Feeling mellow and lighthearted for the first time in as long as she could remember, she wasn’t going to dwell on the sleeping arrangements.
Looking around, she finally realized somebody had unpacked their things. Finding a silky nightgown in her drawer, she grabbed a pair of undies and went into the bathroom, dumping her nightclothes on the large double vanity so she could fill the massive tub. Picking out one of the bath bombs that promised serenity, she dropped it into the rising water and watched with satisfaction as it fizzled.
He knows just how to get to me.
The bath was more like a giant Jacuzzi, with marbled steps and lined with gleaming porcelain.
Stripping off her clothes, she was in the water with her hair secured on the top of her head within moments.
Her head connected with the bath pillow and she let out a blissful sigh before turning off the water, inhaling the tangy scent of essential oils as she closed her eyes.
She should feel guilty for doing nothing.
She should feel guilty because she wasn’t doing anything productive.
She should feel guilty because she was here with Julian.
But she couldn’t. In so many ways, Julian was probably right. Just once, she could put herself first. She’d probably known for a while that she was suffering from burnout, the pace she’d been keeping up for years catching up to her.
“Nothing could feel better than this,” she whispered to herself as she let the warm water wash away any remaining stress she’d been feeling.
“I can think of a few things that might,” Julian’s smooth-as-fine-silk voice remarked next to the tub. “Smells good in here.”
Startled, she sank down into the tub. Not that it did any good. The water was clear, with no bubbles in sight. The bomb left the water scented and treated, but it did nothing to the transparent color. “I thought you were sleeping.”
“I missed you,” he said huskily, his body naked from the waist up. He flipped the button on his jeans and lowered the zipper before he dropped everything to the floor, including his briefs. “I woke up and you were gone.”
Kristin gaped at him, trying not to stare at his engorged cock as he kicked the pants and underwear away from his feet.
“Are you showering? I can get out,” she squeaked.
His brows drew together as though he were concentrating. “I thought about that. But then when I saw you in the tub, I was pretty sure I needed to wash your back.” He vaulted up the few steps, pushed her forward, and lowered himself in behind her. “Amazing,” he rumbled, his chest vibrating against her back.
She felt his cock pressing against her, his body enveloping her in his heat. Nervous, she put her hands on the side of the tub to get out. “Julian, I—”
“Relax,” he told her calmly, putting his arms around her waist and pulling her back against him. “We are married, you know.”
She wasn’t the least bit crowded. The bath had room enough for at least a few more people if she wanted bathing to be a social activity. But she didn’t. “Technically, we could be married in name only. Neither one of us really vividly remembers what happened after the wedding,” she reminded him.
“Well, Mrs. Sinclair, I can fix that quite easily,” he said in a hoarse whisper into her ear as he took the clip from her hair and let her locks tumble over her shoulders. He buried his face into her curls, his voice muffled as he rasped, “Jesus, you’re beautiful.”
Those words stopped her desire to get away, and he’d stopped her in her tracks by calling her Mrs. Sinclair. A longing she couldn’t explain speared her heart. “Julian,” she protested, but it sounded more like encouragement to her.
“Let me touch you, Kristin. Let me do what I never did the first time we were together.”
Flashbacks of the pleasure he’d given her in Vegas flooded her brain, making her so needy that she had to bite back a moan.
His mouth went to the vulnerable skin at the side of her neck, and his big, powerful hands moved up to palm her breasts. As he used the slickened water to tease her nipples, she slumped back against him, feeling his touch sizzle through her entire body. “Yes,” she encouraged, lifting her hands up to grasp his muscular biceps just to have something to keep her grounded.
“These,” he confided, “are fucking sexy as hell.” He gently pinched the hard tips of her breasts, then soothed them with warm water.
Her back arched from the sensation of having his mouth and hands all over her body. “I ache,” she panted.
Julian grasped her leg and turned her until she was straddling him. “I’ll never let you hurt, Kristin. Not for long.”
His mouth descended on a vulnerable nipple while his fingers continued to tease the other. The carnal sensuality of the way he seemed to be enjoying the exploration of her body was making Kristin’s core clamp down hard enough to be painful, begging for Julian to satisfy her.
“Please.” She used his powerful thighs to take away a tiny bit of her frustration, rolling her pussy against the hard surface of his skin.