Page 184 of Cruelly Bitten

Goose bumps pebbled down her arms when I reached around her to grab a bottle of shampoo. The move placed my cock right against her plump ass, my arousal impossible to hide.

She was naked and wet.

Of course I wanted her.

But I was more than capable of taming my hunger, something I proved now by lathering the shampoo into her hair.

She didn’t immediately relax, her memories holding her hostage as she recalled similar behaviors from just the other day. Moments where I’d taken care of her just to brutally fuck her again.

I listened to her recounting of the events, my mind sifting through her thoughts and finding soft admissions of longing deep inside.

Yes, I’d hurt her. But she’d enjoyed it, too.

What had been missing from it all was trust. An open connection. Our bond.

We had that now.

The next time I took her would be different because she’d hear my intentions just as well as I would hear her needs.

With our minds wide open to one another, we would be cataclysmic together. Combustible. Fucking otherworldly.

However, she wasn’t ready for that yet.

We needed to continue rebuilding trust, and that would take time.

I conveyed that knowledge to her via my touch as I rinsed her hair and replaced the shampoo with conditioner. Letting that sit,I started massaging her body with a floral-scented soap, one that created suds all over her skin as we engaged in a sensual dance in the shower.

I didn’t rush our movements, instead taking care with every inch of her. She stared down at me when I knelt before her to tenderly massage her ankles and calves, then she put her hands on my shoulders for balance when I went to her feet.

By the time I finished, her gaze was hooded with a combination of exhaustion and desire.

She hadn’t eaten much today, but I could hear in her thoughts that she wasn’t hungry. She’d nibbled on some things during our impromptu meeting in the suite. And now she was ready to sleep.

I stood and nudged her beneath the rainfall, then grabbed one of the other showerheads—there were three—and proceeded to rinse her off again.

Slowly.

Thoroughly.

Tenderly.

She resembled liquid in the end, her body so relaxed she was nearly asleep already.

I moved behind her and pressed my palm to her lower back to keep her standing, then bent to kiss her throat. “I’m going to worship you for eternity,” I vowed. “If you let me.”

More goose bumps responded to my words, her body going limp against mine.I don’t even care about what you might do to me now. I’m too relaxed to feel it.

My chuckle wasn’t quite one of amusement, but not completely self-deprecating either.

“The only things I’m going to do to you are dry you off and carry you to bed—to sleep.” I kissed her throat again and reached around her to grasp the knob, only her hand caught mine before I could turn off the water.

I waited to see what she would do, her thoughts providing a myriad of possibilities.

She drew her nail along the top of my hand and rotated toward me, her soft green eyes meeting mine. I studied her beautiful face, my heart aching from all the memories I’d lost.

All those moments I’d never remember for myself.

The feelings I’d acquired over a thousand years.