Page 164 of All at Once

CHAPTER 27

“I Think He Knows” – Taylor Swift

I KNOW WHY I’M SPIRALING. It’s because Luca’s currently taking a hot shower next door as I’m sitting on his bed in his t-shirt.

When he asked if I wanted to join, I casually said I’d go later. Without showing any disappointment to make sure I wouldn’t feel pressured, he just placed a soft kiss on my neck that feels almost imprinted on my skin right now.

It’s not like I haven’t seen him naked before. Thankfully, I have, and now on many occasions.

It’s that while we’ve had sex, the thought of standing so close to him while he has the chance to stare at my bare body was enough to make me feel vulnerable all of a sudden.

I’m aware how silly this sounds considering everything we’ve done together.

Yet, just the fact that I’ve never showered with another person before was enough to reject his invitation. At least right when he asked me, that is.

But ever since he left, a deeper, more pressing thought has started to take over.

My hands are shaking. My heartbeat’s thudding. My back is tense.

Except it’s no longer from my nerves. It’s the thrill that’s building as I glance down his hallway.

Curiosity getting the best of me, my body lures me toward my demise. With each step, a wave of pleasure cascades from my neck down to my toes while picturing his skin moving against the warm water before I finally open his bathroom door.

I question my own sanity with the way my jaw drops at the sight of his silhouette from afar, watching as he lathers the shower gel all over his skin.

Luca looks up as I catch a glimpse of his smirk through the steam. “Changed your mind?” he asks, his voice musky over the glass.

“I think I actuallymightbe a voyeur,” I confess, finding it impossible to look away from his body.

When his laughter echoes loudly off the bathroom walls, it bounces right between my legs, activating everything again. Despite the heat, my skin immediately fills with goosebumps as I remove his shirt from my body, throwing it to the ground before walking into the shower.

Of course the first thing I do is almost slip, when Luca quickly scoops me up into his arms and says, “Just to be safe.”

I laugh into his mouth. “That was intentional.”

“Of course it was.” When his lips press against my neck, my face falls to the side, his warm tongue taking me to the edge. My body jolts, wanting his touch even though it’s all I’ve had for the past 24 hours as he continues to escalate my racing cravings. “What’s with you today?” he asks, amused. “You’ve been clumsier than usual.”

I look him dead in the eyes and jab, “I’m not exactly functioning the same since yesterday.”

“Really?” He feigns a look of confusion. “What happened yesterday?”

“I think you fucked the embarrassment out of me. Something like that?”

The sound of his laughter that follows is like music to my ears. “I’m going to need that printed on a hat or license plate.” He licks his lips. “Was itthatgood?”

“I can’t really think of anything else since then so I’d say so.”

“I’d have to agree,” Luca says before he innocently touches my knee even though it sends an electric current across my skin.

Brows crinkled, I ask, “Is it normal to bethisturned on after two orgasms?”

His laugh vibrates over my collarbone. “Yes. It’sallnormal.”

See,he could just stop right here and not do much beyond this. Since he knows the hold he has on me. Which is preciselywhyhe continues to slowly build a fire within me.

Looking over my body in awe, his fingers trace my skin. As he meets my gaze, he says, “Do you know how maddening your curves are?”

“I can think of a few more things that are maddening…,” I murmur, barely able to breathe in this shower.

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