“Shampoo?”
“No, the whiskey.” He stood and walked out reluctantly.
I laid my head back on a towel and propped up my knees, exposing more skin above the bubbles. Nate came back in and held the whiskey out to me. His mouth opened and his breath quickened when I sat up and reached for it. He turned away from me quickly.
“You’re a doctor. I didn’t really think this would have any effect on you.”
I watched as he smoothed his hands down his legs in a subtle gesture to adjust himself. “I’m a man, Ava. And I’m affected,” was all he said.
I took a large swig from the bottle. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. You’re not my patient, remember? You’re a beautiful woman. It would be hard for anyone not to be . . . affected.” He made sure not to turn back and look at me again.
“Do you know what my middle name is?”
“No. Tell me.”
“Jesus.”
“You’re kidding.” He turned back this time with a huge smile on his face.
“I’m serious. Can you believe that?”
“Why?”
“It’s traditional in my family, and my mother is very religious. When I got married I was supposed to drop my middle name and use my maiden name in its place.”
“So did you?”
“No, how could I drop Jesus? That has to be some kind of sin.”
“I would have dropped that name in a second. Things didn’t work out so well for him.”
I laughed so hard, the bathwater rippling around me. Nate’s expression was serious, or at least he was trying to be serious until he started laughing with me.
“I think I’m doomed,” I said.
“I think you should ditch the name.”
“Maybe I will. I obviously can’t perform any miracles. Sometimes I feel like I was the one holding the gun to Jake’s head when it went off.”
“Don’t say that. You’ve had to deal with a lot of death at your age. Tragic death, at that. What you did today, even though it was hard for me to understand at first, I get it now. You had to do it.”
“I’m ready to get out.” He and I both stood at the same time. I was naked and covered in bubbles. He looked down at the floor as he reached for my hand to help me step out. With his other hand he grabbed a towel off the rack and wrapped it around me quickly. I dried off and then dropped the towel and moved toward him. I took his face between my hands and kissed him hard. His clothes were rough against my naked skin.
“Take your clothes off.”
“Wait, Ava,” he murmured against my neck.
I kissed him again. He wrapped his arms around me, lifting me a few inches off the ground and moved quickly into the bedroom without breaking our kiss. Setting me down near the bed, he tried to pull away but I wouldn’t let him.
“No, please. I want to feel something again.”
I pressed my hand to the outside of his jeans. He was hard but the look on his face was scrutinizing. He stared at me as I stood there, offering myself to him, touching him, coaxing him. Finally he reached his arm around my neck, kissed me, and pushed me up against the wall. I wrapped my right leg up around his waist and pulled his jeans-clad body into mine, writhing against him.
“Why are you still dressed?”
“You’re drunk, Ava.”
“Please . . . I want to feel good . . . please?” I whispered near his ear.
He pulled away for a moment, smiled adoringly, and then his mouth was back on mine, his hand moving to my breast. His thumb brushed the sensitive skin of my nipple. I started to feel the ache that had been buried so long. Still fully clothed, he bent and gently kissed my breast, running his tongue along the side of my nipple as his hand moved farther down. His skilled fingers met my flesh. When he eased them into me, I braced myself against the wall.
“Ah, don’t stop.”
I was breathing hard by the time he dropped to his knees. He lifted my leg over his shoulder and then his mouth was on me. My hands got lost in his messy hair. When I whimpered, he stopped and looked up at me.
“You’re ravishing,” he whispered, and then he was back at it. I felt a tingling pulse, like electricity, between my ears, running in waves down my spine. I looked up to the ceiling, closed my eyes, and let myself leave my body for just enough time to feel that blissful release. At the moment I cried out, Nate stood and took me in his arms while tremors ran through my body. I rested my head against his shoulder.
“Let me get you into bed.”