And then the flat of his palm rested against her belly, still, sure, and strong. He moved his kisses down her chin and jaw until he nuzzled her neck, and again the choppy sounds of her breath echoed in the bath.
Gray pulled back until he was looking into her eyes again, and he waited until her focus cleared and they were locked on each other before he let his hand move down an inch. She watched his eyes travel down her body before they came back to hers, a silent but unmistakable question.
Meredith realized then that Gray always asked permission. As passionate as he was, he was patient, too, and the combination of ardor and respect made her love him all the more. A smile that came from her soul overtook her face, and she watched its twin claim his, and in answer to his silent question, Meredith rolled her hips.
And all coherent thought fled when his fingers slipped under the water.
“Oh, Meredith…” he whispered, as he discovered her.
Meredith, herself, was speechless, her neck arching back under the sorcery of his touch, her eyes falling closed. He was gentle at first in exploration of her, but when she gripped the back of his hair in her fist, Gray brought his mouth to hers again with a ravenous growl, and they both lost control.
He planted first one, then two fingers inside her, his thumb commanding all of her pleasure, and, within seconds, ripples in the bath water around her became ripples within her body, within her soul, and she cried out his name.
As though this were her own incantation, commanding him to move with brute force, Gray hauled her out of the tub and into his lap, soaking himself and the entire floor in the process. Still locked to her kiss, he yanked down a towel from the counter and threw it haphazardly around her body. Meredith’s legs were of no use to her; in fact, her limbs felt like lead — lead saturated in euphoria — so she just clung to him as he wrapped the towel around her, lifted her in his arm for two long strides, and fell with her into his bed.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
GRAY HADN’T PLANNEDto seduce her. He’d wanted only to take care of her and give her a chance to rest. But once he knew she was naked in his bathroom, he found it impossible to leave her alone, and, like a brute, he’d barged in. Just to talk to her, he’d told himself.
What a liar he was.
But then she’d reached for him, inviting him to stay. And as it turned out, touching Meredith like that was better than any drug he’d ever tried — prescription or otherwise. He knew no pain as he bathed her silken body. And when she’d come apart under his touch, he felt like the greatest man alive.
As they collapsed onto his bed, Gray gave thanks that the afternoon sun still shone through his windows. He wouldn’t have traded the candlelit intimacy of his bathroom for anything, but now he could explore all of her radiance.
If he could stop kissing her…
Which, apparently, he could not. And nor, he noted with elation, could she.
She lay beneath him and traced her tongue down the side of his neck, maddening him. Wanting her to know this unparalleled pleasure, Gray followed suit and tasted the skin of her neck. He smiled as he kissed his way down to her shoulder and discovered the faintest dusting of freckles, just like the ones scattered across her nose.
“What are you smiling at?” she asked, her voice husky with pleasure.
“Thank God for sunlight,” he muttered, letting her in on his thoughts as his mouth paid special attention to her left shoulder. When she shivered beneath him, he knew she was enjoying it as much as he did.
“Hmm?” she asked, sounding half dazed. His smile grew.
“The sun that left me these delicious freckles is the very same that is helping me to find them.”
She giggled against his neck, and his toes curled. Meredith felt incredible. Her hands then moved from behind his neck to his collar as she began to attack the buttons of his soaked shirt.
“I’m glad I can see you,” she said, gazing up at him. “But I’m not such a fan of the sunlight.”
The work of her fingers at his chest had his breath going shallow, and he rolled on his side to give her room.
“Why not?” he said, taking the opportunity to kiss her right shoulder.
She reached for the towel and tugged it higher before coming back to his buttons. When she didn’t answer, he brought his eyes to her face and saw her telltale blush. Her eyes met his for a second before she conquered the last of his buttons and peeled back the shirt from his shoulders.
“I have stretch marks,” she whispered, almost inaudibly.
“What?” Gray freed himself from his shirt as fast as he could and wrapped her up in his arms.
“I’m a nineteen-year-old with stretch marks.”
“I heard that part,” Gray said, squeezing her tight. “I just can’t imagine that you don’t get how unbelievably beautiful you are.”
He said all this while looking into her river bed eyes, and she responded by biting her lip.
