Page 78 of Clearly Charmed

When I didn’t respond, he turned me to face him. He held me in that tender gaze, and all the words I wanted to say, Is this real? Is my sister right about us? stayed locked in the base of my throat.

‘You’re spiraling. I can see it in your eyes.’ His palm went back to the side of my neck, and I loved the way it made me feel steady. ‘This is about you and me, Dani. In this moment I do not give a shit about any article. All I want is you. Are we clear?’

He feathered his thumb over my cheek. Pulled me closer until I was flush with his slick, wet body. ‘Tell me what you want now.’

I slid my fingers against his and brought them to my breasts. He ran his hands over the taut, achy nubs. Massaged them as I arched back for more. His mouth pressed into my collarbone.

A moan slid from my lips while his hands traveled down over my stomach and stopped at my hot center. He started with a slow rhythm of circles before he slid one finger inside, and I let out a small whimper of relief.

‘More?’ he growled.

‘Yes,’ I gasped.

He slid in another finger and I rode his hand. The heat of the spray, the sound of his hitched breaths, the coiling of the muscles in my stomach, unleashed a delicious need. I bucked and arched, loving the steady thrusts, how he knew how to curl his fingers to hit all the right spots. The tense coils loosened inside me until he slid in one more finger, filling me up, making me come undone. He pressed more kisses to my neck and into my hair as my body shook and quivered.

When my breathing smoothed out, he said, ‘We should get you toweled off and into some clean clothes.’

He reached to turn the shower off and I stopped his hand. ‘We’re not done here.’

He arched a brow. ‘What did you have in mind, Dr McGuire?’

‘How about I show you?’

I nudged him back against the white tile. He made a low hum as I stroked him. I loved the satisfied murmurs that spilled from his throat. The way he whispered my name like if he said it enough it would be permanently etched in his mind. When he moaned like he was on the edge, I slid in closer. He wrapped a hand around my waist and his eyes opened, pinning me in place.

‘I haven’t been with anyone in a long time, and my last tests were clean,’ he said.

‘Me too, and I have an IUD.’

The hint of desperation in his gaze was so uninhibited, so greedy. He walked me backward until I was flush against the wall. His hands wrapped around my waist and he lifted me up and I sank right down, taking him as deep as possible.

‘Oh fuck,’ he groaned as he held me tight. ‘Wait a minute,’ he gasped. ‘This is goddamn bliss. I want to savor it.’

I could have listened, but those tight bands of need built in me again. Like he understood what I wanted, he began to move, slowly sliding in and out, the head of him teasing and taunting the outside of me. The moan that spilled from my mouth had him gripping my hips tighter. His movements came in focused thrusts as he held me in place, took me deeper, unlocking all those aching muscles inside me. For a second, the lights in the bathroom flickered.

‘Distracted enough now?’ he said hotly against my neck and I let out a laugh.

‘Keep telling me what to do,’ he growled. ‘Where I should touch you, lick you. How you want to be fucked. I want to please you in every way possible.’

Every word he spoke sparked a fire inside me. Unleashed a hunger I’d been burying for too long. ‘I want more. To be completely filled.’

I panted into his neck as his hand moved to my sensitive center. His thrusts became more insistent, and I used his shoulders to gain leverage until he was so deep that the need inside me built until I could barely hold on.

I said his name like a prayer and he gasped, ‘Wait for me. I’m nearly there.’

The lights shuddered again as if the whole room was vibrating. In an agonizing tease, he pulled out of me, swirled his hips, the head of his cock slick as I pleaded for him, and he slid into me again. With panting breaths, he urged me to let go. That beautiful heat rose up in my core. A cry spilled from my mouth as he pushed me over the edge into a delicious and euphoric high.

The lights in the bathroom blared an intense white. As Bryce found his own release, one bulb and then another exploded with a jarring crack. I yelped as the room was engulfed in shadows and the heavy cloak of evening.

Still holding me with a vice-like grip, Bryce let out a full-throated laugh. ‘There is so much about this old place that needs to be fixed.’ He pressed another open-mouthed kiss against my shoulder. ‘Or it could be what we just did was so hot, we short-circuited the damn place.’

A small, tight chuckle spilled from my lips even as a knot of dread bloomed in my chest. While I wanted to believe that what just happened was about the age of this place, a worry buried deep in the back of my mind warned that the sudden pulse of electricity had nothing to do with hot sex. I pushed away the thought and let Bryce quickly towel me off before he took my hand and led me down the hall to his bedroom.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Reckless

Bands of white morning light broke through the blinds as I woke next to Bryce’s naked body. It was hard not to snuggle up next to him. Caress his back. Bury my head in his neck and get lost in his warmth again. I’d thought all we’d needed was one sleepless night to get it out of our systems. Burn bright for a few hours and then the candle would burn out.