Chapter 22 #2
“You were this close to stitches.” She pinches her fingers together. “You’re not even done healing from the hyperthermia, and now you’re getting all beaten up.” She frowns.
“They were asking about you and Natalie. They know we’re together.”
“Oh.”
“I’m sorry for dragging you into this.”
“How? By existing?”
“I’m putting my family in danger again.”
“Natalie is safe because of you. And we’ll handle those jerks if they show up.”
“I didn’t get the fish.”
She laughs. “How do you feel about Totino’s Pizza?”**
After we finish eating pizza, Crystal asks me to join her on the back porch to look at the stars. We sit for a little while picking out the ones we can name, and she pulls out another picture from her purse.
These little story times have become my favorite part of the day. I take it eagerly. The picture is one of her, me and… Mark.
I feel sick.
In the picture, she’s face down on a lounge chair crying, and Mark is laughing. I’m looking at him with a death stare.
In the picture. And right now.
“We were all snorkeling, and I accidentally surfaced in a patch of sea lice. A little while later, I felt some itchy spots on my face that got more intense as the hours went by, then these horrible pimples popped out all along where I had been wearing my mask. I looked like a rabid raccoon.”
She shakes her head.
“Mark laughed at me when he saw my bumpy face, and do you know what you did?”
“Tell me.”
“You held my hair back and gently rubbed my face with hydrocortisone. You stayed with me all night to make sure I didn’t scratch, and you reapplied the cream every few hours.
We played board games and watched TV.” She laughs and squints her eyes.
“Would you believe me if I told you that it was one of the most fun nights of my life?”
She takes another look at the photo. “Sometimes we just don’t see what’s right in front of us.”
She meets my gaze, waiting.
“Please tell me everything,” I whisper and brace myself. “If you’re ready.”
She sits down beside me, holds my hand, and tells me everything.
Everything.
And I’m destroyed.
My choices put her in the clutches of a monster.
“You didn’t do it, Nathan. Mark did. I didn’t know what he was, and neither did you.”
“I should have known,” I spit out, unable to catch my breath—unable to reconcile my emotions. I’ve been feeling sorry for myself for all these years, when she… she…
“Look at me.” She puts her hands on the sides of my face and lifts my gaze to meet hers. “Evil can be very good at disguising itself. But you know what?” She caresses my jawline. “We’re here, and he’s not.”
She leans in and kisses me. Her soft lips open, and I taste her sweetness.
I want her so badly, but I need to stop.
“Crystal, do you need time? What happened… I don’t want to hurt you.”
“What I need is the man I married, the man I love. It’s true I’m still healing. Every day. But he didn’t change me.” She takes my hand. “You’re not him. And I’m still the same woman who loves you and wants you.”
“But…”
She puts a finger across my lips and slides my hand, which has been resting on her leg, under her dress. “Badly.”
She’s so soft and lovely.
But it’s been a long day and I’m filthy. I can’t touch her like this.
I look at her sheepishly. “I think I need a shower.”
“Okay,” she whispers. “But don’t make me wait too long.” I watch her trail her fingers across her neckline to her chest. Slow. Inviting.
I rush to the bathroom. I’m a mess. What she just shared with me is heavy. I feel guilty for wanting something from her. But she wants it too. We both deserve this, and we deserve to bury the past and never think of that asshole again.
Getting under the stream, I close my eyes and give myself a moment to soak in the hot water. It feels so damn good. Then I think of Crystal’s body and what it felt like to be inside her. I grasp the handle to turn off the water.
The curtain moves, and she steps inside. Naked.
“Oh?” I choke on the word, eyes locked on hers. And then I let my gaze drift.
She motions with her index finger for me to turn around and takes a washcloth and soap from the shower caddy. The spicy fragrance of ginger mixed with sweet vanilla wakes up my senses.
I hold my breath as she works up the cloth until it’s filled with suds. I can hear her, but I can’t see her, and it’s driving me crazy.
She puts the cloth on my back and begins washing, moving in slow circles. I let my shoulders relax and lean back into her touch.
She moves on.
When she reaches the place between my legs, I jerk as intense pleasure surges up my spine.
Unable to stand still, I turn around to see her, her soaked white-blonde hair a darker shade of gold and her blue eyes staring at me.
“Come here,” I rasp. Catching the back of her waist with one palm, I pull her to me and breathe in the pleasure of her soft curves pressed against my body.
Taking some soap into my hands, I cup her breasts and knead them, rolling over her nipples with my thumbs.
Watching them harden, I push myself against her belly.
She bends her neck back, letting out a sexy moan.
“Are we clean enough now?” I husk, breathing heavily against her neck. She nods, and I spin her around to face the wall. Her hands fly up against the tile to brace herself.
“I love you so much,” I call out. She gasps as I push into her. Her warm softness surrounds me as I roll my hips.
Yes. My thrusts at first slow, grow desperate, and in minutes, we’re clawing at each other, begging each other for release.
When she tightens around me, I shout as the orgasm rips through me.
Trembling, I will myself to keep standing and hold on to her, softly caressing the curves of her back and stomach.
She’s still catching her breath. Knowing I’m the reason sends a slow, primal satisfaction through me.
“Wow.” She laughs out loud, uninhibited, still facing the wall. “I’m a satisfied woman, sailor. You have my permission to be proud of yourself.”
I laugh and kiss her back, just beneath her shoulder blade, while I tickle that spot I’ve found beneath her ribs. She jumps. “Ready to go again?” I sigh, completely serious about a round two until cold water pours over us.
“Out,” she says. Giggling and freezing, we stumble onto the rug.
It takes us a minute, but we eventually dry off and make our way into bed.
Resting for a little while, I think about going to sleep, but the memories of what we just did and how good it felt overtake the fatigue. I roll to my side and pull her toward me, nestling my face into her sweet hair—already needing her again. And ready.
“Tomorrow, I dive in the space suit,” I murmur into her ear, trying to sound pitiful and not laugh.
She laughs and doesn’t try to hold back. “And?”
I graze the lobe of her ear and whisper. “Any chance of an encore before I go?”