Chapter 7 #2
“Fuck yeah.” Mal’s arms squeezed me before he pulled back slightly to grin down at me.
I laughed nervously. “That feels so liberating to say.”
“I’m fucking proud of you, baby girl. You should chase your dream. What are your twenties about if not going all in on yourself?”
“You’d know since you’ve already done it.”
He winced. “Yeah. Thanks for that. I love being reminded of what an old fart I am.”
“You’re not old, you’re…vintage.”
“Oomph.” He stepped back and clutched at his chest in feigned pain. “I felt that one right in the feels.”
“What? It’s not an insult. It’s what they call old wine, right?”
“Fuck me.” He laughed and laughed, all while I stood there with a silly grin on my face, confused by what he found so funny.
“Anyways, I wanna take a shower. Pretty sure my labia is welded together after last night.”
Mal smirked at me like he was proud of that. I rolled my eyes.
“All right. I’m in.”
“Wait, what? You mean together? You want to shower with me?”
He cocked his head. “Are you sure your fiancé was straight?”
“Of course he was. He was also a degenerate gambler, but he was definitely straight.”
A look came into his eyes, but he let it go to concentrate on what he no doubt thought was the more important fact. “And you two never showered together?”
I shook my head.
“Oh baby girl, are you in for a treat.” He tossed me a cocky grin before grabbing my hand and pulling me toward the bathroom.
I groaned as we sped by my forgotten coffee cup, and I reached toward it desperately.
When the bathroom door closed behind me, Mal was already stripping out of his clothes.
I stared at him wide-eyed as more and more deliciously muscled and tattooed flesh was revealed. Wait… “Is that a tattoo of Plankton from SpongeBob?”
I pointed at the blur of green high on his left thigh.
Mal shrugged. “I lost a bet with G. But I got him back the next year. He has Handsome Squidward on his ass.”
I snickered. “Is that what rock gods do? Make stupid bets and tattoo ridiculous things on each other?”
“Don’t forget we get to sleep on buses.” He shrugged. “These tats were before we made it big. The stupid shit you do once you have money goes up exponentially the richer you get. The stories I could tell you… Speaking of wild, weren’t we about to get in the shower?”
My breath shuddered for a second. All of him, looking like that, offering me a wild time? I swear I’d had a dream like this once.
Let me tell you, the real thing is way better.
I was across the room before I even knew it. The robe slipped from my shoulders with the slightest tug from Mal. His eyes were intent on mine as he took my hand and led me into the huge shower stall.
I didn’t even notice when he’d turned on the water.
Honestly, it felt like a dream.
He stood with his back to the spray, and once I stepped onto the smooth, river rocked shower floor, he shifted slightly so I got some of the water.
I didn’t know what to do. Was I supposed to be sexy? Or just shower? How did we do this?
Instinctively, I reached out to the water and let a small amount pool in my cupped hands before splashing it over my face. I’d repeated it twice when I heard a distinct rumble.
My eyes flew to Mal, but his gaze was focused on my cheek. The one Trent’s bookie had hit last week.
I didn’t know it was possible, but I felt more naked than ever. Which was ridiculous. I mean, I was standing here totally nude and Mal had already seen the bruise.
Only now it felt different.
And it looked like it felt different to him too.
His eyes blazed, and he took a deep, shuddery breath. “You mind if I use your stuff?”
“Huh?” I blinked.
He shrugged like he wasn’t affected, but I could still see that burning look in his eyes. “Your stuff smells better.”
“Um, okay.”
He grabbed my body soap and squirted way too much into his hand before lathering it up—no washcloth or loofa, just straight on his hands.
I watched spellbound as he moved his sudsy hands all over his body, but more perfunctory than seductive.
This wasn’t what I thought showering together was going to be like.
Maybe the dream version was better.
Sighing, I turned so I could get my hair wet since I now had most of the spray.
“Fuck me,” Mal muttered.
“Everything okay?” I asked as I reached down for the shampoo bottle on the small bench in the corner.
Mal’s hand caressed my bottom.
I squealed and snapped to attention. “Mal!”
“I think you mean Daddy.” His lips quirked like he was fighting a smile.
“I think you mean excuse me!” I snapped.
His eyes flared. “Fuck, I love that fire.” He swooped down and kissed me, his lips hungry and urgent.
I’d wrapped my arms around his shoulders and was kissing him back before I could even form a thought.
And then I didn’t want to let go. His cock jutted out, pressing into my tummy, and his hands were slippery on my back.
The soap perfumed the steamy air between us with a mango citrus freshness.
And my thighs were slippery against each other for a whole different reason.
I broke our kiss with a gasp because I needed air. “Definitely better than my dream.”
Mal grinned down at me. “You dream about me last night, baby girl?”
“Maybe,” I replied coyly.
His rumbled laughter echoed off the stone walls around us. “Hand me the shampoo, baby.”
I turned in his arms and gulped as I realized what that meant. It was the whole reason I’d ended up in his arms. If I reached out for the bottle then…yup, he grasped my hips in his hands, and I was perfectly lined up for him to—
I waited a beat, but he didn’t move anymore.
Disappointed—and amazed that I felt that way—I grabbed the bottle and passed it to him, straightening up.
He took the bottle and squeezed some into his hand.
Then both of his hands came down on my head and awkwardly spread the shampoo on my hair.
Something about the way he did it, his movements, the concentration on his face, spelled out to me that this wasn’t a practiced move for him. He genuinely wanted to wash my hair.
My breath caught and tears burned my eyes for a second—and the soap wasn’t anywhere near my eyes.
I couldn’t remember the last time someone touched me like this—all gentle and accepting. And for it to come from Mal…gah, it got me all emotional.
“Tip your head back.” He’d grabbed the shower wand off the wall and held it aloft.
I obeyed and warm water ran down the back of my head. He carefully kept the suds from washing over my face. My heart thudded unevenly as he continued to gently rinse the shampoo out of my hair, turning me carefully this way and that.
This was so different from what I’d imagined we’d be doing that I was confused but felt taken care of at the same time. It was a weird juxtaposition. I was used to doing everything for myself and taking care of the people around me. This felt so weird.
Weird, but awesome.
Once he’d rinsed away the last of the shampoo, I grabbed the conditioner bottle and squeezed some into my hand. “I’m weird about conditioner. I only like it in certain parts of my hair.”
I feathered the conditioner into the ends of my hair, aware of his eyes on me the entire time—like he was tracking all my movements so he could do it himself next time. But maybe that was just wishful thinking on my part.
By the time I turned around, he had already lathered up his hair and was elbow deep in suds.
“I wanted to do that.”
“Sorry, baby girl. Next time.” Mal grinned at me before turning to rinse his hair. “The hot water tanks aren’t huge here, so we have a finite amount of time.”
I shrugged. “I just have to wash up. I’ll be quick.”
His grin turned downright naughty. “I’m sorry, but I really think that’s a service I need to provide for you.”