Fever (Breathless #2)(47)

“Do you work out?” she blurted.

He halted at the edge of the tub, his hand gripping the side. He glanced up at her and then grinned. “Like what you see, baby?”

“You’re beautiful.”

For a moment he looked almost embarrassed. It was absolutely cute to see a thirty-eight-year-old man who was so poised and confident falter for just a moment. She’d done that to him. Yeah, confidence was kind of nice for once.

“You’re the beautiful one, Bethany. So damn beautiful that I can’t get enough of staring at you. I stood there in the doorway watching you forever. I could look at you all day and never get tired of it.”

Heat shot into her cheeks and she ducked self-consciously.

“So do you work out?”

“Yeah. There’s a gym in my apartment building and at work. I try to hit it every day but that’s not always possible.”

“You have a great body,” she said shyly.

“You’re good for my ego.”

She smiled as he threw his leg over the side and into the water. A moment later, he turned so he was facing her and he slid into the water, his feet gliding up the outside of her thighs until they rested just at her waist. He reached down, lifted her feet so they weren’t lodged in his crotch and rested them atop his thighs.

“That’s better,” he said.

“Everything go okay at work?” she said, reaching for a neutral topic.

He smiled at that and let out a chuckle. Her brow furrowed in confusion. “What’s so funny?”

“You sound positively domestic. Asking your man how his day at work went.”

The heat left her cheeks. She was sure she paled and then she dropped her gaze, embarrassed by her presumption. Just as quickly, her earlier confidence fled, leaving a giant gaping hole as uncertainty took firm hold.

“Hey,” he said softly. “What the f**k, baby?”

He leaned forward, causing the water to swirl and ripple around her. It sloshed up her neck but suddenly her chin was lifted as he nudged upward with his fingers. She reluctantly met his gaze.

“Bethany, I liked it. Do you have any idea how much I looked forward to coming back to you? That I hated every f**king minute of my time away from you? I counted the minutes until the goddamn conference call was over. Hell, I didn’t want to leave you to begin with.”

Warmth reentered her face and she smiled, bigger this time. Confidence crept back in, easing the flutter of insecurity that had threatened to take root.

He reached for her, pulling her toward him. Clumsily, she got to her knees, water sluicing down her body. It lapped precariously close to the edge as she straddled him.

She was just a bit higher than him, enough that her br**sts just cleared the surface of the bubbles and were directly in front of his face. He didn’t look as though he minded at all.

He wrapped both arms around her, easily encompassing her waist and then she was pressed firmly to his chest, their wet bodies colliding.

He slid his cheek over the swell of her breast and when he got to the nipple, he sucked it gently between his teeth, giving it an experimental tug. When she moaned, he sucked harder, finding a rhythm that was destined to drive her insane.

She wiggled in his arms, against his body. She was slick but he held her tightly, not allowing any space between them.

Never lifting his mouth from her breast, he moved one of his hands down to the juncture of her legs, where she cradled his c**k against her pu**y. The other arm remained firmly around her, anchoring her so she couldn’t move.

His fingers brushed across super-sensitive skin, flicking ever so lightly over her clit as he went seeking lower, finding her entrance before toying with it. Circling, teasing, inserting barely the tip of his finger inside before retreating.

She palmed his shoulders and then curled her fingers into the muscles in his back. Her nails dug into his skin, but he didn’t protest. He kept sucking at her breast, moving to the other to give it equal attention.

A deep sigh escaped her. Pleasure was liquid silver in her veins, spreading to every part of her body. Never had she imagined being pleasured in a tub full of suds and hot water. It felt sinful and so very naughty. Deliciously so.

Fairy tale. Definitely a fantasy. Some bizarre alternate reality because things like this did not happen in Bethany Willis’s life. They never had. Never would. But it was nice to live the dream just for a while. As long as it lasted.

In this dream, she was wanted. She was desirable. She and Jace were equals. There wasn’t an overwhelming disparity in their lives, their statuses. She fit into his world. She belonged.

The last made her chest ache even as Jace slid two fingers deep inside her, causing completely different parts of her body to ache. His gaze lifted to hers, his eyes piercing and so intense as he worked deeper into her. He thumbed her clit again before spreading the two fingers, stretching her.

Belong.

She wanted to belong to him. Wanted to believe in something more than one more night on the streets and the hope that she’d still be alive come morning.

Damn him for making her dream, even for a moment. This wasn’t real. He wasn’t real. She had no idea what game he played, but she couldn’t let him make her believe. He would break her heart. He would break her.

His fingers slipped deeper and she cried out when he pressed into a point so sensitive that she nearly came on the spot. She shuddered wildly in his arms and gripped his shoulders tighter. When she realized her nails were likely breaking the skin, she yanked her hands away.