Come Back

by Melissa Maygrove

  Her breathing ceased and her fingers gripped her legs as she waited for him to strip and step into the tub.

  Tiny waves broke against her back, and then the level of the water rose to her shoulders as his knees bracketed her and his feet slid past her hips on either side.

  “Ahhh.”

  Sounds of him washing met her ears as more waves lapped at her skin. God help her, but she wished the hands washing him were hers.

  Warm, wet fingers grasped her shoulder and tugged gently. “Lean back.”

  Becca turned to the side and reclined against him, thankful the milky water concealed her breasts.

  Seth’s arms left the rails and wrapped her in a wall of velvety muscle.

  For a long time, he simply held her, his chest rising and falling easily and his heart thumping steadily under her ear. It was as if he’d been waiting to comfort her all along—to surround her with his whole being and shut out the world.

  His protective patience was welcome, and she relished the blessed reprieve. But the needs of the body rarely bowed to the will of the mind or the heart, and a deeper part of her hungered for something she didn’t understand.

  Longing thrummed through her veins with every whiff of his virile scent and every caress of his breath on her hair. Seth had to feel that way, too. How he held his passion in check was as much a mystery as what he would do once he set it free.

  He pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head. “What are you thinking?”

  When she didn’t answer, his torso stiffened and he loosened his hold. “Are you sorry you married me?”

  “No.” She lifted her head and looked at him. “Are you sorry you married me?”

  Warmth returned to his eyes and the corner of his mouth lifted. “No.” He trailed a finger from her temple down to her neck, grazing the damp wisps of hair clinging to her skin. “So, will you tell me what you’re thinking?”

  Shame heated her cheeks and she looked away. “If I do, you’ll think poorly of me.”

  “I doubt it.” He planted another kiss on her hair. “Tell me.”

  She reluctantly met his gaze. “I was thinking about the times I listened to you undress on the trail... how I wished I was watching instead of listening. And just now, while you bathed, I wished it was my hands washing you instead of your own.”

  Seth blinked and his eyes flared an intense shade of blue. She waited for him to chastise her for her wanton thoughts, but he just stared at her.

  The shock of his response emboldened her. “Every night of our trip, I lay in my bed unable to think of anything but you. I’d close my eyes and remember the times we kissed, the time you touched me in the cave. Even on the coldest nights, my skin heated as if a summer breeze had blown over it, and my insides tingled and throbbed. I knew it was wrong, and yet I lay there, wanting you to do those things again.”

  His nostrils flared. “Becca...” He wrapped her in his arms. “You tempt me, too. You’ve tempted me from the first day we met.”

  Seth lifted her face so she was looking at him. Hunger simmered in his eyes, but it was cloaked in love. “Don’t be ashamed of what you feel for me. I promise you, I lay in my bedroll wanting the very same things. Thoughts of you assailed me constantly. It took every ounce of will I had to keep from giving in to those urges.”

  “Truly?”

  The skin at the corners of his eyes crinkled. “Don’t you remember me making a beeline for every stream and creek we came to? You didn’t think I actually liked bathing in water so cold it turned my skin blue, did you?”

  She hid a laugh behind her hand. She’d assumed he liked being clean.

  “Speaking of icy streams, we should get out. This water’s gone nearly as cold.”

  Becca nodded and shivered as tiny bumps scattered across her flesh. She’d been so shamelessly single-minded she hadn’t noticed.

  Seth pushed himself up and stood, turning away to reach for a towel. Tiny rivers ran down his body and into the tub as her eyes traced every curve and valley from his shoulders to his knees.

  A wonderful panic swept through her. Electrifying. Exciting. She lifted her gaze and swallowed when it met his.

  He tucked the towel around his waist, then held out a hand. “Stand up.” His eyes were dark with want again, and his voice was husky and low.

  Becca placed her hand in his and rose from the milky water. She held her breath as her husband’s gaze swept over her, then crossed her arms over herself.

  As if pulling himself from a trance, Seth slicked the water from his hair and reached for another towel. He draped it around her shoulders and drew her into a warm embrace. Heat blazed from his skin like a blacksmith’s furnace. No wonder he was shrouded in wisps of white vapor.

  “I love you, Rebecca,” he said as he loosened his hold enough to see her face. “I’m not worthy of you, but I’m glad you chose me anyhow.”

  She opened her mouth to argue and he claimed it with his own. The same emotions she’d heard in his voice invaded his kiss. All at once he was tender and fierce—his mouth both asking and demanding.

  His soapy scent assailed her senses. His tongue entwined with hers as his hand splayed against her back and pressed her body more firmly to his. He clung to the kiss a few moments more, then tore his lips away.

  Seth rubbed his hands along the cloth he’d draped over her and blotted the water from her body, but she barely felt it. Her hot, swollen lips had the bulk of her attention. She’d never dreamed a kiss could feel like that.

  “Step out of the tub,” he said, offering his hand once more so she wouldn’t fall.

  Using a third towel, he dried himself off, then patted dry the parts of her that hers didn’t cover while she stood there like a fool, too dazed to care for herself.

  He studied her for a moment, then picked up the lamp and led her by the hand around the screen. “The clerk said they wouldn’t need the tub till morning. They won’t be coming back tonight.”

  Seth set the lamp on the bedside table and bent to blow it out.

  “Don’t.”

  He straightened back up. “I thought you’d be more comfortable without the light.”

  “I’ve spent the last two years in the dark—at night, anyway. I’m tired of being at the mercy of the sun. Can we leave it on? Please?”

  “Of course, we can. Want me to turn the flame up?”

  “No. Just leave it high enough it doesn’t go out.”

  He grinned. “You got it, Mrs. Emerson.”

  “Mrs. Emerson... I like the sound of that.”

  A glaze of sober intensity replaced his smile. “I pray there will never be a time when you don’t.”

  Seized by a sudden bout of nerves, Becca glanced around the room. Her frilly nightgown still hung over the screen. “I should put on my gown.”

  “Suit yourself, but you won’t be in it long enough to make it worth the effort.”

  She looked up at him through her lashes. His grin was back.

  Seth’s expression softened. He leaned down and touched his lips to hers as gently as the first time they’d kissed. His mouth left hers and he planted a kiss on her nose and her forehead, his warm breath stirring the tiny hairs on her skin.

  Drawing away, he reached for her hair. He carefully withdrew the pins and laid them aside. Once all of them had been removed, he ran his fingers through her hair and gazed into her eyes as the wavy locks fell loosely about her shoulders.

  Seth brushed a strand of hair back away from her face. His finger touched her skin with a stroke so light, she wouldn’t have believed it possible from a man his size if she hadn’t felt it herself. It traveled down her temple, over the curve of her cheek, and along her jaw, his eyes following the slow, deliberate movement. When his caress reached the side of her chin, the pad of his thumb grazed her lips. He turned his wrist and his index finger warmed a path from one corner of her mouth to the other, along the plump, ridged bow.

  His attention lingered there as his hand fell away. She lifted her fac
e, anticipating a kiss, but he didn’t meet her halfway. She withdrew, uncertain.

  “This night will change you, Becca. I’ll love the woman you become, but I also want to remember you as you are... the way your skin turns the color of a rose at the slightest touch... the way your eyes shine with trust and curiosity and optimism. I know you probably don’t understand, but thank you for indulging me this.” He released her to turn back the covers, and a battle with herself ensued. She wanted to wrap herself in a hundred towels and never turn loose her grip. But another part of her longed to feel her husband’s skin against hers.

  Drawing a bolstering breath, Becca dropped her towel to the floor. She scrambled into bed and dove under the covers—as much from the cold as from nerves. Seth followed quickly after and burrowed nearly as deep. The heavy quilts sealed them in, and the scent of sun-dried cotton surrounded them.

  “You’re hands are like ice,” he said. “Snuggle up to me so I can warm you.” He tucked her fingers in the valley of his chest and drew her close, enveloping her in his arms so they were facing each other. One last shiver left her as she melted against his hot skin.

  The feel of their bodies touching from head to toe without clothing in between was even better than she’d dreamed it would be. “Mmm. Heaven.”

  Seth chuckled. “Not yet, but soon.”

  Becca ducked her head into the hollow of his neck.

  “Are your nervous?”

  “A little.”

  He hooked a finger under her chin and urged her to lift her face. “Seems like more than a little. Want to talk about it?”

  Not really.

  He pinned her with his gaze, wouldn’t let up.

  Looking everywhere but his eyes, she forced out barely audible words. “I don’t know what to do.”

  “Look at me, Becca.” It was difficult, but she did. “We can talk about things first if it’ll make you feel better, but there’s really nothing you need to do.” His thumb caressed her cheek, and then he pressed a kiss to her lips. Sweet. Undemanding. “We’ll take it slow. You do whatever you feel like doing and tell me if you don’t like something I do. Okay?”

  “Okay.”

  Seth swept her hair aside and caressed her neck. “My body is yours, now, and yours is mine.” He pressed his lips to the sensitive patch of skin just below her ear. “God gave you to me to enjoy... for us to discover each other. This is the way it’s supposed to be.”

  Rolling her to her back, he lifted her hand to his lips and planted a kiss on her palm. Then he eased her arms aside, baring her chest to him, and gently traced the swell of one breast. When he pressed a trail of kisses along the path his finger had made, she could hardly keep still.

  “Every part of you... is beautiful,” he said between soft brushes of his lips. He traced his finger over her skin again, then skimmed the peak and curve of her breast with his palm, as if he were admiring a coveted possession. “Ever since that day in the spring, the image of your body has been seared like a brand on my mind. All I could think about was running my hands over your bare skin, touching you and kissing you in places I could only dream about.” He pressed his nose to her flesh and inhaled deeply, his eyes closed in the most exquisite look of tortured bliss. “You’re perfect—you’re all I need.”

  Scooting lower, Seth slid his arm under her pillow and drew her nipple into his mouth. A jolt of pleasure shot through her like a flash of summer lightning. With each tug and swirl of his tongue, heat sizzled to the deepest parts of her. It wasn’t long until she felt the sensations more down low than at her breast where he actually was. “Seth, please.”

  He lifted his head. “Want me to stop?”

  No. Gosh, no. Becca shook her head.

  He planted a kiss on her nose, then went for her other nipple.

  “Oh.” That made it worse. Better. Whatever. Just— “Ohhhh.” She felt him smile against her skin. She also felt him grow hard against her hip. Harder than ever before.

  Her body sobered.

  Seth lifted his head. “You all right, Becca? I’m not being too rough, am I?”

  “Yes— I mean no. I mean... it feels good.” Why did saying that make her feel so decadent?

  Seth’s electric blue gaze locked with hers. It slid to her lips and his mouth followed. He nibbled a few times, then tilted his head and deepened the kiss.

  She didn’t resist. She opened for him automatically and anticipated his strokes as he moved. Her hands reached for his head, and her fingers threaded through his silky hair.

  His kiss grew urgent and he arched into her, pressing his shaft into her hip until it hurt. His whole body was taut, so hot it burned like fire.

  He tore his lips from hers and buried his face in her neck, panting. As he nipped from her ear to the curve of her shoulder, his hand cupped her breast and his thumb brushed her beaded nipple. Sparks shot to her core again, and that strange liquid heat pooled low. Becca moaned.

  Seth closed his mouth over her breast once more. He drew and drew on her sensitive nipple until she thought she’d go mad, and then his hand flattened over her stomach and slid downward until his fingers brushed her patch of curls. He lifted his head, meeting her hooded eyes with his as his fingers parted her folds.

  Becca longed to close her eyes and hide from the soul-baring intensity of his regard, but she couldn’t. The intimacy of doing such a thing face to face was as intoxicating as it was disconcerting.

  The dark centers of Seth’s eyes expanded and his fingers began to move. Just like before, he started slow, then gradually increased his ministrations until she was defenseless against him. Utterly and totally defenseless. Her legs parted of their own accord and her hands fisted the sheets.

  “That’s it, Becca. Open for me.” His fingers slowed to a stop, leaving her bereft.

  “Don’t stop,” she moaned. She was shocked at her own desperation, but she wanted him too much to care.

  He pressed a flat hand over her curls and made a few slow circles, but it wasn’t enough. Her hips rose to no avail. He drew her nipple into his mouth again, somewhat banking her fire, then his hand slid lower and his finger slipped inside.

  Her thighs clamped together and her muscles clenched like steel around his hand. It didn’t hurt, but she hadn’t expected it.

  “Relax,” he murmured. “Open your legs.”

  When she did, he slid his finger in and swept it side to side. The movement felt good, mostly, but in a different way than before—the sensations satisfying, but not as intense.

  Seth withdrew his finger almost all the way and added a second. As he pushed them in together, her skin stretched uncomfortably. Air hissed through her teeth and he stilled.

  He removed the second finger and touched her point of pleasure with his thumb, this time giving the place the attention it needed. She relaxed and her muscles eventually squeezed his finger of their own accord.

  Her pulse began to pound and her world began to shrink. She was losing touch with everything but the blessed torment inside—her pleasure building. She could hear herself moaning, but she couldn’t make herself stop.

  Seth took his hand away.

  “Nooo,” she whimpered.

  “Trust me, Becca.” His words were gentle, but his voice was husky again.

  He slid his arm from beneath her pillow and knelt between her parted thighs. Scooting closer, he sat back on his heels and draped her legs over his.

  He leaned forward and kissed her, slow and deep, then he sat back again and reached for the place that ached for his touch.

  The fingers of one hand started rubbing her again while a finger of the other slid inside. The position she was in—so open to him—and his hands working together set her ablaze. It wasn’t long until she was writhing against him, begging and calling out his name.

  A second finger went in, stretching her even more, but she no longer cared. Pleasure overrode pain. A few more moments and she’d be there—shudders rippling through her body like before. Just a little longer...
a little more...

  A cry of release slipped out as her body fell into a storm of pleasure.

  Seth wrung every drop of ecstasy from her, making her clench his fingers over and over. When she finally went limp, his hands left her completely and her eyes flew open. He was hovering over her, his gaze locked with hers. Hot and firm, his shaft pressed into her, confirming her suspicions. She tensed against the intrusion.

  “Trust me,” he murmured again.

  Becca held his gaze and searched his eyes. She’d trusted him with her future. And, on the trail, with her very life. She could trust him with this.

  She willed her body to soften to him.

  The stretching sensation returned as he started to enter her. She gripped his shoulders and scrunched up her face.

  Seth stilled. His rock-hard body shook—the lust in his eyes betraying his patience—but he didn’t rush, didn’t drive himself into her like she knew he wanted to. She relaxed again.

  He pushed all the way in.

  Becca gasped, more from surprise than from pain.

  Seth drew a tremulous breath. He levered himself above her, his lips tight and a faint line between his brows cast in shadow. He slid slowly out and eased back in, filling her until she ached. “Ahh, Becca,” he groaned. “You feel so good.” His eyes drifted closed and shudder rippled through him as he withdrew and filled her again. “Good... so good.”

  This joining, it was good. By the third slow thrust, she’d grown accustomed to him.

  He moved within her a few times more, and then he opened his eyes and looked at her, his gaze taking hers in, questioning.

  Heaven. He was right. It was heaven.

  She pulled his face to hers with both hands and kissed him hard. “Don’t stop,” she rasped into his luscious mouth. “Please, don’t stop.”

  Passion flared in his eyes, darkening them even more in the flickering lamplight.

  Taking his weight on his elbows, Seth gripped her shoulders and gave himself over to his want. She could see it in his face as he moved. His hooded eyes drifted closed, and she knew he was nearing the edge just like she had—his world shrinking and his focus centered on the place where their bodies joined.