A few minutes later, Mack stood in the doorway to the bathroom, his arms folded across his bare chest, his shorts not concealing his interest in the situation. "Tell me what to do, Bev."

The shower was on, steam floating around them, fogging up the mirror. Bev was still wearing his tee shirt and sweatpants. "Can't you just molest me? I'm not really comfortable being the director here."

Mack grinned. "This is your fantasy. You have to take the lead."

"In my fantasy, you take the lead." She wanted him so badly she could barely stand on her trembling legs, but it wasn't in her nature to be sexually assertive. Like, at all. Especially the first time with him. "It's not like I'm exactly super confident with this sort of thing, so you could just make some stuff up and I'll go along with it. We could do that, right?"

His face softened, and he smiled, an affectionate grin that made her heart stutter. "I may be taking the lead, but in your fantasy, I'm doing exactly what you want me to do. I'll do it, but you have to tell me what you want."

She rolled her eyes. "My fantasy didn't include me feeling incredibly uncomfortable and self-conscious, so maybe we should just skip it—"

"I have an idea." He disappeared from the room, leaving Bev to collapse against the sink.

Her heart was racing, excitement coursing through her body. The thought of taking control with Mack was exhilarating, so exciting she could barely even fathom it. But she just didn't know if she could do it.

Mack reappeared, a silk tie in his hand.

A throb pulsed between Bev's legs. Was he going to tie her up? "What's that for?"

"To put you back in your fantasy world." As he walked across the bathroom toward her, she fixated on the navy and red silk swinging gently from his hand. She imagined it trailing across her body, so smooth on her charged skin. "Turn around."

Oh, no. She could never do that. "Mack, no. I can't."

"Why not?"

She hugged her arms to her chest. "It's embarrassing."

He cocked an eyebrow, still swinging the tie. "Why?"

"Because..."

Mack slipped the tie around her waist and pulled her close, kissing her so deeply her knees began to tremble. He broke the kiss, murmuring against her neck. "I figured if you couldn't see me, it would help you lose your inhibitions. You could pretend I'm not here, and let yourself go."

"But you are here."

He grinned. "Oh, yes. I most definitely am." Gently, non-threateningly, he slipped the tie around her face and let it settle over her eyes. "What do you think?"

Bev touched the tie, absorbing the darkness. Maybe this would work. She could pretend Mack wasn't there, staring at her body. It was a fantasy, where her body was perfect and Mack was helpless in her spell. She giggled.

"I guess that means it works." Mack tied the silk loosely behind her head. "Too tight?"

"No."

Her world was black, but her body felt consumed by explosions of light. "Mack?"

His breath was hot on her ear. "Close your eyes, Bev. Let yourself drift back into your fantasies. I'm not really here, I'm just part of your dream world. Picture us together, picture my hands on your body, my lips, my tongue. Where are they? What am I doing to you? Let yourself go."

Bev forced herself to relax, listening to the water crash against the porcelain, inhaling the steam, smelling Mack's woodsy, spicy scent. "Water."

"What about it? The shower?" His voice was soft, whispered just for her.

"Yes."

"Are your clothes on? Am I in there with you?"

Bev shivered, leaning her head back against Mack's chest. "I'm naked, but I'm alone. I know you're coming. I'm waiting for you, ready for you."

She felt her hands lifted over her head, her shirt slipped off. Embarrassment shot through her, but she refused to succumb, instead focusing on the touch of the cotton sliding over her body. Something brushed against her nipple, but it was a fleeting touch, almost an accident. A soft touch against her waist, and then her sweatpants were sliding down her body, down her thighs, and over her feet. No hands touched her, just the soft cotton.

The scratchy sound of the shower curtain being opened startled her, and she imagined the empty shower waiting for her, ready for her. A strong arm wrapped around her back, and another slipped under her bare legs, scooping her against Mack's solid chest. The thrill of skin to skin contact sent charges of electricity through her, all of them meeting at the junction of her thighs.

Water cascaded over her, the moist heat vibrant on her hyper-sensitive skin. Mack steadied her on her feet, and then he was gone. She was alone in the shower, the only touches on her skin the pure liquid of nature.

"Now what?" His voice was so close, he had to be right next to her, but when she reached out, there was nothing but air. "Uh, uh. You have to tell me what's next."

Bev took a step back under the spray, letting the water stream over her hair and over the curves of her body. She could imagine the rivulets parting around the swells of her breasts, dripping off her erect nipples. "You sneak in," she whispered. "I don't know you're here until I feel your hands mix with the water and soap, sliding over my skin."

"What part of your skin?" His voice was ragged and she heard his shorts land on the floor. "What do I touch first?"

"Soap. Soap over my breasts, down my stomach, over my thighs, making your hand super slippery."

She let her head drop back, waiting for his touch. But it didn't come. She groaned, realizing he was playing out her fantasy exactly, making her wait for him, not letting her know when he was going to appear.

Cold dripped on her left nipple, jerking her breath away. Then on her right nipple, the same sensation. Shower gel? When his hands closed around her breasts, she forgot about everything except his touch. He kneaded the flesh, his hands slipping over the skin just as she'd imagined. She could almost see the bubbles of soap on her body, seductively hiding her nakedness.

"Mack." His name burst out of her lips as she felt his hands slide over her stomach, teasing, massaging. "I don't think I can stand up."

"Hold onto me," he ordered. "Grab my shoulders."

Bev fumbled for him, but all she found was air. "Where are you?"

He said nothing, but his hands closed over her wrists, guiding her hands lower, settling them on his shoulders. She realized he was kneeling in front of her, his face even with her core, where all the heat surging through her body seemed to be gathering, building and building.

She dug her fingers into his shoulders, leaning on him while his hands caressed her stomach. Another jolt of coldness and fresh suds formed, mixing with the hair between her legs. Suds dripped down her legs, but she could only focus on his touch, rubbing, lathering the tuft of hair, his thumbs occasionally darting lower, as if accidentally brushing against her most sensitive areas.

"My legs are shaking," she whispered. "Let me sit down."

"Do you sit down in your fantasy?" He sounded so husky, so intense.

"No, but..."

"Then you stand." His hands slid down her legs, across the front of her thighs to her knees. Then they moved to the inside of her leg, trailing upward against the dripping suds, forging a path toward their goal.

But his fingers stopped just outside her pulsating core. She groaned, moving her feet wider to make room for him. But still he didn't touch her.

"Mack..."

"I'm your fantasy, Bev. I can only do what you tell me."

"Touch me. Please."

"Where?" He was making circles on the inside of her thigh, so close to where she wanted him. "With what? My hands? My lips? My tongue?"

"Anything!"

"No, Bev. This is your fantasy. Tell me what to do." He sounded strained, as if he was having trouble waiting for her orders. Power surged through her, raising her excitement to another level. Mack was at her mercy, unable to satisfy his own urges until she gave him permission. Sexual power. It was so heady, unbelievably exhilarating.

She wanted more. "Stand up."

Her hands still on his shoulders, she felt him rise to his feet, unquestioning, at her command. "Give me the most passionate, sexiest, most penetrating kiss you've ever given and use your hands the best way you know how while you're doing it."

A deep growl reverberated from him just before he possessed her lips, sucking her soul from her body. His hands dug into her buttocks, pressing her against him. Hardness pressed against her stomach, and she knew she wanted him inside her.

But not yet. Her fantasy wasn't finished yet.

"Pour some shampoo in my hand."

Breaking the kiss for only an instant, but keeping his hand crushed against her bottom and his pelvis pressed against hers, Mack filled her hand with shampoo, the cool liquid a sharp contrast to the heat rising all around them. "Kiss me again."

Her body trembling from his kiss, she lowered her hand, sliding it across his hard stomach and below. She flipped her hand over, letting the cool shampoo drip on his hardness. He flinched and sucked in his breath. "Bev."

"This is part of my fantasy," she whispered. "To know I can make you as excited as I am." She folded her hand around his shaft, her palm sliding easily along the soapy bubbles.

Mack groaned. "If you want this fantasy to go all the way, you better stop that right now."

Bev shivered at the power she had. Never had she felt like this, never had she wanted to be in control, and yet, at the same time, she was helplessly at his mercy.

"Touch me now, Mack."

"Where? How?"

"Between my legs. With your hands, your fingers, your mouth. With everything." Was that specific enough? She wanted it all, wanted to be driven to heights that made her feel like her body was shattering into a million pieces. Already, she was almost there. She just needed to be taken over the edge.

She gasped as his fingers plunged inside her, expecting the seductive teasing touch he'd been doing. His name moaned off her lips and she groped for his shoulders, her legs wobbling.

It was just what she wanted, just what she needed. She moved her feet apart until they were against the edges of the tub, bracing herself. He moved his fingers again, playing, teasing, possessing.

He shifted their position, a quick move that suddenly resulted in a position that had so much potential… And then she felt his lips push apart the folds of her skin, sucking, his tongue flicking. Everything. He was giving her everything. The pieces started to shatter, her body tightening around his fingers.

"No, not yet." He pulled away, and the pieces rejoined, shaky and vibrating, but still intact.

"Mack?"

"We're doing this together." And then he was on his feet, kissing her, showering her neck with love. "Hang on to me."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, her body trembling, her mind spinning in a blur. His hands slid down her lower back, over her bottom, gripping her. "Ready?"

"Oh, Mack. Yes." She gripped tighter, hanging on desperately while he lifted her high up, crushing her against his chest, suckling her left breast. He teased her into an intense, amazing desire, until her entire being was completely focused on him. When he finally grasped her hips and shifted her position, excitement raced through her.

It was time. She was ready. She'd been waiting for so long, and now it was time…

He slid inside her, driving deeply, her body welcoming him, accepting him, drawing him in further. Her insides swelled, threatening to explode through skin, bulging, soaring, fighting for release.

And then it happened. Her body, her mind, and her soul seemed to shatter into millions of pieces. He whispered her name, his arms crushing her against him, holding her as if she were his greatest treasure. Her body tightened around him, blistering with heat, shooting sparks all the way to her toes. Her body convulsed, completely out of her control, held safe by his powerful grip.

"God, I love you," she whispered, against his neck.

His arms tightened suddenly, and she knew he'd heard her.

But he didn't answer.