39. Killian #2
She leans forward, her wet hair brushing my shoulders as she captures my mouth with hers. It’s the first time she’s kissed me since the rescue.
I’m frozen. My hands are still on her waist, but I don't move a muscle. I’m waiting for her to flinch.
But she doesn't hold back. She moans softly against my mouth as I finally kiss her back, my lips parting for hers as I let go of the control I've been white-knuckling for three months.
I feel myself grow hard against her, something I can't hide in the heat of the tub.
When she pulls back, her eyes have gone dark, the green and gold swirled together into something murky and deep.
She takes my hand and places it flat against her stomach, spreading my fingers wide.
Even through the water, her skin is hot against my palm.
I lean in, letting her feel exactly what she’s doing to me.
"Is this okay?" I whisper, making sure she’s still here with me.
She nods, leaning her head back to expose the line of her throat. "Very okay."
I’ve spent the last three months relearning her body, where I can touch and where it’s still too soon.
The miracle isn't that she's healed, it’s that she’s brave enough to ask for this after everything they did to her.
My fingers slide down her stomach slowly, tracing the path she’s giving me, until I reach the line we haven't moved past in more than three months.
She guides me the rest of the way, pressing my fingers between her thighs.
I can feel the heat of her under the water, the slight tremor in her thighs. I’m paralyzed. I’ve spent nearly two decades taking what I want, but right now, I’m terrified that if I move, I’ll become another part of her nightmare.
"Don't stop," she whispers, her head falling back as she keeps her eyes on mine. "Stay right here. Be with me."
She shifts until she’s straddling me, her knees on the bottom of the tub and her hands resting on my shoulders.
I stay perfectly still. My fingers are right where she put them, tracing the soft heat between her legs while my other arm stays locked around her waist. I don’t try to lead.
I wait for her to tell me how much she can handle.
She leans forward and takes my mouth again, her teeth grazing my lower lip as she pulls me into a kiss that isn't about being gentle anymore. The water is trapped between our chests as she leans in, her hips finding a slow, heavy rhythm against my hand, and I simply follow.
The water splashes violently over the copper side with every roll of her hips. I white-knuckle the edge of the tub, my heart hammering against my ribs while my fingers follow the pace she’s set.
"Don't stop," she pleads, her voice breaking as her thighs begin to tremble. "Killian, please..."
I watch her face, taking in how beautiful she is when she stops fighting herself. I’ve missed this. The way her mouth softens and her hazel eyes go heavy, focusing on nothing but me.
"I’ve got you."
"More," she breathes, and I comply immediately.
The water is hot, but she’s hotter. I settle my hand exactly where she placed it, my thumb circling her swollen clit while I sink two fingers slowly into her. She’s so fucking tight, her body coiling around me, her inner walls clenching as they try to drag every inch of me deeper.
She finds a rolling, heavy grind, slamming her hips into the weight of my hand until the only thing she can feel is me. I don’t give her a second to recover; I push deeper, reminding her body exactly what it feels like to be filled by me.
"Stay with me," she whispers as her body tenses. It's half plea, half demand.
She arches into me, her body locking hard against my hand until she’s shaking with it.
She keeps her gaze fixed on mine, staring right into me when the last of her control finally snaps.
I catch her mouth with mine, taking the wrecked sound that breaks the silence of the last three months.
She kisses me back. Hard, messy, and breathless, her teeth grazing my lip.
Then her strength deserts her, she falls forward, her forehead striking my shoulder with a weight that’s too real to be anything but a total surrender.
I lock my arms around her waist, holding her through the aftershocks, listening to the way her heart hammers against mine. We stay like that until the steam starts to fade and the only sound left is the water dripping onto the floor.
"Always, I'm right here," I murmur against her wet skin. It’s the only promise I have left to give.
She stays against me for a long time, her heart gradually slowing until it matches the heavy rhythm of my own. The steam has turned into a thick mist, pressing the rest of the world away until it’s just us.
"The noise in my head... it’s finally gone," she whispers. Her fingers trace the scar on my chest, the price I paid to bring her home. "For three months, it was all I could hear. The basement, the water, the shame. But right now, there’s only the bubbles, and the steam, and the way you’re looking at me. "
I pull back enough to see her face, my index finger tapping gently against her chest, right over her heart. "You recognize the woman in here?"
"I'm starting to," she whispers, her eyes locking on mine. "I just want to be here. With you."
She shifts against me, her hands sliding down my chest and disappearing beneath the surface of the water.
"Wait, Ellie."
I choke on a breath as her fingers find me under the water. Her grip is firm, confident, her thumb circling the head of my cock on each upstroke. She varies the pace enough to keep me on edge, her touch reminding me of exactly how long I’ve been waiting for this. Starving for it.
"Fuck," I growl, my hips involuntarily rising to meet her hand. I try to hold on to some shred of discipline, but she’s staring right into me, watching my eyes glaze over as she finds the rhythm I need.
A small, knowing smile curves her lips. "That's it," she whispers, her grip tightening. "I want you just like this. Just for me."
I reach for her, my hands finding her hips, pulling her into me until there’s no room left for the steam to get between us. "Then take it," I rasp against her mouth. "Don’t ask for permission, Ellie. Make me lose it."
She leans forward, her weight pressing me into the copper as she takes my mouth.
Her free hand tangles in my hair to hold me steady while her other hand keeps up that relentless rhythm under the water.
When she finally pulls back, I’m groaning into the steam, my head lolling back, hitting the copper as she finds a pace I can’t survive.
It’s not a power exchange; it’s a collision.
"I missed this," she whispers, her forehead resting against mine as she watches the last of my control slip. "The way you look when you've finally stopped thinking."
"I'm not thinking about anything but you," I growl, my fingers locking onto her hips as I pull her tighter.
Her hand tightens, her wrist twisting in that way she knows drives me wild.
My lungs are burning, the steam turning into a heavy weight as she hits a rhythm that’s too fast to fight.
I keep my hands locked on her hips, my fingers digging in as the room narrows until there’s nothing left but her eyes.
Fuck me, she feels good. I'm not going to last.
"Let go for me," she whispers against my mouth, her thumb dragging hard over the crown of my cock.
I stop fighting and let go. I'm coming before I can even catch my breath, my body going rigid as I pulse hot cum over her hand.
I don't give a fuck about the sound that tears out of my throat. It’s messy and too much after so long.
I stay right there, my eyes locked on hers, until my lungs finally remember how to work.
She works me through it, her expression triumphant and tender all at once. When the last aftershock subsides, she places her palm flat against my thundering heart. I cover her hand with mine immediately, trapping it against my chest, unwilling to lose the contact.
She stays quiet for a long time, her palm resting over my heart. She doesn't need to explain why she needed this; I can see it in the way her shoulders have finally dropped. She's here. With me, a calm I didn't think she was capable of until now.
"You're incredible," I whisper, cupping her face in my hands. "Everything they tried to take, you just took it back."
"Three months ago, I couldn't imagine wanting anyone's touch again," she says quietly. "Now I can't imagine not having yours."