Passion Restored

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  She laughed, shaking her head. “Knowing us, that’s not really slow.”

  He winked at her as he leaned back so he could stand up. When he reached for her, she placed her hand in his and stood up on shaky legs. She wore only her boots and underthings, and knew the image would be burned into his brain forever. It damn well should have because the look he gave her now would forever be burned into hers.

  Knowing if she teased them, they’d end up missing out on the bath she so desperately wanted, she quickly stripped as he did the same. They’d play with her outfit again another time when they both weren’t already so close to the edge that they were ready to fall.

  Owen got in first, the water up to his chest. The tub was large enough for three people at least, and Liz knew it was custom-made. Perhaps dating someone who owned a construction company was a good idea, after all. He held her hand as she got in, the water so hot that it almost scalded, but it was just how she liked it.

  She sank into the tub, her back to his front, and sighed. His cock was hard and pressed firmly between her cheeks, but she didn’t care. She was the most comfortable she’d been in months.

  “This is paradise.”

  Owen kissed behind her ear. “Just wait.” He reached around and pressed a button and she gasped. He’d turned on the jets, the bubbles around them sizzling on her skin.

  “Oh, yeah, I could totally live in here.”

  He licked up her ear, nibbling on the lobe. “Anytime you want, babe. The tub is yours.”

  “I think I only want you for your tub.” She had her eyes closed, and though she was teasing, she still jumped when he cupped her below the water. “Owen.”

  “Only the tub, huh? I’ll have to be sure to change that. I’m going to wash you to get you ready for after our bath. Just sit here and relax, Liz. You don’t have to do anything except be.”

  She kept her eyes closed, knowing she could get used to this far too easily. Owen used his hands, not a loofa or washcloth, to clean her body. He had peach-scented soap she’d never seen him use before, and knew he’d bought it for her. She had her head leaned back, resting on one of his shoulders as his hands caressed her arms, her shoulders, her neck. Then he went down below to clean her belly and hips. He was so careful, so loving, that tears pricked her eyes and she let them. Right then, there was no past, no future, no strings, just her and Owen and the feel of his hands on her skin.

  He slowly made his way back up to her breasts, running his soapy hands over her nipples, cupping the firm weight in his palms before using his hands to wash the suds away. When he slid his hands under the water again and between her legs, she let out a moan, parting her thighs for him so he could reach the core of her.

  His fingers worked like magic, slowly sliding over her folds and the hood of her clit before coming back up her body for more soap. He worked her up until she was ready to come before he stopped and kissed the side of her neck.

  “Turn around for me, Lizzie. I need to get your back.”

  She opened her eyes lazily. “Hmm?”

  Owen smiled softly and kissed her lips. “Straddle me so I can get the rest of you.”

  Well in that case.

  She turned in his arms carefully, aware of the water around them, and slid her legs over his so her core pressed firmly to his cock. They both groaned, but didn’t rotate their hips to get closer.

  The time hadn’t come yet.

  But soon.

  Oh so soon.

  She kept her eyes open this time, their gazes never parting as he slid his hands up and down her back, the scent of peaches in the air was heavy. When his fingers slid between her cheeks, she didn’t stiffen. Instead, she leaned forward to give him better access. He slowly worked one finger inside her, then another, the burn intense, but with the water surrounding them, it wasn’t as bad as it had been before. Her breasts felt heavy, and her body ached for release. With that in mind, she slowly arched her hips, her clit rubbing along the hard ridge of his cock.

  “That’s it,” he whispered. “Made yourself come that way while I work you to make sure you’re ready for me. Can you do that, Liz? Can you come just sliding along my cock?”

  She leaned forward and took his lower lip between her teeth in a hard bite before pulling away. “Only with you,” she said honestly. “Only with you.”

  Owen’s eyes flared as he worked another finger inside and she called out, her hips working faster as she rubbed on him. With both reactions happening at once, it was too intense, too much, and she finally came, her fingers digging into his shoulders.

  He slowly released his fingers before kissing her softly. “You’re so beautiful when you come. All rosy like a goddess. Ready for bed?”

  Her arms felt heavy, the rest of her body even heavier. “I need you inside of me.”

  “Soon, Lizzie.”

  Somehow, he got them both out of the tub and toweled off before carrying her into his bedroom. He laid her down over a soft towel on his bed before kissing her slowly, as if he couldn’t get enough of her.

  “I want you to face me while you do it,” she said quickly. “I want to see you.”

  Owen leaned back and nodded. “Anything you want.” He left a kiss on both of her nipples before going back to put on a condom as well as extra lube. She played with her breasts as he worked her again, this time with more lube on his fingers, and she knew that as soon as he was fully inside her, she’d come. He was just so damn good with his hands.

  He hovered over her, his body pressing into hers before he kissed her softly. “You ready?”

  She arched her hips up and clung to his shoulders. “Yes. Please. We both want this.”

  He kissed her again, this time pressing forward. The sting burned far more than his fingers, but this wasn’t the first time she’d done this in her life so she was prepared for that. However, Owen was bigger than the other man, so she was thankful that they’d been preparing for weeks.

  He slowly thrust in and out of her until he was fully seating and sweat covered them both. Though she’d been relaxed after the bath, her body had stiffened again as soon as he entered her.

  “You okay?”

  She nodded, swallowing hard. “Yeah, you’re kind of big, you know.”

  He smiled softly. “You say the nicest things to me.”

  Liz reached up to cup his face. “Move. I need you to move. Make us come.”

  “As my lady commands. But I want you to rub your clit with me at the same time. Can you do that?”

  She nodded and slid her hand down her belly and over her core. Her fingers tangled with Owen’s as they both rubbed her clit, her pussy so wet it was easy for them to slid over her. He thrust in and out of her, the burn easing into an untold pleasure she’d never felt before.

  “You’re so fucking tight that I’m not going to last long,” Owen panted through gritted teeth.

  “I’m almost there, too.”

  “Come, Liz. Come on my dick.”

  She thrust her chest forward, and Owen took that as in invitation to suck on her breasts. Between that, their hands on her clit, and the way he moved, she didn’t last much longer. She came, her body shaking and her mind going hazy at the intensity of it. Dimly, she felt Owen come, as well, his shout loud enough to wake the other neighbors.

  Liz felt as if she came for hours, her body still shaking as Owen pulled out of her fully. The burn came back but before she could cry out, Owen had his mouth between her legs as he licked up the evidence of her arousal. She came again, this time knowing it was too much for her.

  She blinked a few times, trying to catch her breath but could only let herself sink into the abyss that they’d sent her to. That Owen had placed her in.

  A soft kiss to her lips.

  A warm washcloth between her legs.

  Strong arms around her.

  Another kiss to her neck.

  Covers over their bodies.

  A soft growl against her skin.

  And as she breathed her than
ks, her happiness, a soft set of words reached her ears.

  “I love you.”

  But before she could wonder if that was just her imagination or Owen’s real words, she fell into slumber, her body far too sated to keep awake…and far too gone for her to wonder if she could say the words back.

  11

  Gripping the edge of the porcelain, Liz felt as though she were about to die. Okay, maybe it wasn’t as dramatic as all that, but she sure wasn’t up to her normal self. Her body ached, and she kept having to throw up. Not the best thing for a nurse to be doing, so they’d sent her home. She couldn’t infect the patients, after all.

  Yet Liz couldn’t help but remember the smug look in Lisa’s eyes as Liz had stumbled out of the ER, her head pounding and her stomach queasy. Her job was on the line, and yet there was nothing she could do about it. They’d checked her for a fever, but she’d come up normal so there was nothing they could do for her other than have her lay in a bed and get through whatever stomach bug she had, and she could do that at home. But she had a feeling Lisa and Nancy would be documenting this as yet another mark against her.

  And while Liz might be the best at her job in some respects, it would come down to politics in the end since everyone was good at most aspects of their duties. That was a game she’d never been good at, and she was afraid she just might lose this one.

  Her stomach rolled, and she heaved over her toilet, emptying the rest of her stomach, though she wasn’t sure what else she could purge at this point. Sweat coated her skin, and her brain hurt to work through the fog of dizziness.

  She’d come home and headed straight to her bathroom to finish getting sick. She wasn’t even sure she’d locked the damn door behind her. It was still early enough in the day that there’d been frost on the lawn and a cold, bitter wind through the rising sun, and yet even that hadn’t seemed to cool her off. She might not have an actual fever, but her body felt like it was on fire anyway.

  Whatever bug she’d caught, it was not the best experience in the world. She needed to somehow find the energy to stand up and put on normal clothes instead of the scrubs she still wore, as well as eat something to settle her stomach. That was if she could even keep anything down. However, she knew she needed to try and at least drink fluids to keep hydrated. The longer this went on, the harder it would be for her to bounce back.

  With a sigh, she leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes. She told herself she’d get up soon. Soon.

  She’d just about drifted off when she heard the front door open. Tessa was at work and probably hadn’t heard that Liz had gone home early, so Liz didn’t know whom that could be. She tensed, afraid she’d been an idiot for leaving the door unlocked.

  “Liz? The door’s unlocked and I saw your car in the driveway as I headed out to work. Where are you? I thought you had an early shift this morning.”

  Owen’s voice soothed her, and she relaxed. He was here and could help her get into bed, or at least make sure she didn’t spend the whole day on the bathroom floor. Of course, she didn’t want him to see her like this, but she didn’t have the energy to worry about that just then. How she’d gone from pushing him away to wanting him near when she wasn’t feeling well she didn’t know, and it worried her a bit, but for now, she couldn’t think too hard about it, not when her pulse pounded a staccato beat in her temples.

  “In here,” she called out, though her voice was more of a garbled whisper than the shout she’d wanted.

  Owen came into the bathroom and frowned. “What’s wrong?” He went to his knees and put the back of his hand over her forehead. It was such a protective and caring gesture that a small part of her fell for him all over again. It scared her to no end, but she didn’t have the energy to fight it, not then.

  “They sent me home,” she said softly.

  “I can see that. What are your symptoms?” He moved around, and she opened her eyes to watch him pull out a washcloth and dampen it under the faucet.

  “Who sounds like they’re in the medical field now?”

  Owen looked over his shoulder and winked. “Well, nurses and doctors are notoriously bad patients according to TV dramas.”

  She winced. “If that’s your source for the medical field, I’m going to have to disappoint you and tell you that we don’t actually have sex in the break rooms. Or storage closets. Or anywhere else. The amount of germs running through the place is disgusting.” She looked down at her scrubs and cursed. “And I shouldn’t even be wearing these right now because I’m probably spreading things all around.”

  Owen pressed the cool washcloth to her forehead, and she sighed into him. “We’ll just get you out of those right now then. And I’ve got to say, I’m kind of glad there aren’t any shenanigans going on at work. It never seemed very sexy doing it at a hospital.”

  She tried to smile but failed, her stomach revolting again. This time, Owen held back her hair and ran a hand down her back as she heaved. She should have been embarrassed but couldn’t be, not with Owen right there to take care of her. She’d never let anyone—including Tessa—take care of her like this, and yet she couldn’t help but let Owen do it. She should have been worried about that, but instead, she leaned into him, promising she’d worry about it later.

  She pressed herself to him, and he ran his hand through her hair. “Okay, Liz darling, let’s get you out of these scrubs and into something comfy. Then we’re getting you into bed, and I’ll see what either of us has for upset stomachs.”

  Liz looked up at him and frowned. “I thought you were off to work.”

  “You’re more important,” he said simply. “I’ll call the guys and let them know I won’t be in today. They can handle one day without me.”

  Considering he’d been saying the opposite since the day she’d met him, she wasn’t sure how she felt about how he dropped everything for her. It should have been too much, and yet…

  Her gaze landed on a box over the sink, and she froze. She closed her eyes, doing mental math, bile once again filling her throat. How could she have been this stupid? She knew the risks, knew how to take care of herself, and yet she hadn’t done the math.

  “What is it?” Owen asked, his voice full of worry as he knelt beside her. “Is something worse? Do I need to take you back to the hospital?”

  She shook her head numbly, her gaze still on the box above her. This couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t. It was just a bug, just a day where she’d get over everything soon and move on. It wasn’t what she thought it could be. It wasn’t.

  “Liz, baby, you’re scaring me.” He pulled her hair back from her face and moved so he was in her line of sight. “Talk to me.”

  “I’m late,” she croaked out, her words a hoarse whisper.

  He frowned, his eyebrows furrowing and that damn ring of his glinting in the light. “What? I don’t understand. You were just at work, and you came home. You can’t be late.”

  She shook her head, cursing herself for doing so when her brain went fuzzy again. “I’m late,” she said again, putting emphasis on the last word.

  His eyes widened, but she didn’t see the fear she should have there. “Oh.” He swallowed hard. “Okay, then.” He let out a breath. “And you’re feeling sick. Well. I guess the next thing on the list would be for you to take a test to see if that all leads up to one answer or if it’s all just coincidence. I can go to the store for you if you want. You’ll just need to tell me what kind works best. I’d say we could go to a doctor since those tests are more reliable, right? They use blood? But since you work at a hospital, things might get tricky with the whole privacy thing, and I know how you like to be private about everything in your life. So just help me make a list, and I’ll get you all the tests you need. Then we’ll do this together.” He cupped her face. “We’ll do this together,” he repeated. “Because I might not be able to throw up for you or pee on a stick, but I can do other things.”

  Why was he being so sweet? And hell, it was just like Owen
to ramble on about lists and organizing things when it came to a freaking pregnancy test.

  “Owen,” she said after a moment. “I…I can’t think.”

  “It’s okay. I don’t think I’m thinking either. Of course, the fact that I just said think really makes that confusing.”

  She pressed her lips together, holding back a laugh even though there was nothing to laugh about right then. Not when the one thing she told herself she’d never do might be happening at the worst possible time. He was totally freaking out trying to list his way into calming down. There was no calming down from this.

  “There are a couple of tests in the linen closet next to the sink,” she said after a moment, her voice oddly toneless. If she didn’t feel, didn’t put too much into anything, she wouldn’t break. Because she was so close to breaking right then, she wasn’t sure what she was going to do. She couldn’t become her mother, couldn’t turn Owen into her father, but once they had a child… Her body shook. Once they had a child, things would change, and she’d become the person she hated the most. She was already not the nicest person in the world because she always pushed people away to protect herself and them, but once that last piece snapped into place, she’d break.

  “You have tests in the closet?” Owen asked, confusion on his face once again.

  Liz sighed. “Yes. Tessa and I are two single, sexually active women in the medical field. We also have condoms and other options when it comes to protecting our bodies during intercourse with a partner. Yes, we keep pregnancy tests around just in case because sometimes stress makes our periods late and that can be a trying time. This will just be that time.” She let out a breath. “But we need to be sure.”

  “We will be,” he said after a moment and stood up to rummage through her linen closet. His hands didn’t shake, and he seemed so sure of himself. Yet she knew he was freaking out inside. Probably not as much as she was, but enough that he was running on autopilot.