Page 193 of A Fire in the Flesh

Slowing the kiss, Ash caught my lip between his as he lifted his head. Breathing hard, he said, “As I said, liessa, I will do anything you want. You need me to just be here? I’m here.”

His hand slid from my waist, catching the flimsy, ruined gown and dragging it down, letting it slip past my hips. My breath snagged as the balmy air washed over my back.

Ash’s eyes held mine. “You need me to hold you? Done.” He dipped, working an arm under my knees and lifting me as if I were made of only air. He held me to his chest. “Kiss you? You already know the answer to that.”

My lips felt…deliciously swollen. So, yes, I did know the answer to that.

“You want more than that?” he continued as I became aware of him walking, the ground shifting beneath us. The sound of fizzing water rose. “Want me to kiss that stubborn jaw of yours?”

Only then did he break eye contact, kissing said jaw, and then those swirling irises met mine again. “Kiss those beautiful breasts? Draw your nipples into my mouth the way I know you like?”

My lips parted as warm water swept over my feet, immediately bubbling as Ash went down earthen steps—

Wait.

He was still wearing his leathers, wasn’t he?

“You want me to kiss my way down your body and then between your thighs? Or touch you there? With my fingers? My dick? Gladly,” Ash said, and I was no longer thinking about him still having his pants on. His voice…good gods, it reminded me of silky shadows and midnight dreams as Ash lowered himself, either sitting on an underwater rock or the ground. Water rose, frothing at my waist and tugging at my hands. “I will be inside you or on my knees in a heartbeat.”

“Even now?” I whispered, fingers tangling in his hair as the water teased my sides and breasts. “The on-your-knees part? Wouldn’t that be difficult?”

A smoky grin appeared, one I hadn’t seen in what felt like an eternity as he positioned me on his lap. “It wouldn’t be impossible.”

“Your head would be underwater,” I pointed out as he leaned back slightly, keeping us balanced.

His eyes were like pools of molten silver. “And my mouth would still be fastened on you.”

“That…that sounds really, really nice.” A bolt of lust pulsed through me, causing me to wiggle a little in his lap.

Ash groaned, dropping his forehead to mine. “It sounds better than nice.” His lips brushed mine. “I can practically taste you on my lips and tongue.”

Tingles of desire and need pooled low as the fizzing water danced over my legs and between them.

“Anything,” Ash repeated in the heated, damp air between us. “Whatever you want.”

I wanted to take those promises and turn them into action. The steady, welcome throb in my core was all about it, and how his heart pounded beneath my palm told me it would barely be a heartbeat before he fulfilled what he’d promised. But…

I just need to take care of you.

That’s what he’d said he needed, and these moments weren’t just about assuaging my fears. The anxiety-riddled voice had quieted, proven wrong by Ash’s words and what I felt pressed against me.

“Take care of me,” I said. “Please?”

Ash shuddered against me, and I knew he got what I meant.

Falling silent, I relaxed against him as I watched him take one of my arms, bringing it below the water. He rubbed his hands over mine and then my arms, scrubbing away the blood. Before he moved onto the other arm, he lifted it to the narrow streaks of sunlight, inspecting his work. Once satisfied, he moved onto the next and did the same. He had me lean back so all my hair fell below the surface and held me as he reached around, gently running the strands through the churning water.

When he was done, I took his hand and brought it to my mouth. I kissed the glimmering imprint, then washed his arms as he’d done with mine. Scooping water, I bathed his chest, his face, and while his eyes were half-closed, I knew his gaze never wavered from me. Not even afterward, when he did what I asked for next.

As the hot springs bubbled and churned around us, Ash held me in the sweetly scented air.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

“Thirty-six.”

His flesh was even cool underwater.

Water bubbled around us as I lifted my head. “Were you counting my freckles again?”

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