brIDGET
T he water had gone perfectly still by the time Reilly stepped into the bathroom.
Candlelight flickered across the tile walls, casting soft golden shadows that danced along the edges of the tub.
Steam curled around my shoulders, and I let my chin rest on my folded arms at the edge, breathing in the scent of lavender and warm water.
I closed my eyes and savored the warmth surrounding me. I was on the verge of falling asleep when suddenly, I felt my husband’s eyes on me.
This kind of quiet was rare these days. Rare when your world revolved around a wild eleven-month-old with a personal vendetta against naps. Rare when the only touch between you and your husband was a passing brush of hands during a diaper change or the accidental bump of hips while folding laundry.
So yeah. That quiet, unhurried gaze? I soaked it in like sunlight. Then I opened my eyes.
“You took your time,” I murmured, smiling as he stepped closer.
“I was giving you a moment,” he said, peeling off his shirt.
“I wanted a moment with you.”
His pants hit the floor. “Good. Because I plan on making the most of it.”
I watched him climb into the tub, my breath catching just a little as he sank in behind me.
It wasn’t a huge tub—just the old clawfoot one we’d picked during the bathroom reno—but it was deep enough for him to slide his legs around mine, to pull me back against his chest, to tuck my wet hair behind my ear and press a kiss to my neck.
I sighed and melted into him. “This feels like a dream. No baby to feed. No monitor chirping. No one crying to let me know nap time is over.”
He chuckled low against my skin. “Don’t worry. We’ve got a solid three hours before they call with a potty emergency.”
“Mackenzie promised to only text if it was life or death.”
“Yeah, but West is the one actually on baby duty. To guys like us, potty emergencies are life or death.”
I laughed, the sound light and free. I tilted my head, giving him better access, and he took it, his lips grazing down the slope of my shoulder, lingering like he was relearning me.
His mouth was warm. The kind of warm that made me ache.
“You smell like lavender,” he murmured.
“It’s the fancy bath salts. The ones I don’t allow myself to use on normal days.”
“Nothing about tonight is normal,” he said, and I could hear the smile in his voice.
I turned in his arms, straddling his lap beneath the water. Our skin was slick and wet, my breasts pressing to his chest, my arms wrapping around his neck as I slid my fingers into his damp hair.
“I missed this,” I whispered. “Us. You.”
His chest rose beneath me with a slow, deep breath. “I’m right here, baby. Always.”
I kissed him, soft at first, just tasting him. Then deeper. Wetter. My hips moved on instinct, brushing against the hard length of him beneath the water. He groaned and gripped my waist to steady me.
“You sure?” he murmured against my lips. “We’re not being careful tonight.”
“I don’t want to be careful,” I said. “I want to be pregnant.”
His breath caught.
“Yeah?” he asked, voice rough.
I nodded, locking eyes with him. “I want to give our daughter a sibling. I want you inside me, filling me, claiming me. Making me yours all over again.”
He didn’t speak. Didn’t need to. The groan that tore from his throat said it all.
He kissed me hard, his hands sliding down my back, over my hips, gripping my ass like he couldn’t stand another second of distance.
Then he found the ache between my thighs, sliding two fingers into me with maddening slowness, his thumb brushing over my clit.
I gasped, clinging to his shoulders as my body pulsed around his fingers.
“Jesus, Bridget,” he growled. “You’re perfect.”
“I need you,” I whispered.
He didn’t make me wait. His hands gripped my hips, lifting me just enough to position himself at my entrance.
The water lapped around us as I sank onto him, inch by inch, my breath hitching as he filled me completely.
A low moan escaped my lips, and I rolled my hips, adjusting to the delicious stretch of him inside me.
His hands slid up my sides, thumbs brushing the undersides of my breasts before cupping them possessively. My nipples tightened under his touch, and I arched into him, craving more.
Water sloshed gently as I began to move, rising and falling in a slow, sensual rhythm. My breasts bounced with each motion, the candlelight catching the droplets that slid down my skin.
Reilly’s gaze was dark, hungry, and fixed on the way my body took him. One hand drifted down between us, his thumb finding my clit and moving in slow, deliberate circles. I gasped, my movements faltering for a moment as pleasure shot through me.
“That’s it,” he murmured, his voice rough with need. “Ride me just like that.”
I tightened around him, my thighs trembling as I picked up the pace. The water swirled around us, the heat of it nothing compared to the fire building inside me. His thumb worked me relentlessly, matching the rhythm of my hips, and I could feel my climax coiling tighter and hotter, until?—
“Reilly—”
My voice broke as pleasure crashed over me, my body shuddering as I came hard around him. He groaned, his grip on my hips tightening as he thrust up into me, chasing his own release.
“Look at me,” he demanded, and I forced my eyes open, meeting his gaze as he spilled inside me with a ragged groan. His hips jerked beneath me, his fingers digging into my skin as he emptied himself deep, just like I’d begged for.
We stayed like that for several long minutes, tangled and breathless, water lapping gently around us, our bodies still connected. Finally, I smiled, my cheek resting against his.
“Think we made a baby?” I murmured.
“I hope so,” he said, kissing the side of my mouth. “But just in case we didn’t…”
I laughed. “You’re drawing me another bath tomorrow?”
“Only if you let me join you again.”
“Always.”