Page 61 of Reckless Kiss
I collapsed and rolled to the side. “You. Shower. Now.” There was no way I was letting that fantasy go now. I washed her carefully. Slowly. Enjoying every single inch of her skin. And then I pleased her with my fingers and mouth, waiting until she was trembling before I lifted her up against the wall and made her dreams a reality.
“So the way I see it,” she sighed as she settled face down in bed. Naked. “You going out of town makes us both sad and needy, but the up side is that you come home as a caveman and fulfill all my fantasies. Did I get that right?”
She almost—almost—made traveling for work sound manageable again. “Yeah, that about sums it up.”
She snuggled into the pillow and closed her eyes. “Then I guess you can travel sometimes.”
“Sometimes?” I danced my fingers over her ticklish spots and soaked up the sight of her smile.
“Yeah.Sometimes.I missed you.” Her voice took on a very soft, very vulnerable quality that made me sit up and pay attention.
This wasn’t some offhand remark.
It was a confession.
“I missed you so much, Esme.” I ran my hands over her hair and down her back, over and over. “What did you do while I was gone?”
“You mean besides have shower fantasies?” She peeked at me.
“Besides that. What did you do with your time?” Yes I was sex crazed at the moment but I really did want to know everything I missed because...well, I craved to know everything about her.
“I mostly worked. I’m so behind at the lab right now. Someone’s been distracting me.”
An unhealthy amount of my pride was pleased to hear she spent her downtime in the lab. “You work too much.”
“Says the man who takes work calls at midnight. And two in the morning. And four. And six.”
“It’s my job. Time zones and late night arrests don’t care that we’re in bed asleep.” I slid down so we were lying side by side. “I love my job. Does it bother you?” What if she hated the travel and the late night calls? What if she demanded I change jobs?
I don’t know why I worried. Esme had never been that kind of girlfriend.
“No Leo.” She yawned. “I love how much you enjoy your work but you have to understand...I love my work too. I know it has some long hours and it might seem boring to you, but it excites me. It doesn’t feel like work.”
Now this I could understand because even though being an agent was unconventional and probably pretty odd to most people, it made me feel alive. I loved working with athletes, their personalities and hopes and dreams. I got off on negotiating contracts. And until now, I’d always enjoyed the travel.
“I’m jealous.”
She blinked her sleepy eyes open. “What?”
I shrugged because it was embarrassing to realize why I wanted to fight her on her work hours. “I’m jealous of your work, I think. You enjoy it. I want all your enjoyment. You spend your time there. I want all your time. It has a part of you that I want all to myself.”
Her lips formed a sexy “o” shape as her eyes softened. “I understand. I’m jealous too.”
That soothed some of my possessiveness. “At least we feel the same way.” I went back to stroking her bare skin. “Don’t fall asleep yet. I’m not ready to be apart again.” Not even for sleep.
She smiled and sighed but didn’t open her eyes, so I nuzzled her neck and placed soft nibbles along the muscle that ran from her neck to her shoulder. Yes, it was incredibly selfish of me to keep her awake when she clearly needed to sleep but...not yet.
Not yet.
I need more time.
“What did you want to be when you grew up? What did little Esme dream about?”
“I wanted to be a witch,” she whispered, her voice growing softer and further away with each word. “I wanted magical powers and to find out I was really the daughter of an ancient line of witches and warlocks, that my parents weren’t really my parents. My real parents would come get me, teach me about my powers, and I’d save the world.” She sighed again and this time I knew she was almost asleep. “Silly kid dreams.”
But they weren’t silly at all. I kept brushing her hair until she was in a deep sleep as I told her about mine. “I wanted to be Superman. I wanted to fly and be stronger than anyone on the planet. You were right about me; I do have a hero complex. I dreamt that one day I’d swoop in and save the girl.” I brushed a gentle kiss to her forehead. “I want to be your hero.”
I pulled the covers over us and curled my body as close to hers as I could before I drifted off into a deep sleep filled with Esme, dark alleys, and villains I couldn’t see.
