her.

“I like the sound of that.” She angled back to kiss his bristly chin and pass him the conditioner. She relaxed against him, nostalgia sweeping through her. “Can we really just step back in time this easily?”

“I don’t have the answer to that.” He massaged the conditioner into her hair, working it through to the ends. “I only know I’ve missed you every single day we’ve been apart, Anastasia.”

She didn’t even bother blinking away the tears he wouldn’t be able to see. The shower hid the evidence. She let herself savor the touch of this man. Gavin. A man who cared about her. It had been so long since she’d had the luxury of love. So many took that for granted.

She never would again.

The patter of the shower echoed in her ears along with her heartbeat, so loudly she almost missed the ringing of the cell phone. Her cell. Water chilled on her body with premonition. She knew before even stepping out of the shower.