Chapter 24 #2
His jaw twitches. Have I stepped over the mark? I shouldn’t be gushy, should I? He’s still just doing me a favor, even if that favor is going to be mutually enjoyable for both of us.
“And I wouldn’t be able to have a baby,” I add, even though that’s not what I meant at all.
He nods but says nothing, and I feel the weight of the silence pushing between us. “Were you sad you didn’t win the gold medal?” I ask, because I need to change the subject and fast.
“Sad that I didn’t win a child’s plastic necklace? No, Ava, I’m not sad.” He sounds amused at the idea of it.
“That’s good. Second place is always sexier anyway.”
He tips his head to the side. “Is it?”
“Yes.” I nod. “Think of all those guys who won the silver medal. They’re much more appealing than the gold winners.”
“Name one.”
“Okay.” I tap my chin with my finger, desperately trying to find a good example to back up my hypothesis. “Um… give me a minute.”
Myles starts to laugh. “I can give you an hour and you probably won’t come up with one.”
“Give me an hour and I’ll Google it. There has to be someone. Anyway, it doesn’t actually matter. All I have to do is close my eyes and see you climb that tree and I get shivery all over.”
“You liked that?” He looks genuinely bemused.
“I like you,” I whisper.
We reach the cabin and he opens the door, standing back like a gentleman to let me in first. As I walk inside he flicks on the lights and follows me, pulling the door closed behind him. I pull off my sneakers and let out a soft sigh because now I can wiggle my toes.
“Sit down,” he says, inclining his head at the sofa. “I’ll take a shower and then I’ll fix you a drink.”
“I can make the drinks,” I reply, but he shakes his head.
“Sit, Ava.”
I do as I’m told as he disappears into the bathroom, pulling the door closed behind him. I shift on my bottom then tap the cushions with my fingers, trying to ignore the fact that Myles is most certainly getting naked in there.
And after he showers, he’ll come out and we’ll make love.
Or a baby. Make a baby. Because he’s not in love with me. But I think I’m in love with him, so I’ll be making love.
This is confusing. And excruciating. I blink and shake my head.
Taking a deep breath, I stand up and walk over to the bathroom. Then, like a creeper, I put my head against the door. I hear him turn the shower on, the stream of water hammering against the basin, then there’s a pause in the sound as he must be stepping underneath the spray.
Naked. Wet. I swallow hard.
Then I push the door open and steam drifts around me.
“Ava?” He turns in the shower. The glass is misted and I can’t see much. Just the outline of his magnificent body. It’s enough to make me shiver.
“Yeah, it’s me. Can I come in?”
“You’re already in.”
“In the shower. With you.” I don’t want to be away from him for a moment longer. I need to be close to him.
“Of course.”
The words are barely out of his lips before I’m pulling off my sweatshirt, then unfastening my bra and throwing it on top of the pile of clothes he’s already made. My jeans quickly follow, along with my socks and panties, until I’m as naked as him.
Just on the wrong side of the shower glass.
I open the door and realize that this isn’t going to be the romantic shower I’d envisaged. For a start, the cubicle is small. Really small. And Myles Salinger is big, too big for the shower on his own. With me in there too, there’ll be barely be room to move.
He holds his hand out and I take it. His eyes are dark as he drinks me in, his gaze sliding from my face to my chest and then down. Water escapes the door, making a puddle on the tiles, so I hurry inside and pull it firmly closed behind me.
I was right about the squeeze. My body is pushed against his, our wet skin sliding against each other as he pulls me into his embrace. He looks down at me, brows slightly pulled together. “Are you okay?” he asks.
“You ask me that a lot,” I murmur. “And yes, I’m okay.”
“I ask you that because I need to know the truth. And if you’re not okay I want to make things better.”
The thing is, he does make things better. Just by being here. By holding me. “You don’t need to make things better,” I whisper. “I’m not a member of your family.”
“I know that.” His reply is terse, and I immediately regret the form of my words.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” I tell him. “I just want you to know that I’m not another person you need to care for.” I manage to reach up and cup his jaw. He still looks confused. “I don’t want to be your burden,” I whisper. “I just want to be your lover. At least for tonight.”
He takes my hand and presses his lips to my palm, then slowly slides his hands down me, like he’s trying to imprint every curve into his brain.
He thickens against me, the hard ridge pressing into my stomach.
If this cubicle was bigger I’d drop to my knees right now and show him exactly how much I want him.
Instead I reach up for his hair, sliding my fingers into his wet locks. “Can I wash your hair?”
He blinks, surprised. “If you want to.”
I really do. I reach behind him and somehow manage to get some shampoo into my hands.
I have to roll onto my tiptoes to be able to place my palms flat against his head, and it’s awkward as hell.
My breasts squish against his chest and my chin grazes his shoulder.
I rub and scrape my fingers against his scalp and the shampoo foams up.
He lets out a soft groan as I reach the nape of his neck.
This man likes to be touched. And I’m totally here for that.
When I’m done, he lifts his head up and the foam washes out of his thick, dark hair, sliding down his broad shoulders and over his chest – and me. I’m still on my tiptoes, my body smashed against his chest, and it only takes a lift of my chin until my lips are a breath from his.
“Kiss me,” I whisper.
The corner of his mouth lifts. He slides his hand down to the small of my back, making my spine tingle with delight. Dropping his head until his brow touches mine, he stares deep into my eyes.
It’s like time stops. I could get lost in him. There are depths in there that I want to plunder. His lips part and two tiny lines appear between his brow.
“Ava…”
“Yes?”
“What is this?”
“It’s…” I try to find the words, but I’m not sure they exist. It’s him.
It’s me. It’s everything in between. It’s the oceans and the land and the sky and the clouds.
It’s Myles Salinger holding me so close in the tiny shower he once built with his bare hands.
It’s a man who spends so much time taking care of everybody else that he forgets to take care of himself.
“I don’t know,” I whisper, because if I say any of that he’ll think I’m crazy. Hell, I think I am crazy.
He laughs just for a moment, then presses his lips to the corner of my mouth.
It’s soft and barely there. He moves them until his mouth covers mine, and it’s still so soft and achingly sweet.
He cups my behind with his hands, leaving me in no doubt of how much he wants me.
And that’s good because I want him, too.
I want to take him and give to him and spend the rest of the night making him feel good.
I want to feel him move inside of me until we both reach new heights.
“You’re beautiful,” he murmurs as I arch myself against him.
Our kiss deepens, gets harder and needier, our tongues crashing together as I moan softly against his lips.
He lifts me up, pushes me back against the shower wall, and I feel his hardness slip and slide against me.
My breath catches as I realize that with one thrust he’d be there.
“No, not here,” he mutters, as though he can read my mind. His face is as flushed as mine, our bodies soaked with soapy water, as he turns off the spray. Cold air immediately suffuses me, and he doesn’t waste any time, pushing the door open and grabbing a towel to wrap around my shivering body.
He takes another and gently blots the water from my hair, then wipes my face, my shoulders, and my chest. There’s a silence between us as he drops to his knees, drying my feet, calves, and thighs.
“You need to get dry, too,” I whisper.
He takes the towel he’s used on me and rubs it over himself. It feels strangely erotic. Like we’re sharing everything now. Showers and towels and, I don’t know, emotions.
When we’re dry, he doesn’t say another word.
Just peels the towel from my body and throws it on the floor.
Then he lifts me up again, his muscles contracting as he pulls my chest to his, and I wrap my arms and legs around him like an over-eager monkey, loving being picked up by this strong, gorgeous man.