“Uhn...” Pushing myself up on weak arms, I blinked hard into the dark room to peer through the gloom. There were no lights on anywhere, and I flopped forward to rub my eyes with a strained yawn. My body ached and sweat had dried on my skin to leave me feeling crusty and dirty, and I dragged my palms down my face to suck in a loud breath through my clogged nose.

“You’re awake…” The rasping call made me jump, and I twisted around wildly until a soft lamp light flickered to life to my far left. Shadows played across Richard’s face as I squinted, and he walked over to me to sit on the edge of the bed. Pulling the sheet up to cover my breasts, he let out a little huff and smirked slightly as I frantically tried to think of something to say.

“You- you’re here… still…?” Confusion laced my slurred voice, and I cleared my throat roughly before a warm palm cupped my cheek. “Why?”

Stroking my cheekbone with his thumb, Richard grabbed my wrist with his free hand to squeeze gently. His eyes shone and glittered in the low light, and I couldn’t tear my gaze away even as my breath hitched in my throat.

“I wanted to make sure you were okay… are you okay, Lilly?” My eyes widened at that, and I pursed my lips together at the concern in his tone. Scooting closer, a shiver slid down my spine as his body heat clashed with the cool air of the room on my skin. Releasing the sheet to palm his jaw, I leaned in mindlessly to place a sloppy kiss on his lips.

“I’m okay, Richard. What about you? Are you okay?” Richard laughed- a soft chuckle that burrowed under my skin, and my heart stuttered at the sound. Wordlessly wrapping his arms around me, he pulled me onto his lap to stand up, and I gripped his shoulders as the air was knocked from my lungs. He was strong.

“How are you feeling, I mean.” The lights of the bathroom pierced my eyeballs, and I squeezed my eyelids tightly as Richard’s meaningful question bounced around in my skull. Carrying me across the bathroom, he set me down on a smooth, tiled surface, and I blinked hard to find myself in a shower. Disappearing behind the swirling, tempered glass door, he let me adjust to the brightness around me. The sound of his jeans hitting the floor echoed around the room, and I blushed hard when he emerged into my view.

Knowing Richard was naked and seeing him naked were two very different things, and it took me a moment to really realize what I was looking at.

“Oh my…” I couldn’t notice anything else about Richard but his tattoos, and my thighs quivered as my heart thumped a rapid staccato. A tribal tattoo I hadn’t noticed before snaked around his waist, cradling a colored montage of too many subjects to count. Faces, lines, and abstract art littered his chest and light abdominal plane, and my eyes traveled up just as he turned to twist the shower knobs.

A dream catcher took up all of the skin on Richard’s back, and my muscles jerked to push me up. I had to touch it, and a gasp lodged in my throat when he reached up to tilt the shower head at the wall. Cold water rushed my feet, but my fingertips tingled and warmed as they weaved through the coarse hairs on his back. Feathers spread out from the catcher, colored ones that had faded with time, and I traced the spines as he stood still.

“It’s- it’s so… beautiful.” Words couldn’t describe how amazing this tattoo was, and it nearly brought me to tears. Richard turned just as the urge to sniff hit me, and he smiled tenderly before drawing me to his chest. His strong, defined arms locked me to him, nakedness to nakedness, and I rested my head on the spider tattoo that rested over his heart.

How could looking at a tattoo be so profound? The question had no answer, and I didn’t try to find one.

“That was my fifth tattoo. I got it during a really rough patch in my life.” Soft, Richard’s confession came before he cupped my face and forced me to look at him. Light tendrils of steam rose from below us, and I held what he’d said close to my heart even as he captured my lips.

Hot water cascaded down on us, and a gasp flew from my throat before Richard gripped my butt to pick me clear up off the floor. Wrapping my legs around his waist instinctually, I slung my arms around his neck with a soft moan. Need pulsed faintly against my pelvis, and the shower head squeaked when he repositioned it. Straddling his lap when he dropped onto the bench, I arched as hot water assaulted my back.

“I want you… bad…” Grumbling against my mouth, Richard groaned as our tongues met, and I rolled my hips in acceptance. His rod hardened and lengthened as I ground against him, kissing him as hard as he kissed me. Reaching between us in wanton need, I palmed his length and shuffled my legs to prop myself on my knees. My body knew what to do- knew what it needed- and I hesitated only a second before sliding down.

The grout between the tiles scraped my knees, but Richard pushing his way past my entrance was a far more potent sensation. Yanking my head back to gasp for air, I shuddered violently at the still unfamiliar feeling of his rod entering me.

But it stopped when he gripped my hips, holding me up and making the needy monster inside me roar angrily.

“Wait- wait… There’s a condom in my pocket…” Freezing up at Richard’s mumble, my body went cold, and the water pelting my back stabbed my sensitive skin. Horror overtook my chest, and I scrambled off his lap to hide in a corner I wished would swallow me. Covering my face with my hands, I choked on my own breath before big palms encircled my wrists. Forcing my hands above my head, he crowded against my front to make shushed, cooing sounds in my ear.

“Pl- please… t- tell me we… didn’t-“ Stuttering harshly, my throat closed even as Richard shook his head. Water droplets splattered my face, and he rested his forehead against mine to become a blur to my stinging eyes.

“No, we didn’t. I put one on. You were too busy looking at my tattoos to notice. I’m not that irresponsible, Lilly.” Richard’s tender smile was in his voice, and I sagged against his hold as relief surged through my veins. “Have some faith in me, baby.”

“I- I’m sorry… I- I panicked. I didn’t… I didn’t think about that.” Stumbling over my apology, I took a shuddering breath before Richard’s soft shushing caressed my aching brain. Pressing a chaste, comforting kiss on my mouth, he took a sharp breath of his own and eased my arms around his neck. Sitting me on the bench, he stepped out of the shower as water ran down my face and shoulders in rivers. I did nothing to stop it, letting the heat warm my body as my wet hair clung to my cheeks and neck.

Wordlessly, Richard sat down next to me, and I glanced over under weighed lids and pursed my lips together. He was so handsome under the bright, white lights of the bathroom, and he caught my gaze to smirk naughtily. The atmosphere that had vanished to easily came rushing back, and I reached for his face just as he grabbed my waist.

Hoisting me into his lap, Richard smashed his lips on mine to swallow my moan, and I cupped the back of his head to deepen the ravenous kiss. My throat and chest tightened as my hips moved without thought, and he gripped my butt hard to pull my cheeks apart. His grunt lodged at the back of my mouth, reverberating down my spine as I ground shamelessly against him. The hot, pulsing organ against my abdomen sent shivers down my thighs, and after a long moment, he left my waist to fumble between us.

“Slide down on my cock real nice, baby…” Blood rushed to my face at Richard’s mumble, but I didn’t deny the throbbing need that coiled in my belly. Opening my mouth for his probing, I groaned when his tongue tangled with mine. My body trembled, knees threatening to slip on the tiles as I lifted myself to poise over his length. Slowly sliding down, I couldn’t contain my moans as he stretched my swollen, abused walls. That familiar wave of icy pin pricks surged up from my core to my neck, and I clamped down on him tightly.

Passion weighed the air around us, and I ripped my head back to pant hard, moist breaths. Richard’s soft lips trailed down my neck, and he left my butt to palm my breasts heavily. Bouncing awkwardly on his lap, I braced myself on his shoulders even as the unfamiliar sensation of sexual frustration welled up inside me.

Faster than I could comprehend, Richard wrapped his arm around my waist and stood up in one, fluid motion. Choking on my own shocked squeak, I locked my ankles against the small of his back even as mine hit warm tile. Capturing my mouth fiercely, he didn’t give me any time to recover before thrusting hard and deep. Our low, satisfied groans mixed together inside the seal of our lips, and he pulled back to set a steady, toe-curling pace.

“Lilly- baby…ugn.” The rumble of my orgasm was only made more intense at Richard’s harsh grumble, and a violent spasm attacked my muscles. His thrusts grew longer, hips hitting my thighs with a resounding crack, and I clung to his shoulders with aching fingertips. Pressure built behind my eyes, and our kiss faltered when I clenched my teeth. Desperate, high pitched whines slipped from my throat, and I arched my back as he seated himself as deep inside me as he could.

Ebbing away on residual waves, my climax left me shivering and panting. Moaning when Richard pulled back to snap his hips up, I searched blindly for his lips as his rod caressed my walls. Letting myself get caught up in the intensity of him inside me, I raked my fingers through his wet hair before gathering the strands in my fists.

“I love it- love it-…” Murmuring softly, I cracked open my eyes to catch Richard’s heated gaze, and he cupped my cheek with a trembling hand. “How- how can a sin feel so good?”

My shaky question only earned me a huff of a laugh as Richard’s thrusts became gentler, and he thumbed my lips tenderly.

“It depends on who you sin with.” His was such a simple answer, and I moaned as he thrust deep with a hard grunt. “One-night stands- those don’t always feel so great.”

“This- I want to keep doing this… with you, Richard.” My hoarse whisper made my heart ache, and I closed my eyes before Richard set his forehead on mine. He kissed my lips in silent agreement, and I kissed him back while my heart threatened to jump from my chest.