Raine lathered his hair, massaging his scalp, lingering at his temples, easing the knots at the base of his neck. Everything she did somehow soothed and invigorated him at once. He’d been wiped out when he’d arrived at Shadows, but the longer she touched him, the less he had any interest in sleep.
After long minutes of her luxurious care, she rinsed the suds from his hair, then swept the empty plate and glass onto the counter. She stood on her tiptoes, reaching into the cupboard above the toilet for a fresh towel. He smiled. Such a wee thing, and so willing to please.
When Raine turned back to him, she held the towel open, inviting him to walk inside. “If you’re ready…”
Beyond ready. Liam jumped to his feet, displacing the water in the tub with a mighty whoosh. He stepped out and into her open arms, every part of him softening to her touch except one. She patted the water off his shoulders, chest, and back before he ducked to let her soak up the excess moisture from his hair. Circling around him, she dried off his back, his buttocks, his legs, even dabbing at his feet before she crawled around to the front and dragged the towel down his abdomen, up his calves and thighs, circling his impatient cock.
The moment she dragged the terrycloth over his raging staff, he moaned. Jesus, the woman pushed every one of his buttons. He wanted the chance to push hers.
Raine set the towel aside, then prowled in the cabinet again. Her little robe whispered up the back of her thighs, barely covering that lush ass.
“Almond or honeysuckle lotion?” she asked over her shoulder.
“Fuck the lotion, lass. I want you in my bed.”
She flushed a sweet, rosy pink. “Any way you want me.”
Liam grabbed her by the hand. He couldn’t lead her out of the bathroom fast enough. Even that seemed too slow, so he turned and lifted her against his chest, fusing their lips together. Automatically, her legs wrapped around his waist as she opened to his hungry onslaught. God, she was such a tiny thing against him but so full of passion.
He begrudged the dozen steps it took to reach the bed before he set her on her feet and sprawled across the mattress. He propped his head up on one hand and stroked his cock with the other.
He heard her breath hitch and smiled. “Raine?”
At the side of the bed, she sank to her knees and bowed her head. “Yes, Sir.”
There she went, pushing his buttons again. She’d never bowed for him voluntarily, and here she was, offering him all of her so beautifully. He watched her, roughing his hand up his cock a bit faster, trying to assimilate all his thoughts and yearnings into a coherent sentence. Bloody hell…
“You say you love me?”
She lifted her head long enough to meet his stare…and sneak a glance at him palming his cock. Then she jerked her head down again. “I do.”
His breathing picked up, and his heart beat so fast already Liam wondered if it would rattle out of his chest. “Show me. Make love to me. Tell me how you feel with your body.”
Light spilled from the bathroom, illuminating Raine as she rose. She trembled and bit her lip, looking vulnerable as she stared at him stretched out before her. The little furrow appeared between her brows. He’d given her a command that wasn’t easy, and anticipation tightened Liam’s chest as he waited to see what she would do.
She slipped onto the bed next to him, and he released his cock. He couldn’t do anything to it that she couldn’t—and make him feel much better. But Raine didn’t start there; she merely braced herself on his chest and gazed into his eyes.
“I’ll do my best,” she murmured. “Because I love you.”
Liam absorbed her vow as she dropped a kiss to his chest, his jaw, one cheek, then the other. A fleeting press of her lips in each spot had him closing his eyes… He barely had time to process how moving he found every touch before she gave him another brush of a kiss elsewhere.
Raine climbed farther up his body until her face hovered over his. Dark obscured her expression. Liam hated that he couldn’t see what lay in her eyes.
“Turn on the lamp,” he insisted.
She didn’t hesitate before she did as he bid. Soft light poured from the fixture on the nightstand, spilling over the bed.
“Better?” she asked.
He nodded. “Come back where you were.”
When he held out his arm to her, she settled into the crook instantly. Now he could see all the curves and delicate lines of her face. Her expression held nothing back. Raine wasn’t sure how to give him what he’d asked for, but that stubborn chin and her determined mien told him that she’d give her all trying.