Page 69 of Hate To Want You
“Shower,” I announce. “Then we’re doing that again.”
Heidi giggles, climbing off me carefully. I stand, kick off my pants, and take her hand.
“Don’t you want to clean up?”
“Nope. I want to get even dirtier with you first.”
Her laughter follows us into the bathroom and straight into the steaming hot water of the shower. We take turns soaping each other up, the action loving and caring, not sexual. But as the water rinses away the suds, my eyes drop to her breasts and the mark I left there earlier. As the water cascades over us, my dick starts to harden again just from being near her naked body. And just like that, my cock is hard again.
“Mmm, already? I guess when you said several hours, you meant it.” Her hand wraps around my length, stroking me gently.
I groan as her thumb sweeps across my tip. “I did.” Heidi drops to her knees, running her tongue up and down. I gather her hair in my hands and stare down at her, pouring every ounce of love I feel for her into my words.
“I know I was in charge earlier, but this time I want you to take what you need from me. Fuck my fingers, fuck my mouth, fuck my cock. Everything I am, everything I have, is yours. Whatever it takes for you to believe I’m in this with you. For you. For us.”
“I already believe that, Max. I love you. I never stopped loving you. I don’t need orgasms to know I forgive you and I trust you. I just need you to forgive yourself, so you can be here with me.”
I drop down into a crouch, so I’m on her level.
“I’m here. And if you’ll have me, I always will be.”
Chapter thirty-one
Heidi
“I’ll never get tired of this view.”
“Me either.”
I look over my shoulder at Max’s wicked smirk. “Behave.”
He lifts his hands up in a gesture of innocence. “Hey, I’m just saying my view is spectacular.” He closes the distance between us and cups my butt as he leans down to kiss my neck. “Fucking perfect.”
I shiver, despite the heat of the sun beating down on us. “Max.”
“Yeah, babe?”
“We can’t.” Even as I say the words, his hands are trailing around my hips, dipping down underneath my shorts and teasing me. He slides one finger all the way down and under my panties, swiping it quickly through the moisture already pooling between my legs.
“Hmm. Something tells me we could if we’re fast.”
Voices up ahead have him pulling his hand out quickly, moving to stand beside me but turning slightly, I assume to hide the bulge I feel hardening under his shorts. But as the other hikers pass us with casual greetings, Max lifts his finger to his mouth and sucks it in deeply, his eyes locked on mine.
“You’re so bad,” I whisper as soon as the other people are far enough away.
Max just gives me an unrepentant grin. “Sorry, babe. Not my fault you’re so delicious. Let’s just get to the hot springs so I can hide what I’m doing under the water.”
“Because that worked so well for you last time?” I can’t resist the tease.
His shoulders lift and fall in a carefree shrug. I am so in love with him. “Seeing as you’re here with me this time, I’d say it worked pretty damn well.”
He takes my hand, and we walk the rest of the way to the hot springs, side by side — the way we’ve gone through everything the last few weeks. Any worries we had about people at the hospital finding out we were together were quickly proven unfounded. Sure, there were a couple of questioning looks from my fellow residents, but nothing like the judgment we feared. Clarence was right to suggest we not draw attention to how long our relationship had been going on. I think my move to Dr. Sloan’s service was part of what made it easier for everyone to accept Max and I as a couple.
We reach the first pool fairly quickly, and just as Max said it would be, it’s full. He winks and draws me farther along the path, until we’re ducking off the trail in between some bushes. We traipse through the forest a little longer, the voices from the hot springs fading behind us, until we reach the pool where I stumbled upon him, naked, all those weeks ago.
It feels like a lifetime has passed since the day everything started to shift between us. Being here again, together, is the perfect full circle moment for our relationship.
Wasting no time, Max pulls his T-shirt up and over his head.
