Nobody Does It Better(18)

“But you could, right?” I untie the bathrobe and drop it on the wooden deck.

His eyes bulge.

“Could what?” He sounds transfixed.

I step into the hot tub, and I roll my hands, reminding him of the conversation. “You could break down a door or a window? That’s what you firemen do, right?”

“Yeah,” he draws out, as if the word stretches into the next century.

“Why do I get the feeling you lost the thread of the conversation and you’re staring at my boobs instead?”

Shedding his bathrobe, he steps into the tub as well. “Because I was. Because you’re fucking distracting. You’re naked and hot as hell. I can’t think about fireman stuff. I can’t think about anything but getting my hands on you again.”

That’s all I want too.

Once wasn’t enough to curb my desire for him. Once, as magnificent as that one time was, barely scratched the surface. As I sink into the decadently hot water that bubbles around us, he glides over to me, wraps his arms around my waist, and drops a delicious kiss to my lips.

I murmur, my eyes fluttering closed, goosebumps rising on my flesh.

This time, his kiss is soft, an exploration. Like he’s taking the time to get to know my mouth, my lips, my jaw. His lips skate over mine, travel across my face as if he’s marking me with kisses—with mind-bending kisses. I scoot closer, my wet, naked body pressed to him.

He slides his hands up my back, into my hair, then down again, cupping my ass. “You’re spectacular.”

My fingers have goals of their own, and they travel along his chest, across his shoulders, down his strong arms, tracing his muscles. “So are you.” I stop at the jagged white scar cutting from his stomach to his right hip. “I noticed this in the calendar.”

“You were looking at my calendar page?”

“Of course. You’re the hottest.”

“Damn straight.”

“Is it from work?”

He nods. “Fire at a winery. A beam fell. Hit me and ripped some skin.”

I wince. “Ouch.”

He shrugs like it was nothing. “I’m tough.”

“I know. But I want you to be careful.” My voice sounds tender, and that’s the truth of how I feel for him. Even if this is a one-night-only thing—and I don’t know why it would be more—I want him safe and happy and well. “Your job has risks.”

He grins like that’s the best thing I could have said. “I am safe. And I’m careful. I promise.”

“Good. I don’t want anything happening to you.”

His grin stretches. “You want me sticking around, V?”

I punch him lightly. “Yes, stick around, please.”

His smile possibly reaches the sky. “I’ll do my best.” After sinking onto one of the seats in the tub, he tugs me on top of him so I straddle his legs.

“And now this hot tub is getting red-hot.”

“Please. It’s white-hot.”

He hums a dirty little ditty, then his expression shifts to serious. “In there,” he says, tipping his forehead to the cabin, “I meant everything I said.” His eyes are etched with honesty and a vulnerability that reaches into my chest and grabs hold of my heart, squeezing it tightly. The way he looks at me makes me want to run inside, call Perri, and ask for forgiveness and then permission, because this man is all I want.

But this isn’t about her right now. Because I don’t know that Shaw wants the same things I do. If he doesn’t—and I still have no reason to think he does—Perri doesn’t need my confession. Not if tonight is all there is.

Oh, but if he does want the same things . . .

He is, at the very least, worth testing the waters.

“What do you mean?” I ask, hope wrapping around me.

With the pad of his thumb, he strokes my chin. “I’ve wanted you for so damn long. I’ve wanted to kiss you, I swear, since . . .”

My heart somersaults. He’s so close to voicing what I feel, something worth rocking the boat with my best friend. “Since when?”

He gazes at me, stroking my arms, threading his hands in my hair. “I can’t stop touching you. I just can’t.”

“Don’t stop, then.”

Curling a big hand around the back of my head, he draws me in for another kiss. My skin tingles, and pleasure tightens in me, swirling in my core.

“Since high school,” he answers when he breaks the kiss. “High school and college and ever since.”

I smile a big, dopey grin. “Same here.”

“Yeah?”

“Absolutely.”

I seal my mouth to his, kissing him in a tender, gentle way I hope intoxicates him like he’s done to me.

He sweeps his tongue over mine, and we’re both melting into each other. We kiss for long minutes, the jets of the hot tub hitting us, the bubbles jamming out their own background soundtrack, the snow tumbling from the sky. I’m falling, too, under the spell of tonight. Falling far. Falling hard.

“What took us so long to do this?” he asks when we stop.

This.

I need to remember what this is.

I can’t fall harder. I need to fall out.

Right now, we are only passing the time. This is a plan to get him out of my system. To eradicate all my wild emotions so I can walk away and finally stop comparing other men to him.