Cassidy took stock of the small, clean typical space with a regular shower head and hanging wire basket with meager supplies: shampoo, soap, and a textured washcloth. She imagined where the cloth had roamed over his body and experienced a moment of envy. Then she turned her eyes to the floor, the water whooshing down the drain.
“A couple of thoughts,” she said.
Mac’s amusement was evident. “Mmhmm?”
“I’m impressed you have hot water,” she teased.
“Earned yourself another spanking for that remark,” he informed her cheerfully.
She was looking forward to it more than she would admit, but she kept going, “Are you certain the floor will hold us?”
“Only one way to find out,” he teased her, stepping into the stall. He turned his back to the spray, testing the temperature before letting it hit her. Meanwhile, she twisted to keep an eye on the floor, expecting for it to drop out from under them.
So when his shoulder hit the hanging rack, sending the bar of soap plummeting to the floor with a bang, she jumped and let out a short scream, grasping him more tightly as she buried her face against him, sure they’d broken through the floor. He fell back against the hard plastic wall, shaking, barely maintaining his hold on her. Sucking in air, he let out a full-bellied laugh.
Trying to hold back her own laugh as she wiggled in his arms to have her own feet under her, she mockingly scolded him, “Stop it! I thought we were going to die!”
Still laughing, he dropped her legs but held her close, letting her slide down his body as the spray drenched them. “You’re not dying before I get between those legs.”
Those legs nearly collapsed beneath her.Jay-sus.
Her face must have mirrored the anticipatory thoughts running through her head because his mischievous smile returned. He started to bend his knees as he lowered himself, his fingers dancing over her ribs and stomach. “Need to get that soap.”
Cassidy held her breath as he dipped straight down, her gaze his captive as his fingers accompanied his descent into a squat. When his face was level with her darker red curls, his look turned downright decadent. Despite the heated water spraying her side and back, her gooseflesh rose and her nipples grew tighter; she saw them as she looked down at him.
He saw them, too, the wattage of devilry increased.
Leaning forward, he nuzzled between her legs. Cassidy threw her hands on to the tiles to hold herself up as an involuntary, “Oh god,” flew out of her mouth. The friction of his nose, the feel of his breath against her as he rooted around almost had her coming as she stood there. No tongue or mouth required; the promise of it was enough to undo her.
“Found it!” he crowed triumphantly, leaning back. Grasping the white bar, he stood, tilting his head to the side and pretending to peruse her face. “Water too hot? You’re flushed.”
Cassidy’s legs trembled beneath her, her body throbbing as she hid her face behind one hand and smacked him on the arm with another. “You aren’t funny.” But she was smiling. She peeked at him from behind her fingers.
Slipping a hand around her waist, he ran the bar of soap across her clavicle, the light bubbles working their way between their bodies. He tracked the few bubbles and water down her body as she watched him, resting her hands on his arms. Her hands gripped tighter as the soap made its way between her breasts, sliding along her stomach and abdomen. Her pelvis tilted forward against the pressure.
Mac’s lips tipped upward at her small movement, his eyes darting up to her face.
She didn’t care that her desire was written all over her face, that he knew the red stains on her cheeks had nothing to do with the heat of the water slicing over them. There was no sense in hiding it, especially from a man who could read a woman like a nursery primer book.
The soap disappeared, and his hands were in her hair, gently tilting her hair back under the water to rinse it out. Spontaneously, they smiled at each other, both presumably having the same thought: her hair smelled a little bit like a lake. Or a lot; he may as well do a thorough job while he had her in the shower.
When he shut off the water, Cassidy was a little confused. She had expected… more. Shower sex, to be honest. She’d anticipated—hoped for—the moment he shoved her against the avocado-colored tile and pushed between her legs, making good on his promise. But all he’d done was keep her in a state of expectation, of eagerness.
His pointed look and smugness let her know he knew what was going through her head.
Shoving the curtain back, Mac leaned out and snapped a towel off the bar. He wrapped her in it. “Don’t plan on having it around you for long.” With a wicked wink, he moved them both out of the stall.
With a dark chuckle at her expression, Mac turned away, reaching for another towel.
Cassidy tensed, seeing the full extent of his injuries for the first time. The scars started low across his buttocks. His ass, for the most part, was perfect, muscular and firm, but from his lower right hip, a jagged slice of scar tissue angled upward, joining more scars; deeper, telling the story of a lower back on fire, the flames licking across to just below his left shoulder blade.
In the seconds she was able to look her fill, she noted his legs bore light scars along the back—more like cuts or healed puncture wounds.
As he shook out another towel, presumably to swath around his hips, Cassidy stepped up to him. She reached out and touched the unmarred flesh on his back above the scars starting at his shoulder blade. He jumped at her touch, jerking away, half turning.
“No,” she said, grabbing his arm to hold him still, glancing up at his shocked face. “I want to see it all.”
“Pretty fucking ugly; you don’t need to be looking at that.” He started to move again.