Chapter 51
FIFTY-ONE
Tai
Istomp around looking for something to destroy. Apparently breaking the comms system wasn’t enough. I need something else to smash. I berate myself with every step to the bathhouse.
“You’re such a fucking idiot!” I claw my hands down my face.
I didn’t want her to fix the system. I wanted to be the one to fix it and have it up and running by the time she got out of the shower.
I wanted to surprise her with a hologram of Elowen projected on the screen and help on the way. It would have been perfect.
I’m furious. Furious I’m still on this stupid fucking planet.
That every single thing has gone wrong. Furious that Bri looks at me with those eyes and that face that sees right fucking through me.
I’m tired of being covered in sand. I’ve broken the comms panel that could have gotten us off the planet without confronting the presumably psychotic Boraei.
There’s got to be something else around here that I can fuck up.
The knob to the shower comes apart in my hand when I pull a little too hard on it, and a spray of water hits me in the face from the broken pipe. I take a few long, deep breaths to calm myself before I cause more damage.
The next shower over doesn’t get my wrath. I turn on the valve more carefully this time. The water comes out instantly scorching. I stand limply under the scalding stream and let the water soak my clothes, not caring enough to remove them.
Only once I’m all clean and I’ve washed off the last grain of sand will I be ready for Bri to gloat and tell me, “I told you so.” I can picture her smug smile. We both know I fucked us out of our way off this planet.
I deserve it. I deserve for her to yell at me, to call me every possible insult.
I face the shower wall and bend at the waist to let my head rest on the cold tiles.
A heavy, dull pain expands across my back.
A feeling comes up, one I have repressed and swept aside for six years.
It’s what’s kept me company, the thought that’s stayed with me for most of my life: I’m a worthless pile of shit.
“Well, that’s one way to do it. But from past experience, it’s not the most effective way to shower,” a quiet voice says behind me.
I can’t bring myself to turn around and look at Bri. She’s either angry or disappointed. Anger I can handle. Disappointment might send me over the edge.
“Just say it,” I tell her. I want to hear her say what a fuckup I am.
“Tai—” She cuts herself off with a huff. I don’t detect anger in her voice or disappointment. Instead, there’s a sense of understanding.
I peel my forehead off the wet tile and turn toward her. She’s standing within arm’s reach. The splatter from the shower dots her dress and face.
“You fucked up. But I’m not mad,” she says. She guts me with four words. She should be mad at me.
“You should be. I was in a hurry, and I was careless.”
“Yes, you were.”
“Finally, we agree on something.” My hard laugh bounces off the tiled walls. I can’t believe this is what it took for us to see eye to eye.
“Why didn’t you let me help? I’m familiar with those kinds of comms systems,” she says.
I rake my hand through my wet hair. Of course, she could have repaired it.
“I wanted to be the one to fix this.” I brace myself for the full fury of Bri. She probably thinks that I didn’t consider her capable, but in reality, it was because I wanted to impress her.
“There is another thing we can agree on,” Bri says, “If we are going to get off this awful planet, we need to work together.”
Instead of screaming at me, which I deserve, she’s given me more kindness and understanding than I have ever received in my miserable life. I don’t deserve her.
“Here, let me help you.” Bri pulls my shirt off over my head. It hits the ground with a slap. Her dress is soaked now. The peaks of her nipples poke through the wet material.
Her hands are at my belt, pulling the buckle loose. I’m painfully aware of my pants tightening from her touch. I reach down and move her hands away, not wanting her to feel what’s happening.
Without missing a beat, she pushes my chest until my back is against the wall.
There goes the possibility of her not noticing my pants tenting. It doesn’t matter, because they are pulled off and tossed away.
Her dress joins my shirt on the ground in a wet heap. I gulp down air at the sight of her in front of me. My entire body vibrates with the anticipation of what comes next. I haven’t stopped wanting her since the first time I saw her.
“I’m sor—”
“No. No more apologies,” she says, cutting me off.
She drops to her knees, and her hands trail up the front of my thighs. She opens her mouth and licks around the throbbing head without breaking eye contact.
I hold myself up against the wall in an effort to stop from grabbing onto her. With her lips around my cock, the glint in her eye completely wrecks me.
Her hands work the base, and she bobs her head, taking me deeper into her mouth. The wet slide of her tongue makes my knees weak.
Every thought flies from my head, every self-loathing thing completely forgotten. All I know is pleasure.
Without stopping her mind-destroying movements, she reaches up, grabs my bionic hand, and places it on the back of her head. It reflexively grabs a handful of her soaking wet hair and moves along with her movements, following her lead.
Her groan vibrates from her tongue to my cock, causing my hand to tighten and take control of the pace. Lost in a rush of ecstasy, I get past the point of no return. I pull her head back. I pop free of her mouth, her lips red and swollen.
Cum rips out of me and pulses onto her chest, dripping down along with the water from the shower. Her hands slow down on my dick until the last drip hangs from the tip. She licks it, sending a whole-body shudder through me.
“Your turn,” I say and drop down onto my knees.
She gets down on the shower floor and leans back against the wall. Her knees fall open. My middle two fingers slide into her, wet and ready. My palm pushes against her sensitive clit. I push in and out, greedy for every breath and gasp that comes from her.
I move faster and harder, lost in the moment. Her hips rise off the ground to meet my movement. I can feel the tension building up in her body, and her breathing becomes labored.
With more restraint than I’ve ever used in my life, I stop before she comes apart. Her eyes fly open, eyebrows pinched together as though she is on the verge of pain from the pause.
I stand up and drag her with me. She opens her mouth to say something, but I silence her with a kiss. I lift her up, and her long, firm legs wrap around me. One step forward and her back is against the shower wall.
I nudge inside her slowly. Excruciating pleasure vibrates through my entire body as I sink deeper into her.
Bri’s moans echo against the tiled walls of the shower, and she moves with me, circling her hips as I thrust in and out. My hips move harder and faster, in and out. Her moans turn shaky, and every ounce of blood rushes to my cock.
I grab the shower head for leverage and drive into her.
I come with a roar and yank the showerhead out of the wall. Water spurts everywhere as I fill up Bri’s soaking cunt. The broken showerhead hits the floor with a clang. I grab Bri’s hips, slowing down and riding out the pleasure with her.