My pulse stutters. "Like, in the bathroom?"
His silence is blanketed by the flow of water that crashes onto the tile beneath my feet.
"Like… in there," he answers, his voice louder now, as if he's standing on the other side of the steam-coated glass.
As I reach for the door handle, my hand shakes slightly with either nerves or anticipation. When I push it open, a cool breeze floods the shower.
Then, I see him.
Right there, like I thought, merely inches away.
"Okay," I say softly, pushing the door open further with a confidence only he provides.
Liam inhales slowly as his eyes trail over my wet, naked body. "Beautiful," he says as they meet mine again.
"Wh—where's Ruthie?" I stutter as his fingers find the hem of his navy blue t-shirt.
He tugs the cotton up and over his head, tossing it to the floor. "I called Alex and asked her to take her for ice cream," he says, popping the button on his jeans and unzipping them slowly. He drags them to the floor, taking his briefs down with them, and unapologetically steps out of both.
"To… cheer her up?" I ask, not even attempting to hide the way his whole body distracts me—everything from the mounds at his shoulders to the curves of his thighs, painstakingly chiseled over years of hard work.
"Sure," he says, his pupils dilating. "Though I'm not sure she needs it, thanks to you."
I step back without even knowing why until I realize my body is making room for him. "Then why?"
The space I put between us isn't space at all, but an invitation, and Liam quickly accepts. "Because I couldn't wait," he says, stepping over the lip of the shower and pulling the door shut behind him.
I swallow hard. "For what?"
He presses his body against mine and cradles my face. "For this."
With that, he crashes his lips to mine, and I melt into him, stumbling through the stream of water raining down on us. Liam walks us backward, our lips still entangled, until I'm sandwiched between the wall and his now-slick body. He plants his palms against the marble on either side of my head, and like I always do, I feel safe between his arms.
"I missed you," I admit, dragging my hands down the muscles in his back.
This was the first time Liam was away since things changed between us. And the quick texts here and there filling him in on how Ruthie was doing were barely enough to hold me over.
"You have no idea," he says, dropping kisses down my neck. He nips at the line of my jaw, and I arch into him.
"Next time you leave, maybe we can talk—"
"The next time I leave…" He pulls away, and spins me around so that my back is flush against his chest. "You're coming with me."
I look for him over my shoulder, only to find him pumping that same sweet body wash into the palm of his hand.
"I can't," I say, waiting for his touch to return. He rubs his palms together, inhaling deeply as the scent wafts toward him, then runs them down the length of my arms. I lean my back against him, my head falling into the divot between his pecs. "I have a soccer game to win… remember?"
Liam hums, his hands gliding to the front of me, his palms slick as they pass over my ribs and float past my nipples. "That's right," he whispers into my ear. I whimper when he squeezes me in both hands. "Thank you for being so good to my little girl."
I shake my head, pushing my hips back into him, feeling how much this is teasing him too. "She's good to me." His fingers trail past my belly button, dancing just above my clit. "Mmm," I moan. "And so are you."
"I told you," he says. "You deserve the damn world."
He takes my chin in his hand, turning my head so that my mouth meets his. I swallow his growl as he kisses me like he's starving for it.
I know I was.
"Maybe we should tell her," he says suddenly, his lips still pressed to mine.
