7. Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Paige blinked at him, feeling like an utter idiot. It hadn’t even occurred to her that he’d be joining her.
David smiled at her. “You didn’t think you were doing this alone, did you?”
“No, of course not,” she lied. Then, heart pounding, she turned to get into the tub, no longer thinking the bath was going to be very relaxing.
“Holy shit,” he blurted out. “I guess you did find something you wanted to permanently ink on your skin.”
It took her a second to realize he was talking about her tattoo.
“How the hell did I miss this the other night?” he asked.
“Probably because you were really focused on my boobs.”
“Good point.”
He moved right up behind her, tracing the phoenix tattoo on her lower right back and hip. “‘It takes a phoenix to rise from the ashes’,” he recited slowly, tracing the words along the feathers in the candlelight. “This is incredible work.”
“I think so, too. It was worth every hour spent in the chair.”
“I agree.”
“I have another one,” she said, lifting the hair off her neck, revealing two small Chinese symbols. “I got it after Carter killed himself.”
“What does it mean?”
“Resurrection. The literal translation is ‘To live again’, which I thought was fitting because when he died it felt like I was reborn.”
She felt his lips on the tattoo, kissing it, sending warmth through her and making her nipples tighten into hard points. “Do you still have the tattoo on your back?”
“Yes.”
“Really? I thought you would’ve had it removed for …” she trailed off, because it was really hard to say the woman’s name. “Ashley.”
“She wanted me to, but I just never did. And, at the risk of sounding like an ass, the only reason I ever thought about having it removed while she and I were together was because of Jacob.”
Paige hadn’t even thought of the repercussions of Jacob seeing a woman’s face on his dad’s back that wasn’t his mom. At the very least, it would be confusing as hell. “I can understand that,” she said softly. “It probably would be a good idea to get rid of it.”
“I know. I should just do it, before he gets the chance to see it and asks a bunch of questions, but … God, I know it’s going to hurt.” He took a breath and then mused, “I suppose I could just get it covered with another tattoo. I don’t know what it would be, but it might hurt less than laser removal.”
“That might be an option,” she agreed, doing her best to appear unaffected, although, truth be told, it felt like a blow to have her likeness obliterated in any way. Even if it was for a logical—and understandably necessary—reason, it didn’t mean she had to like it.
David didn’t miss the flash of disappointment across her face, and it pleased him to know she didn’t like the thought of the tattoo being removed or covered up. For a split second, however, he felt bad for making her feel bad, but then forced it away, because if things went the way he hoped, the tattoo would cease to be an issue and could stay right where it was.
He gave her a gentle nudge toward the tub, and she took the hint, stepping into it as gracefully as she could. As Paige lowered herself into the hot water, she released a faint moan of sheer pleasure, before leaning back and focusing her attention on watching him shed his own clothes.
His shirt came off first, and even though she’d seen him without one on their last ‘date’, that didn’t lessen the impact of seeing him now. If anything, the vision of David by candlelight was almost better, since it washed his skin in a golden glow and made the lines of his shoulders, arms, and abs more defined.
Did she look that good by candlelight? God, she hoped so.
Next, David removed his shoes and socks, and as he straightened up, his hands went to the fly of his jeans. Feeling a hot surge of anticipation, Paige sat up and leaned forward without realizing it, to watch while he made quick work of the button and zipper. As the dark denim descended to the floor in a heap and got swept to the side, her eyes trailed over the muscled curves of his hair-roughened thighs and calves, before zeroing in on his one remaining piece of clothing.
His black briefs were form-fitting and doing a very nice job of highlighting the impressive erection he was sporting. Her anticipation swelled like a tidal wave and she actually shivered as he pushed his briefs down and stepped out of them, to stand naked before her.
Paige found herself blatantly appraising him, not even trying to hide it. For the most part, he looked just as she remembered—his cock was still long and thick with a flared head, and canted slightly to the left—but he’d taken his manscaping to a higher level. He was now groomed down to a thin layer of hair around the base of his cock, and she could see his balls were pretty smooth as well, giving him an extremely ‘clean’ appearance. “I really like your groomed look,” she told him.
“You do?”
She nodded, her gaze slowly moving back up his body, and when she finally made eye contact with him again, he looked a little bemused, probably because her examination had been so thorough. With a smirk, he took a few steps toward the tub, only to stop and ask, “Do you have any hair ties?”
The change of topic threw her for a second. “Uh, top left drawer,” she replied, then added, “Can you get me one, too?”
He turned and opened the drawer, and began rummaging around for the hair ties. For a moment, Paige was so sidetracked by checking out his bare ass that she almost failed to look at his back. When she did, she couldn’t help the elation at seeing her name and face inked on his skin; it made her happier than she could’ve imagined, even though she knew it most likely would be gone soon, in one way or another.
His search successful, David pulled his hair up and into a bun (giving her a quick chance to admire his flexing biceps) before stepping into the tub behind her, sloshing the water around a little bit and displacing some suds.
When he was finally situated, she looked back at him and held her hand up for her hair tie.
He shook his head. “I got it,” he told her, then indicated she should turn back around.
Slowly, she faced forward. A second later, his fingers were in her hair, gently sweeping it up and securing it into a matching bun, then tucking the bangs that weren’t quite long enough behind her ears. It was an oddly sweet moment for Paige, and she was smiling as he settled her against his chest—a position that came with a hard cock pressing into the small of her back.
“If my hard-on is bothering you, let me know,” he told her.
“And if it is, what are you going to do about it?”
“Nothing, really. It just seemed like the polite thing to say.”
She rubbed against the prominent ridge of his erection. “It’s fine. It’s actually providing me with a little lumbar support,” she teased.
He chuckled and pressed a quick kiss to her temple.
After that, they fell into a soft silence, broken only by the occasional splash of water as David’s hands stroked along her arms and over her shoulders.
She could feel the rise of his chest underneath her with each deep breath he took and soon their breathing was in sync. “This is nice,” she murmured, feeling a moment of sadness that they’d never enjoyed anything like this before.
“It is,” he agreed, his hands getting a little bolder in their exploration, but still very gentle as he stroked her hips, stomach, and her breasts—which, after pushing aside some suds, he could now clearly see. His fingertips played with her nipples, drawing several pleased sighs from her and making her eyes close in bliss.
“You may not know this, but I always loved your breasts,” he revealed quietly. “They’re firm, yet soft, and they’re the perfect size. Your nipples are also the prettiest shade of pink and just looking at them got me hard.”
“Really?”
“Really. I fantasized about coming on them.”
Her eyes popped open. “You did?”
“Yep. I jerked off in the shower thinking about it when we were married,” he revealed. “Coming on your nipples and marking them was my go-to fantasy, but I never pursued it because I was afraid you’d think it was perverted.”
“I probably would have,” she admitted softly, before asking, “Have you fantasized about that recently?”
“Was that rhetorical?”
“No.”
“Yes, I’ve fantasized about it recently.”
“Is that your biggest fantasy?”
“No. My biggest fantasy is you wanting me—wanting me so much that you’re ripping my clothes off and throwing me down on the bed, practically begging for my cock. Then, when I give it to you, you’re shaking with need, grabbing my ass and pulling me inside you. And my name is the loudest sound in the room as I make you come so hard you feel it for days.”
Heart pounding, Paige twisted so she could look directly at him. His fantasy was all about her pleasure?
“Was that too much … information?” he asked, with a hint of a smirk.
“No, not at all. It was just the right amount of ... information.”
His smirk grew, as if he knew the effect his words had had on her. “So, what’s your biggest fantasy?” he wanted to know.
“To be honest, I’ve never given much thought to fantasies. But I think I’m going to start.”
“Let me know if you come up with anything.”
“I will.”
He tilted his head and kissed her and when he deepened the kiss with his tongue, she put a hand to the side of his face to hold him there. Her entire body was humming and she was only marginally aware she was rubbing her legs together, until she felt one of his hands making its way south and he broke their kiss to whisper, “Spread your legs for me.”
The only hand that had been anywhere near her clit in the last five years was hers, and Paige didn’t even hesitate to let her legs fall open. His long, sure fingers were on her almost immediately, accompanied by a groan in the back of his throat, as if the very act of touching her was arousing to him. He stroked along her delicate folds, circling her clit until she was all but dueling with his finger to get it where she wanted. “You’re annoying me,” she complained.
“You’re annoying me,” he countered.
“How am I annoying you?”
“You’re making it difficult for me to play.”
“I don’t want you to play. I want you to get to work.”
His eyes gleaming at her impatient tone, David stopped what he was doing and lightly pinched her clit. At the little jolt of pleasure, her hips bucked in the water and he pinched her again, making her groan. “Is that better?”
“Yes.” Then, without thinking about what she was doing, she bit his lower lip.
“Fuck,” he growled.
“Sorry,” she apologized, then did it again.
He pulled back, looking a little shocked and a lot turned on. It was clear that he was on board with her biting him, and Paige tucked that little nugget away for future reference. She’d actually drawn a little blood, and she touched his lip with her thumb as his fingers continued to tease her, this time concentrating on her clit with a nice, steady rhythm. David was working her up almost faster than she normally could, which was probably due to the fact that getting herself off while thinking about him wasn’t nearly as good as him getting her off while she was looking at him.
He seemed adept at reading her and she didn’t have to tell him when to speed up or rub harder. When Paige felt the moment her pleasure went from something that just felt good to something that had a purpose, she closed her eyes and focused on the climb to orgasm. She was aware of how hard she was breathing, how her body was trembling with need, and felt the bath water sloshing all around, but all of those details were peripheral to her imminent orgasm.
It happened faster than she thought possible and hit with a force usually only achieved with porn and a vibrator. Crashing waves of pleasure radiated from her clit in all directions like an electrical current running down her legs and up her spine. Every inch of skin tingled and tightened, while her entire body tensed, as if to keep the pleasure trapped inside.
The orgasm seemed to last longer than normal as well, and as Paige slowly came down, she realized several things:
Her right hand was clutching the back of David’s neck in a death grip.
Her left hand was locked on his left hand which was squeezing a breast in a death grip.
She was grinding her ass against his dick while he reciprocated with shallow thrusts from underneath her.
This was the best bath she’d ever had, bar none.
“Oh, my God.” Paige released a long, drawn-out sigh from the back of her throat as the overwhelming rawness of the moment hit her, flooding her eyes with tears.
Her orgasm had been intense, and it had been easy.
David cupped a cheek with a wet hand and turned her to face him. “Are you okay?” he asked, seeing her bright eyes. “You still with me?”
She nodded. “That was …”
“Yeah, it was,” he agreed, his voice a little rough.
He kissed her, this time with more tenderness than passion, and in the back of her mind, it occurred to her that the fingers resting against her cheek had been up close and personal with her pussy just seconds before. Paige thought that probably would’ve been off-putting to most people, but she found it oddly … not.
Just as she was settling in to enjoy the post-orgasmic bliss, David shifted underneath her. “Not to kill the mood or anything, but we should probably get out soon.”
“That actually did kill the mood,” she scolded him.
“Sorry,” he said, before adding dryly, “I just figured you might not want to be soaking in bath water that I came in.”
“You came?”
“I came before you did, actually. Your ass was riding my cock into oblivion, so yeah, that happened.”
His revelation pleased her immensely, and Paige was smiling as he helped her out of the tub. She was still smiling as they dried off, but when he reached for his clothes, she stopped him. “Would you like to stay the night?”
Her invitation hung in the air like the mushroom cloud of an atomic bomb. Almost instantly, she regretted extending it when he blinked at her in surprise. What was she doing? People that were fake dating and basically just fucking around didn’t spend the night together, did they? No, they didn’t.
“I’m sorry, that was—”
“Yes, I’d like to stay.”
It was her turn to blink at him. “Really?”
“Really.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“Okay, well, I should probably tell you that I—”
“Have to get up at the ass-crack of dawn?”
“No, that’s not what I was going to say.”
“So, you don’t have to get up at the ass-crack of dawn?”
“No. I can actually sleep in a little bit.”
“Oh, shit.”
“What?”
“I need to get up at 6:30 a.m.”
“So, get up at 6:30 a.m.”
“But then you won’t be able to sleep in.”
“That actually is sleeping in for me.”
He made a face.
“Anyway,” she continued, “what I was going to tell you is that—”
“You snore? Because I already know that.”
“That’s not what I was going to say, either.”
“I know you hog the covers, too.”
“Would you just stop? Holy crap.”
“Well, what is it, then?”
“I was going to tell you that I’m planning on going to bed in like, ten minutes.”
“Oh. And?”
“And … I don’t know. You might not want to go to bed that early.”
“And if I don’t? Are you going to suggest I watch TV or something?”
“You could, if you wanted to,” she replied, pursing her lips a little.
He chuckled. “I was kidding. I’m not going to watch TV while you’re sleeping. Plus, it won’t hurt for me to get some extra shut-eye, since I need to get up a little early.”
At that, Paige rolled her eyes, making him chuckle again.
“Just do what you’re going to do, and I’ll follow your lead,” he told her.
Deciding to take him at his word, she went about her regular nightly routine, all while dressed in only a pair of panties. She put moisturizer on her face, then rubbed lotion on almost every body part, before taking her hair down, all while he watched from a few feet away in just his briefs.
She found a spare toothbrush from a recent dental visit under the sink and gave it to him, and then they brushed their teeth, side by side at her sink. When she saw him grimace a little, she assumed it was due to the cut on his lip and said, “I’m sorry for biting you. Twice.”
“It’s fine.” He shook off her concern with an amused smile. “And don’t worry. I’ll try and keep your name out of it if I have to explain what happened to anyone.”
After they tidied up the bathroom, he followed her into her bedroom, and when he saw it for the first time, he had to catch his breath. It was almost like stepping back in time to the room they’d shared—the furniture, the bedding, and even the wall color was the same. The only thing that was different was the missing lamp from ‘his’ nightstand. Wondering if it was because it wasn’t needed, he asked, “Where’s the other lamp?”
Paige glanced over from where she was putting her dirty work clothes into her hamper. “Sputnik broke it one night when he jumped up on the nightstand in the dark and knocked it over.”
“Good for him,” David said with approval, laying his own clothes neatly on the small chair in the corner so they wouldn’t be wrinkled when he put them on in the morning. “It’s too bad he hasn’t taken the other one out, too.”
“That’s mean,” Paige sputtered, a hint of laughter in her voice. “They were a wedding gift from my Great-aunt Adele.”
“I know. And who gives ugly lamps as a wedding gift?”
“They’re valuable antiques.”
“That she got where? The Ugly Ass Antique Lamp Store? Come on, Paige, she only told you they were ‘valuable antiques’ so you’d feel obligated to display them somewhere in our house. I mean seriously, for all you know, she was cleaning out her basement and instead of throwing them away—which is what she should’ve done—she decided to re-gift them to us.”
“She didn’t do that.” Paige was almost laughing now. “Shut-up.”
“You shut-up. You know I’m right.”
Choosing not to acknowledge that, she started to head out of the room.
“Where are you going? We’re in the middle of a conversation about ugly lamps,” he called after her.
“I’m going to get a glass of water,” she called back. “And the conversation about ugly lamps is over.”
With a grin, David grabbed his phone from his pants pocket, then went to what had always been ‘his’ side of the bed and climbed in. He’d shared one with Ashley for four years, but this felt like coming home, especially when Sputnik jumped on the bed and curled up at David’s feet. He took a moment to enjoy his good fortune before setting his alarm, and had just put the phone down on the nightstand when Paige returned with a glass of water.
At the sight of David laying in her bed—er, their bed—Paige paused. It both excited and freaked her out because while it was odd, it was also very welcome, given how good he looked.
“I turned the volume down on my phone,” he told her. “Hopefully my alarm won’t wake you, but you were always a light sleeper, so …”
“I still am, but don’t worry about it.”
Realizing she was still just standing there, Paige went to her side of the bed and set her glass down. Then, as he watched, she slid under the covers and leaned toward him. “Good night.”
“Good night,” he returned, lifting himself up on one elbow to kiss her. It sort of felt like old times, except that she was mostly naked and the light was still on.
With a tired smile, she pulled back, then shifted so she could turn off the lamp, plunging the room into darkness. In the ensuing silence, David lay there, the foot and a half separating him from Paige starting to really feel like old times and he decided to throw a grenade on that. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he pulled her back toward his chest, making her squeak a little in surprise, but as he nestled against her and held on tight she relaxed against him with a sigh.
“That’s much better,” he whispered.