TAVIAN

07.13.15

By the time I finish feeding Lyra dinner, my dick is stiff and throbbing. I don’t know how in the hell I’m going to be able to get through this shower without blowing my load like a seventh-grade chump. I already nearly lost it watching her sweet lips wrap around that fork time after time, getting jealous over some fucking fettuccini Alfredo, so I can only imagine what’s going to happen when my hands are on her soft skin, fingers threading through her long hair.

Think about football, cleaning toilets, Ma’s apple pie… maybe not apple pie. Anything but her. Just do what you need to do to help and get out. You can do this. Do not be a goddamn jerk.

We’ve agreed to shower in our underwear based on the rationale that it’s no different than swimsuits. And even though we’d both bought swimsuits in Barcelona, we realized I would have to help her put it on, which would expose her even more than just stripping down to her bra and panties and defeat the whole purpose. Not that I would mind, of course.

Break up with Annie first. You have to break up with Annie. Lyra deserves better than being the other woman. I refuse to make her a secret.

After I throw away the empty food cartons, I glance over to where Lyra remains seated at the table. Her stare is focused on the glass of water in front of her as she traces her uninjured middle finger around the rim and bounces her knees nervously. I want nothing more than to scoop her up in my arms and carry her to that bed then fuck her so long and hard that she forgets all about the pain in her hand and whatever demons lurk from her past.

I can’t though. Not yet. But I’m already running out of time.

“C’mon, I promise I won’t bite too hard,” I tease as I hold my hand out to her, hoping my playfulness will relax her a bit. “We’ll bandage you up when we get out. And if you’re a good patient, we can order an ice cream sundae for dessert from room service.”

“All right.” Peering up at me hesitantly, she stands on wobbly legs and forces a tight-lipped smile. “But only because you promised ice cream.”

I lead her into the bathroom and turn the shower on so the water can heat up, and then make sure the shampoo and soap are easily accessible. Turning to face her, I pull my T-shirt over my head and toss it off to the side. My shoes, socks, and pants follow until I’m stripped down to my thin cotton boxers, standing directly in front of her.

She drags her blue-gray eyes, filled with locked away secrets and untapped innocence, down the length of my body, and I know exactly when she reaches my package. Her pupils dilate and she swallows hard. My cock doesn’t miss it either; the bastard pulses with excitement.

Fuck, this is going to be more difficult than I thought. Please, God, do not let her make the first move. I won’t say no. I can’t say no.

I stride toward her, a lump lodged in my throat, and reach out to free her from the one-piece shorts outfit thing she has on. I’m not sure I’ve ever been so nervous in my life, and coming from someone who likes to dive off cliffs and swim with sharks, that’s saying a lot. My fingers fumble over the row of buttons as I try my best not to brush against the swell of her breasts or her flat stomach. She watches as I finally manage to get them all undone, and I curse under my breath when the material falls away, whooshing off her shoulders to a puddle at her feet, leaving her in a purple lace bra with matching panties.

Fuck, fuck, fuckity fuck.

Dear, sweet heaven, she is more beautiful than I imagined, and this is nothing like seeing her in a bathing suit. Her tits are a perfect handful—perky, round, and dying for my touch. And her most intimate area appears to be completely shaven, barely hidden beneath a tiny swath of fabric. I deserve a fucking medal if I make it through this shower without touching her in a way I shouldn’t.

This was the worst idea ever.

Lyra glances down at her body with noticeable uncertainty then peeks back up at me before crossing her arms over her chest and twisting away. “If you don’t want—”

“I want to,” I cut her off, my tone gruffer than I expect. “I want to help you any way you need me. I told you… I’m all yours.” Those last three words are truer than she could possibly know.

Something that looks a lot like hope flashes in her eyes and she smiles bashfully. “I-I-I’m not used to being this… naked in front of anyone.”

Thoughts of any guy before me seeing her truly naked—hell, even like this—has me seeing red. Knowing her aversion to getting close to people, it makes me think she hasn’t been with many guys, maybe only one or two.

Still, no one deserves her. Not even me.

“You’re not naked, buttercup. Like we said earlier, no different than a bikini,” I reassure her, another attempt to ease the thick tension, but my throbbing dick is not getting the memo. “Let’s get in before we run out of hot water.”

She nods and pads over to the steamy shower, stepping under the spray without waiting for me. I quickly adjust myself, a futile effort to conceal my raging boner, and join her.

Here goes nothing. Or fucking everything.

I move in behind her and wait as she allows the water to rain down on her, doing my damnedest not to look at her ass and the way her soaked panties are now completely sheer. If she turns around to face me, I’m done for.

“Let me know when you’re ready for me to shampoo you up,” I rasp, busying myself with opening the bottle.

“I’m ready,” she says softly. “Remember, I’ve got a lot of hair, so you’ll need quite a bit.”

Inhaling a deep breath of willpower, I squeeze out a handful of orange-scented gel in my palm and begin to soap up her dark hair that hangs almost to her tiny waist. My fingers diligently work the shampoo into her scalp, massaging from temple to temple, forehead to neck. My eyes remain locked on the back of her head as I focus on my task at hand, but when I reach the pressure points behind her ears, she whimpers and arches into my touch, her ass brushing against my rock-hard shaft. I bite down on the inside of my cheek to keep from fisting her hair and hauling her pretty little mouth to mine, and somehow, someway, I manage to restrain myself.

She stiffens as soon as she realizes what she’s done, separating our bodies, but I pretend not to notice and ask what her favorite part of the wine tour was today, hoping to preoccupy both of our minds. I finish up with her hair while she answers, though I’m not really listening. I need to get out of this shower as quick as fucking possible. So I can take a cold one of my own.

“All right, you’re ready to rinse,” I tell her as I step back as far away from her as possible. Thankfully, it’s a good-sized walk-in shower. “Conditioner next?”

Lyra moves forward, back under the water, and thankfully doesn’t turn around to rinse the suds from her hair. “Yeah, and after the conditioner, if you can just put some body wash on the loofa and lather it up, I can use my left hand to wash.”

Her ass is fucking spectacular. I want to be the one to rub soap all over it and every other inch of her body. This is pure torture.

I speedily repeat the process on her hair with the conditioner, and then, as she’s rinsing again, I squirt the body wash on the sponge and get it soapy for her.

“Here ya go,” I announce, looping my arm around her front to hand off the loofa. “I’m gonna use one of your towels to wrap up in and make a mad dash across the hall to my room. After I shower and change, I’ll come back to help you get dressed, dry your hair, and anything else you need. Then we can ice and bandage your hand. I’ll set the robe out for you to put on until I get back.”

I don’t add the part about stroking my cock to visions of her sweet little body, ‘cause I’m a gentleman like that.

She twists to look at me over her shoulder and sticks her bottom lip out in a pout. “We’re not getting the ice cream sundae?”

I smile like an idiot at her, because I can’t help it. She does weird things to my insides. “Only if you’re a good patient, buttercup,” I tease as I get out of the shower.

“I’m always good!” she shouts through the frosted glass.

And when my hand is wrapped around my cock a few minutes later in the privacy of my own shower, I’ll be thinking about how good she really is.