She thought she was going to die.
If she was right—and he prayed she wasn’t—this could be the last time they saw each other.
Everything in him wanted that to be a lie.
Jo moaned into the kiss and arched her back, pressing her breasts against him. He slid his hand down her side to palm her ass.
Suddenly Jo turned her head.
“Shit,” she yelped.
“What?”
“Put me down.”
He quickly helped her regain her footing.
Jo darted past him, around the corner and into the bathroom. That was when the sound of running water finally registered to his addled brain.
He peered into the bathroom.
Jo stood next to the soaker tub, stopper in hand, head tipped back and eyes closed.
The tub was maybe an inch from spilling over the ledge. Possibly less.
A pile of clothes sat on the tile. Clothes he recalled her wearing earlier.
Shit.
Jo glanced over her shoulder at him.
He stopped breathing.
She was beautiful. It wasn’t just her appearance; it was her inner strength. He’d never met anyone like her.
“That was almost a disaster.” She chuckled.
“Yeah,” he managed to croak out.
One side of her mouth hitched up. “Where were we?”
Jo turned, shrugging off the robe as she did so. The plush terrycloth fell to the floor leaving her in blue striped panties with lace along the hems—and nothing else.
“Holy...” His ability to form words vanished.
“Wow, if I knew you’d look at me like that I think I’d have done this sooner. A lot sooner.”
“This? Jo?” He held up his hands for some reason. What it was, he didn’t know.
She stopped a few feet away from him.
“Something wrong?” she asked.
“I don’t know...” His eyes drifted lower, to her breasts. Her nipples were a dusky brown shade. The way they’d tightened was fascinating.
“Elias?” She took the final step, closing the distance between them and laid her hand on his chest. “I want you.”
Those three words were powerful. They made his knees wobble. He felt them in the pit of his stomach. Questions and concerns whispered in the back of his mind, but her steady gaze silenced them.
Who was he to question her?
“Elias?”
“Hm?”
“Kiss me?”
That he could do.
Elias bent, meeting her mouth with his.
He wrapped his arm around her, palming her ass as he drew her closer to him. She went up on tip toe, pressing herself against him.
God, this was really happening. This wasn’t a dream.
He slid his hand down her back. How was it she could be both hard and soft?
Her tongue teased his, deepening the kiss.
Elias splayed his hands, one on either side of her ass. How many times had he wanted to do that? She had the best ass he’d ever seen. Firm. Round. Perfect fit in his hand.
He wanted to protect her. Be the guy who watched her back. That burning desire radiated through him, despite knowing he couldn’t do that for her.
A kiss? That he could do.
Jo tugged at his wrist. He let her guide his hand to her bare breast. Her softness filled his hand perfectly while her nipple was a hard contrast.
Elias broke the kiss to look at where her hand covered his over her breast. He glanced at her face and found her watching him. Her lips glistened, and she looked at him with eyes gone dark gray with lust.
He acted on instinct. It was something about the way she looked at him that pushed him over the edge.
In one move he picked her up and crossed to the bed. Once there, he gently tossed her onto the mattress. She fell back on her elbows, those dark eyes of hers still locked on his.
Elias went to a knee beside the bed. She had one foot hanging off the mattress. He bent his head and kissed the top of her ankle, the side of her calf and then her shin. Her other foot moved restlessly over the comforter. He took that as encouragement and continued, touching and kissing his way up one leg then the other. He had no idea if this was the right thing to do, but seeing as he might only get the chance to worship her body once, he intended to do it properly.
He pressed his lips to the top of her left thigh.
“Elias,” Jo moaned.
She grabbed him by his shirt and pulled.
He gave in, letting her drag him up her body. She hooked one leg over his hip and pulled him down for a kiss.
How many times had he wanted this? Right here?
Jo whimpered and arched her back. He covered her breast with his hand and her body relaxed.
She wanted him.
It wasn’t a reality he’d been prepared for. He’d never thought she might want him the same way. How much time had been lost?
He pushed that thought away.
Right now was about her.
He teased her nipples until she squirmed under him, panting against his lips. She was utterly beautiful with her hair spread out and her cheeks so very pink.
Did he take it a step farther?
Elias slid his hand to her hip. She shifted against him, arms locked tight around his shoulders. He ran his fingers along the hemline of her panties and she stilled. Not even breathing.
He lifted his head to look down into her eyes as he slid his finger past the lace to brush over her mound. She bit her lower lip and suddenly he wanted to do that, too.
“Elias,” she whispered after a moment.
“Do you want me to?” he asked.
“Yes.”
No hesitation whatsoever.
He eased back, out of her grasp, staring at her panties. They were so feminine and unexpected. He liked knowing this secret.
Elias hooked his fingers in the lacey band and drew the bit of blue striped fabric down her legs, revealing her neatly trimmed mound. He let the panties drop to the floor and took a moment to just look at her. She had her hands over her stomach, feet hanging off the side of the bed, hair everywhere.
“You’re beautiful, know that?” He placed one hand on the bed, leaning over her.
She reached for him, pulling him back for a kiss.
He cupped her breast, and she sucked in a breath. He didn’t linger, instead he slid his hand own her waist to her hip and then her mound. Her legs moved restlessly. He drew his fingers down over her mound and she eased her legs apart for him.
Fucking hell.
Elias slid his fingers over her slick folds. Jo shivered and lifted her hips, inviting him deeper.
She was this wet already? For him?
The idea blew him away.
She groaned. “Elias, I need you now.”
He thrust his fingers inside of her. Her wet heat tightened around him, drawing him deeper.
“Fuck,” he muttered.
“Eli?”
He found her eyes as he stroked her inner walls, learning her most secret of places.
She shuddered against him.
Jo once more grabbed him by the hair.
“Elias?” she said again with desperation.
“Yes?” His voice was rougher than sandpaper.
“I want to have sex with you now,” she said in clear, slow words.
He swallowed the reflexive, are you sure?
She looked at him like a woman who knew exactly what she wanted. He didn’t have to prerequisite himself with any warning. She knew his past and what he’d been through, that he wasn’t entirely whole, and she still wanted him.