Chapter 14
August came back moments later,picking me up off the countertop and carrying me into the bathtub with him.
Neither of us mentioned clothing, or the future, as he eased us into the large tub.
It wasn’t big enough, considering the man’s size, but I’d take what I could get.
Especially when what I could get was only a little more time spent with his body against mine.
He scrubbed us both with the unscented, four-in-one body wash, then took his time with my hair, washing and conditioning it.
My chest remained against his almost the entire time, letting him make all the decisions. Maybe some women would’ve wanted to be in control, but in that moment, I wasn’t one of them.
“You’re still hard?” I whispered, my face nestled comfortably against his neck.
“You’re still naked.” He squeezed my ass lightly, as if emphasizing that fact.
“You’re hardly a stranger to my bare body at this point.”
“Is that supposed to make me want you less?”
My lips curved slightly.
I didn’t have the energy for a full smile, or to consider what his interest may or may not mean.
“I still want you, too.”
“Good.” He squeezed my ass again, his touch gentler than it had been while we were under heat’s influence.
I smiled against his neck.
We stayed in the tub for ages, relaxing in the water even as it cooled.
For what felt like the first time in forever, I wasn’t sweating.
There was nothing pushing me to need August. Nothing pushing me to touch him.
But I still loved the feel of his body against mine, and his hands on my skin.
And I still wanted to know what it felt like to have sex with him.
One last hurrah, maybe?
He didn’t seem entirely over me yet. Maybe that would come with the sunrise or something.
I wasn’t about to ask him at the risk of ruining our final moments together.
Eventually, Eli knocked on the door, and we got out of the tub. I pulled on one of August’s t-shirts, not bothering to put anything beneath it, and he pulled a pair of sweats up his gigantic thighs.
They hid even less than my shirt did.
His hand captured mine, and our fingers laced together as we walked through the cabin. He didn’t release my hand as he opened the door, or as he grabbed the bag off the doorstep and closed it again.
We finally let go of each other when we sat down on the couch with our sides nearly connected.
August opened the bag of food, and paused when he found a note inside. I looked over his shoulder in an attempt to read it, but he crumpled it up before I had the chance.
Then, he burned it.
“What the hell?” I frowned.
“It was just Eli being Eli. Nothing to worry about.”
I assumed it was a sex joke of some kind, based on that comment, but I still would’ve liked to see what it said. It wasn’t like I couldn’t handle a sex joke. My life had been a sex joke for four weeks.
He opened the food, and I was immediately distracted.
My stomach rumbled loudly, and he handed me a fork.
Two entire to-go containers of food followed.
And both of us fell silent as we devoured it, bite after glorious bite.
When it was gone, I was full, and even more exhausted than I’d been before.
We set our empty containers to the side, and August tugged me onto his lap. My shoulder was against his chest as I leaned into him sideways, and his arms wrapped around me loosely. It wasn’t our typical position, but it was still nice.
Really nice.
Especially without any magic making me all hot and bothered.
“Want to watch a movie?” His voice was quiet, but I didn’t think much of it.
“You’re not tired?”
“I am. Just not ready to go to sleep yet.”
“A movie works, then. But I’ll probably fall asleep on you.”
He turned me around so my chest faced his, and pulled me closer. My face pressed against his neck, and he inhaled slowly.
Deeply.
Like he wanted to embed my scent into his lungs.
He turned a movie on—some chick flick we’d already watched in the past few weeks—and I relaxed on his lap.
“You’re beautiful.” His voice was quiet. “I can’t remember if I’ve told you that.”
“Thank you.”
He ran his fingers through my damp hair slowly.
Sleep started to lull me in once again, but he asked me, “Can I kiss you?”
The question caught me off guard, though not unpleasantly.
“It’s been a while,” I said.
“Too long.”
“I was surprised you weren’t running away from me an hour ago, and now you want to kiss me?” My voice was playful, but not entirely. There was some truth to the question.
“I have no desire to run from you.” His fingers continued to tease my hair, but his voice wasn’t anywhere near playful. It was serious. Almost solemn.
I lifted my face from his neck and studied him for a moment.
His expression was calmer than it had been when I was in pain, but that was a given.
His eyes were blue again, a gorgeous blue that anyone could get lost in. Me, in particular.
“You’re beautiful, too,” I finally said, setting my hand on his cheek. “You probably don’t want to hear that, but it’s true.”
His eyes shut, and he took a deep breath in.
“When we first met, I was the one doing that.”
His lips curved upward. “I remember.”
“It feels like a lifetime ago.”
“It does.” He lifted his hand to rest over the top of mine. “I’m glad I found you, Fireball.”
Found, not met.
Like he expected us to last.
Like we weren’t about to part ways for the rest of our lives.
My throat swelled, and I lifted my mouth to his before he could catch the scent of my sadness. If he could even smell me like that anymore.
The kiss was soft, and unassuming.
Not careful—we had no reason to be careful with each other. We knew each other too well for that.
But it wasn’t rough, either.
It was something between that.
Something just a little magical.
One of his hands slipped into my hair, cupping the back of my head. The other caught my chin, tilting my head into the position he wanted me.
My free hand lifted to the other side of his face, holding him in place for me too.
My body warmed, but it had nothing to do with heat’s magic. And everything to do with the man beneath me.
It was a kiss goodbye, and I should’ve been glad that he was about to walk away from me.
Instead, I was dreading the moment when I would have to let him go.
But he wasn’t in a hurry, either.
He kissed me, and kissed me, and kissed me, and I gave him just as much as I got.
When I pulled away just long enough to take a few deep breaths in, his mouth moved down my throat.
Nipping.
Teasing.
Tasting.
“I want to feel your skin on mine, Fireball.” His voice was low, and I heard the words he didn’t say.
One last time.
I tugged his shirt over my head, and he helped me get free of it.
His hands skimmed my body, and goosebumps erupted on my skin. His palms were hot, the fire in his veins warming me in an entirely new way.
A way I loved.
“Take your pants off,” I breathed.
He stood long enough to kick them off, freeing his cock. It sprang up between my thighs, and finally, there were no rules.
No limits to what we could do to each other.
I rocked against him, using his length to work my clit. It felt amazing, and the way he throbbed told me he agreed.
“You’re wet for me, even without the magic.” His voice was gravelly again.
He wanted me, badly.
I smiled. “Always, Auggie.”
He laughed—a full-bellied laugh. “Never tell Eli you call me that. He’d never let it go.”
My smile widened, though I fought a small wave of sadness.
I’d never get a chance to stop myself from telling Eli that.
I didn’t know if I’d ever even see Eli again.
“Deal,” I said.
His lips recaptured mine, and it was hotter.
Rougher.
More wanting—but for once, no actual need.
He rolled me onto my back, releasing his grip on my hair to keep us balanced.
August didn’t bother asking me how I wanted him.
He didn’t need to check what I was comfortable with, or if there was anything I preferred.
He knew me.
He knew what I liked, and what drove me insane.
And he knew that for our first time, I’d let him take the reins, no questions asked.
He pulled his body away from mine and let his eyes burn down my figure.
“I thought you were finally going to fuck me,” I teased, still a little out of breath.
“I am. Just wanted another good look at you. Maybe another taste too.” He lowered his lips to my nipple, and sucked lightly before releasing it with a loud popping noise.
My hips arched. “Not tonight.”
His eyes lifted to mine.
He must’ve seen the emotions in them. “Next time.”
My throat swelled again, but I nodded.
If he wanted to play like that, to avoid the sadness of our goodbye, I wasn’t going to stop him.
He adjusted his grip on my thighs, then eased the tip of his erection to my core. When he dragged it over my center, taking care to circle my clit a few times, I groaned.
He grabbed my ass with one hand, changing the angle of my hips as he thrust inside me.
There was no slow and gentle.
No caution.
No uncertainty.
For the rest of the night, I was his, and he was mine.
I took an unsteady breath in as he filled me.
He was thick, hard, and powerful.
I’d never felt that full—or that right.
“I think you were made for me,” I managed to get out, my eyes meeting his intense gaze.
“There’s no question, Fireball.” He pulled out, and thrust in again.
A strangled cry escaped me.
He felt so good.
So insanely good.
I hadn’t been prepared for that. Nothing could’ve prepared me for it.
My hips moved with his next thrust, and I met his effort with my own.
Our eyes remained locked as we moved together, our breathing hard and our bodies working like they were created to do exactly that.
It wasn’t fucking.
It was making love.
He bit me while I climaxed the first time—and again the second.
With the third, he swore he was never going to let me go.
When we eventually collapsed in bed together, our bodies still intertwined, I couldn’t help but feel like my life would never be the same again.