RISK & REWARD

81 | 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦

SLADE SIGHS against my mouth like she's been missing it for years, rather than a few days. She makes that little noise of satisfaction against my cheek, and God, I melt into the water, and I feel her arms snake around my waist, nails scraping over my sides. They've gotten long; she hasn't tended to them, and now they drag slightly-painful lines into my skin.

Christ. I shiver as my front bumps against another, hard and hotter than the bubbling water. Her body flexes; right on cue, I feel six finely-separated muscles greet my stomach. The sly bitch, she knows—the chuffing against my mouth almost feels like Slade is laughing. Almost smug. Her tongue slicks along mine, and her teeth catch on my lower lip as she pulls back. So slightly.

She is laughing. Sort of. She's smirking, expression crooked. Proud of herself, almost. Like she's gotten the upper hand on me. Having me to herself for the first time since the hotel seems to be getting to her head. Hell, she's got her tongue threatening to poke out between her teeth like she's some type of love-drunk dog.

Cute. I put my hand under the water as I lean forward, leering a little closer to Slade's face. Her nose brushes my cheek; she breathes out, hot against my jaw, as she tilts her chin, opening the side of her neck up for me to bury myself in. For once, she seems eager for me to get in at her.

I poke at the warm, soapy expanse of skin with my tongue a second before I pinch my fingers around one pierced nipple.

Slade lurches forward with a gasp. Her teeth jab my neck; like she's been electrocuted, she clutches at my back, and she freezes, panting and glancing rapidly between my eyes and the surface of soapy bubbles.

"Sorry." I shoot her an innocent grin as I run my thumb over the head of warm metal, ignoring the shake in my breath when Slade's whole body shivers and tenses. "Had to take you down a peg."

Slade stares at me like I've just told her I've killed her puppy. Her tongue lays heavy in her mouth; she wets her lips and makes to speak, but the words never get out. She just swallows and stares.

"Take'm down a peg?" Her voice is breathy, almost scorned. "Take'm down a peg, 'n so you p..."

"Uh huh." I lean forward and kiss her on the cheek, right on the biggest freckle. "Works like a charm. Learned that last time."

Slade's mouth gapes like a fish out of water. She has pretty eyes; in our current lighting, and with my being so close, I notice the little tides of green splashing out from her pupil like emerald waves. Pretty. Pretty, pretty, pretty.

Absently, I start to toy with the nub of metal—and beneath me, Slade moans, the sound a low, deep growl in her stomach. Her eyes go lidded; she looks almost sleepy, eyes stuck on mine and brow trying to knit. Her jaw hangs; she breathes hard, minty breaths into my face like she's unable to do anything else.

"Feels good?" I say it without really thinking. Regardless of my mismatched words and shame, Slade responds. Oh, she responds. She chokes out another breath, and she hiccups, dipping her chin in a slow, almost shameful nod.

Oh. I gulp. The dynamic has shifted, hard. The steam smells incredible, the bubbles are warm and gentle, and Slade is looking at me with drunken eyes, all but begging me to keep going. When I lean into her, she paces back on bent knees; she stumbles, and then she slips as she backs into the jacuzzi's bench. Her arms sling along the top of the tub as she slides down, face nearly going beneath the bubbles. Still, though, her eyes never leave mine; she seems almost entranced, dreamy as I sling a leg over her bare waist and let myself sit on her bare thighs.

I lean forward. Slade tips her head back, resting on the tub's edge and swallowing when I turn my own face and press a kiss to the side of her forehead.