Page 58 of Redemption

Ryder stepped into the shower and dropped his head back, letting the spray hit his face. The waterfall of heat cascaded over him, rushing over his knotted muscles. He’d seen Victoria with less clothes on yesterday when they were swimming, but in those pajamas, covered ankles to neckline, she’d never been sexier.

He gripped his cock, stroking as the blood rushed to the engorging member, stiffening under his hold. Nice and easy, his fist slid back and forth, until he paused long enough to glance at the options of fancy fucking soaps, grabbing the closest one and lubing his hand. He took hold of his throbbing erection again and closed his eyes. Victoria was front and center in his mind. The idea of thrusting into her and holding her eyes, all while he stayed buried deep as he could for as long as he could stand it—before, goddamn… He stroked, nearly gasping at the thought of sliding out of her wetness.

Ryder flexed his fingers around his dick, pumping, his hips jerking—

Knock. Knock.

“Fuck,” he breathed out, molars grinding. “Yeah?”

“Hey, it’s me,” Victoria called through the door.

Who else would it be? “I’ll be out in a minute.”

“Can I come in?”

Fucking hell. She was going to come in, and he was at a full mast. The door cracked, and he saw her lips pressed to the edge of the doorjamb.

“I had something to say.”

Ryder reached for the bottle of shampoo. “Almost done, love. Give me two minutes, yeah?”

He rubbed the soap into a frothy lather and dug his hands into his hair, quickly sudsing it when he heard the quiet click of the shower door opening and the burst of cool air rush along his back. Bubbles dripped down his forehead as he looked over his shoulder at the woman clearly in his personal space yet averting her eyes to the ceiling like she couldn’t look at his ass.

“Everything okay?”

“No.” Her eyes faltered along the side of the wall, and she leaned away from him. “Not really.”

Damn it. He should have controlled himself. At least now his erection was less raging and more in the state of semi-erect. Still, the big guy wasn’t down for the count, and she wasn’t stupid. If she caught a glimpse, she would know exactly what he’d been doing.

Ryder maneuvered, maintaining an iota of cock coverage. “Let me wash this out, and I’m done.”

He dunked his head back under the shower, running his hair clean then reached for the faucet, wiping the water out of his eyes—her hand found his, and his insides jumped. Shocked, his face shot her way.

Water sprayed over her shirt. Victoria’s fingers bent over his as she still clung to the glass shower door.

“I was just getting out.”

Her gaze swept slow and lazy down his neck, his chest, idling on the muscular V that led to his dick. “Don’t.”

Hot water trailed over his back, running rivers down his arm and their hands. The shower steam was escaping, but not before its humidity kissed her cheeks and painted a pink flush on them. A dewy damp sheen of water glistened across her skin, and he longed to see that same fresh sheen of moisture wet her breasts, her stomach, leading him the way to what he wanted to think about: her, wanting him, soft and wet.

“C’mere.” He tugged her into the shower, clothes and all, and shut the glass door. Steam swirled around them, and he put his palms on her cheeks, feeling her jaw open as she peered up, lips parted. His heart hammered, and he thumbed away water droplets from her eyelashes. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

She didn’t say a word, only slipping her eyes shut and dropping her head back with a sigh that bordered on a quiet, hungry groan.

Victoria was right. There was nothing to say. He took her mouth, letting his lips find hers, and his greedy tongue sank into a hungry, hot kiss. She moaned. Her hands moved to his chest, her fingernails scraping down his pecs as she kissed him back, more alive than she had been in his bed. A gasp caught in her throat and vibrated through both their bodies, and still he didn’t let go of her cheeks, holding her face to his.

Her arms went up, languid and loose, and only then did he break away, tugging the soaked T-shirt over her head. His thick erection pressed between them, and Ryder took Victoria’s mouth again, his hands skimming down her shower-soaked back, teasing up to her shoulders, and down her arms so that he could run his hands over to the perfect little breasts that had tortured him since the moment he saw her erect nipples behind a swimsuit top.

She inhaled deeply, head falling to the side while he teased the light rose tips of her tits. Victoria tugged at the sopping wet pajama pants as he plucked, watching her breasts become fuller and tighter as though they reached for his touch.

But her pesky bottoms clung to her thighs. “Want help?”

“Yes.” She grinned, straightening to face him.

“I’m a useful bloke.” He yanked the water-soaked fabric until the pants piled at her ankles, and she stepped out, kicking them to the side of the tiled shower floor.

His hands ran over her smooth hips, the curve of her ass. He couldn’t stop touching her, feeling how soft, how perfectly she fit in his hand. His hard-on bobbed between them, and if he could will her hands to stroke his dick, he would. But her fingertips grazed back and forth, outlining the ridges of his stomach muscles.

---