Page 19 of Take Me (Cherry Blossom Lake #5)

I know I’m not thinking straight as I angle my wrist toward her breast. Tipping the bottle, I dribble a few drops of oil on the spot where she’s pointing.

“Right there,” she pants. “Yes! I think it’s working.”

I keep dripping oil on her flesh, ignoring my own flesh betraying me in the worst way. I don’t think my dick has ever been this hard. It’s fighting its way through the top of my boxer briefs, making a break for the light.

How is this simultaneously so fucking sexy and so goddamn unsexy ?

“Just a little more.” She whimpers and keeps tugging the sticker. “It’s working! Oh my God, it’s working.”

“We might need more oil.” Good luck explaining that to the front desk emergency line.

“Almost got it.” She winces again but keeps going. “Yes!”

With one more sharp rip, she holds up the sticker in triumph. There must be a delayed reaction. That moment of shock before pain sets in. Her eyes go wide, and she stares at my face with her mouth hinging open.

“Holy fucking shit that hurts!”

I look down to see if she’s bleeding, but no. And her nipple’s still there, all pebbled and rosy and glistening with oil and hot water. I don’t know how, but I hold it together and force my eyes back to her face. “We should stop.”

“No, we shouldn’t.”

I’m not sure we mean the same thing. Then she takes hold of her other boob, hooking a fingernail under the edge of the adhesive. “Let’s get it over with. Fast.”

There’s no way I’ll survive this, but I nod like it’s not a big deal. “Ready when you are.”

Drawing a breath, she holds the skin taut with one hand. “On three?”

“Sure.”

Gritting her teeth, she grips the edge of the sticker. “One, two, three—go!”

I squirt; she rips. Then she shrieks. “Ow! Motherfucker, that stings. Ouch ouch ouch ouch?—”

“Erika, stop.”

She’s thrashing and yelping and dancing around in the hot, stinging spray. “Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck?—”

“Stop flailing.” I know how high her pain threshold is, so she must really be hurting. “The shower floor’s slick.”

It’s like she doesn’t hear me. She’s jumping around, clutching her boobs as her feet slip around on the oily wet floor.

I don’t see any blood, but her tender flesh looks angry and red.

I don’t stop to think. I drop to my knees, gripping her hips to steady her.

As my mouth closes over her nipple, she lets out a gasp of relief.

“Oh, God— yes .” Is that relief or desire in her voice?

Don’t think about that, I order myself as my tongue swirls over that tight little bud. I suckle and soothe and try not to think about what I’m doing. I’m helping my friend, easing her pain, not doing anything sexual or?—

“Jesus Christ, don’t stop.” Erika’s hands clamp down on the back of my head. “Don’t you dare fucking stop.”

I open my mouth to take her in deeper, calming her flesh with the warmth of my mouth.

She’s salty and hot, so unbearably soft I can’t breathe.

I’m praying she doesn’t look down. Thanks to the force of the shower spray, my boxer briefs aren’t hiding much.

They’re bunched at my hips with my dick poking out like it’s grabbing a drink.

I can’t think about that. All I know now is the taste of her skin, the soft little whimpers she’s making. Guiding my head, she maneuvers my mouth to her other nipple. She’s murmuring something I can’t understand as my lips seal around her.

“Please, Mason.” She’s whimpering, pleading, for what I’m not sure. “Do that thing with your tongue again—oh, God.”

Is this first aid or first base? Wait, no. Second base is boob stuff? My brain isn’t working, but other parts are as my hands glide around to her ass. She’s still wearing the thong, and I squeeze those taut cheeks as the water pounds down around us.

Gripping her tighter, I keep swirling my tongue on her nipple. I shift back to the other, flowing between long, gentle licks and soft flicks with the tip of my tongue. Am I trying to help her or have her?

I don’t honestly know, but she’s clutching my scalp like she’ll die if I stop. That makes two of us. If I kick the bucket right now, I’ll be the happiest fucking corpse on the planet.

My dick throbs so hard it feels like it might just explode. Droplets of water spatter sensitive flesh, making me groan as I sip at her. She’s fiery and hot, burning with need as she hooks one ankle behind me. Pulling me closer, she leans back on the slick tiles behind her.

“Feels so fucking good.” She’s panting and breathless, gasping for air in the steam.

We’re no longer pretending this is medical aid. It’s urgent and achy, a need pulsing deep in my core. Everything’s pounding—my head, my heart, the bare length of flesh between my legs. Something else, too, a sharp, wooden drumbeat that goes on a little too long.

Ripping my mouth off her breast, I look up at Erika. “Is someone knocking?”

“Wh—what?” She sounds as dazed as I feel.

“That’s the door.” Holy shit, someone’s here.

We stare at each other through thick wisps of steam. “Should we answer?”

It could be an emergency. But what could be more important than?—

“Mason? Erika?” It’s a female voice I can’t place. “Okay, we’re trying not to freak out, but there’s blood all over your stoop.”