Лорел Гамильтон - The Harlequin

He did. He carried me to the edge of the tub. The water was very loud, rushing into the huge tub. Jean-Claude had explained to me that the swan spout that filled it was hooked up to a system that filled the tub extra fast. I had a tub almost that big at home, and apparently my system was like his, a quick fill. Since I had bought the house with the tub and system in place I hadn't realized there was anything special about it. High-tech tubs, who knew? Richard hugged me, and again I got a flash of that amazing strength. «I want to check the water, but I'm really enjoying carrying you.»

«Me, too,» I said.

He rested his face against my hair. «Really?»

«Yes,» I said, and I would have whispered it, except the water was loud enough that true whispering wasn't possible.

He stepped into the water with me in his arms. I laughed and lifted enough to see his face. «Shouldn't you check the temperature first?»

The look on his face made the laughter leak away. Eager, amazed, just so many emotions. Lately when we'd been together the only thing I'd seen in his face had been lust. We'd both shut down our emotions, kept ourselves safe. It had had that feel of sex at the end of a relationship, when sex is all you have left, and it isn't enough.

«The temperature's fine,» he said, his voice soft. He knelt down, still holding me. He folded all that six feet and change down into the water, and just above his waist the water hit me. It was warm, almost hot. The water slid over my body like another set of hands, gliding, exploring. He was right, the temperature was fine.

He whispered against my hair, «How much do you hurt?»

«I ache all over.»

«We'll get cleaned up first, then let your body soak in the water. Hot water helps.» He kissed my forehead, then lowered us both down into the water, so that he was almost floating with me held across his chest. He let go of me with one arm, so he could half-swim, half-pull us to the water faucet. My legs trailed out into the water, but the rest of me was held tight to his chest. He sat down against the side of the tub. The water came to his upper chest, which meant it was almost chin deep to me. He kept me pinned to the front of his body, and I was okay with that. Touching was good.

«Enough water?» He made it a question.

«Yes,» I said.

He reached back and turned off the water, then settled down with me cuddled against the front of his body. The height difference was enough that to keep my chin above water I couldn't cup my body against anything but his chest and stomach, with the rest of my body mostly floating. It was probably just as well; if too much of him touched me, I tended to get distracted. We were going to let some of the aches and pains drift away before we got distracted. He kissed the side of my face, and I settled into his arms, and the warm, warm water.

It was relaxing, or should have been, but there was a kernel of me that couldn't relax completely. What was wrong?

«What's wrong?» Richard asked.

«Nothing.»

«You're tense.»

I sighed. «I don't know.»

His hand slid down the side of my body to cup my hip. «It seems like unless we're having sex, you get tense when we're alone.»

«I don't mean to,» I said.

He wrapped his arms around me and forced my body lower as he rose, so that certain parts of his anatomy were touching me. He wasn't as hard as he got, but even partially erect he was a special treat. The feel of him pressed to the back of my butt felt wonderful. It made me writhe against him, which made his body react, growing, moving against my body. It was all involuntary, and I loved knowing that I affected him like that. He pushed against me, and it brought a small sound from my lips.

«So quick, so eager. God, I do love that about you.» He whispered it against my face.

«I wanted to make love to you months before you'd say yes.»

«I was afraid.» He nuzzled my neck, biting just a little.

That little biting made me writhe more. The aches and pains were starting to fade under the first wave of endorphins, those happy little chemicals. «Afraid of what?» I whispered.

He bit harder, and my spine bowed with it. «You.»

«Why?»

He cupped his mouth around the side of my throat and bit down. I cried out for him; my nails clawed at his arms. I finally had to say, «Enough, enough.»

He eased back and turned me in the water so that I was facing him. He drew me in against the front of his body, and he was hard and eager now. The feel of him against the front of my body made me cry out.

He cupped my ass, pressed me harder against the front of him. I pushed at his body, almost like I wanted to get away, but that wasn't what I was thinking. It was just almost too much, for some reason. The feel of him so eager, so big, trapped between our bodies. It was almost too much.

He shuddered, head back, his voice panting, «God, Anita, God, I love the way you react to me. I do love it!»

I wrapped my body around him, pressed the length of him against the most intimate part of me. It made me cry out and press myself tighter against him.

He pushed me against the side of the tub and moved his hips away enough to try to angle himself for my opening. I didn't protest, until the tip of him started inside and my body let me know that the combination of water—which is not a lubricant—lack of foreplay, and his size meant this wasn't going to work.

I half-patted, half-slapped his chest. «Too big, you're too big.»

«The water,» he said, breathy. He leaned his hands on the sides of the tub, face down, the head of him still inside me. «If you release the ardeur , we can do it.»

«But I'll be sore afterward, and so will you.»

He moved his hips a little, and the sensation, even tight, made me catch my breath. «Not too sore,» he said.

«Yes,» I said, «trust me. I don't want to be walking funny tomorrow.»

He raised his head enough to frown at me. «We've never done it before like this—how can you be so sure?»

Shit. I stared up at him with his body halfway inside mine and didn't know what to say. The truth was Micah and I had done it, but that seemed impolitic, to say the least, in this moment. I tried to think of something that wouldn't make him feel bad. But I waited too long.

He said, «Just say it, Anita, just say it.»

«I want to make love with you, Richard. I don't want to fight.»

He pulled back enough so he wasn't inside me anymore. He stayed with his arms on either side of the tub, framing me. The look on his face was cautious now, almost as if he were steeling himself for bad news. It wasn't the look I wanted on his face right now.

«Say it, Anita.» His voice sounded tired.

«I tried it with someone else.»

«Why did it hurt?»

«Don't make me say this, Richard, please.»

«Say it,» and his voice was harsher now.

I sighed. «Fine, because he was too big for it not to hurt.»

«Who?»

«Don't do this, Richard.»

«Who?» This time it was a demand.

I gave him angry eyes. «Who do you think?»

«I don't know; you've added at least two men to your list, and I've never seen either of them erect.»

I ducked under his arm and half-swam to the other side of the tub. «Tell me what you want me to say, Richard.»

«Is it your two new vampires?»

«Are you wanting to know how you measure up to Requiem and London? Is that what you're actually wanting to know?»

He nodded. «Yeah, I guess I do.»

I crossed my arms under my breasts, the water helping, since they floated. «I cannot believe you're asking this.»

«It's an easy question, Anita.»

«Do you actually want to know if you're bigger than they are?»

«I'm so jealous of them that I can't see straight, so yeah, I want to know. I want to know that I'm still the best-endowed man in your bed.»