Bath Time

Chapter 1

I took a deep quivering breath the moment before I stuck my toes into the steaming hot water. It took a nearly inhuman effort for me to not stare at the gorgeous man who was already sitting in the water, his broad chest above the line of water and his bent legs parted and resting against either side of the tub. I eyed the small space that was unoccupied; doubting that even my small body could fit there and then inspiration hit me, fueled by the utter exhaustion taking over my body after the day's tiring exertions on the practice field. All I wanted was to alleviate the growing ache in my muscles and all thought to modesty fled my mind as I sat down and eased between Gajeel's thickly muscled thighs. My backside settled intimately against his groin and I could feel his body tense up when I wiggled slightly to get more comfortable. My back relaxed against his torso, my head rolling back to rest beneath his chin and against his chest.

God it felt so good!

I closed my eyes, absorbing the feeling of the stinging hot water on my skin and the deliciously hot man beneath me. His elbows rested on the rim of the tub, his hands floating over the surface and I felt him shift slightly, adjusting our position so that we slid deeper into the water. The bathing suits we were wearing served to do very little besides keep certain parts from being fully in contact with one another and other than that, I could feel every hard inch of his torso against my back.

One of his hands lifted out of the water and nervously patted my exposed knee, saying beside my ear, "Relaxed now, Shrimp? Told ya you'd like it once you were in." He chuckled, the familiar laugh that I couldn't help but find absolutely adorable echoing around the room and his entire body rumbled with the effort. "Just don't fall asleep on me yet," he said quietly, leaning back against the tub and once again adjusting my body over his so that I didn't slide off of him.

Despite the intimate position, my body was completely at ease, lounging back as one of his arms settled around my waist, holding me in place. I was so tired but my senses were rapidly coming awake, my brain registering every subtle movement of his body.

My hands reached out and rested on his thighs beneath the water, my palms half on his bathing trunks and half on bare skin. "Thank you, Gajeel," I mumbled, truly thankful for his suggestion of taking a bath.

He grunted an unintelligible word in response and then it went silent.

We sat there for several minutes, neither one of us willing to move and my body started to wake up from its exhaustive slumber, lust beginning to filter through my veins. I wanted to rub my hands up and down his body, along his sides and over his hips. My fingers started to dig slightly into his skin but I quickly snatched them away and crossed my arms over my chest when I realized what I was doing. Calm down Levy. It's just a bath.

My body was tense, every inch of skin which was in contact with his thrumming with electric pulses. He shifted once again in the tub, his arm tightening around my waist and an involuntary groan slipped from my lips at the contact. He stiffened behind me and then a moment later pulled me tighter against him. I let me arms slide off my chest, my fingers falling back against his thighs. I heard him release a long, quiet sigh and I simply couldn't help myself… I started to move my fingers over him, making tiny circles over his skin. His breathing sped up ever so slightly, making me bolder as my tiny motions became sensual caresses.

"Gajeel?" I said quietly, still teasing the tops of his thighs with my fingertips.

"Hmm?" he answered, his own fingers starting to move over my stomach.

"Can we practice together again tomorrow?" I asked, rolling my head to the side and looking up at him.

"Sure shrimp," he answered.

Both of his arms were now in the water, wrapped around my waist. They moved slowly, up and down my sides, lingering over my hips. Desire coursed thick and hot through my body, making me want to grind against him. I let my hands slide lower, stroking the flesh just above his swim trunks. The tips of my fingers slipped just beneath the wet fabric, eliciting an audible gasp from his lips. Lust overwhelmed me, my exhaustion from earlier completely vanishing. All the erotic novels I'd read came floating into my mind and I realized that none of them could do the feelings pounding through my body justice… wait, books

Suddenly I remembered something and cursed, sitting up abruptly and causing Gajeel to release his hold on me. "I forgot about Lucy!"

I turned around, my body still between his legs and looked up at him. "I was supposed to help her this evening. I gotta go!" I said, balancing myself with my hands on his knees and standing up. Lucy was going to kill me! "Thank you so much for the bath!" I jumped out of the tub and grabbed a nearby towel off of a stool, rubbing myself off quickly and then threw my dress over my head.

"Bye!" I said as I ran out of Gajeels house and made my way to town. He hadn't said a word…

"You what!?" Lucy exclaimed, taking a seat in her large, overstuffed chair and turning slightly to face me. I was sitting on one of the wooden seats at her table, fidgeting nervously with a torn piece of paper, folding it over and over again in my hands.

"I-I took a bath with Gajeel," I repeated and saying it a second time didn't lessen the intensity of the blush that stained my cheeks.

"Did anything happen?" she asked.

Immediately my thoughts went to the little teasing game our hands had been playing and before I could mumble a reply, Lucy squealed, "Oh my God! You did!"

"No! Shhhh," I said, covering my lips with my finger. "Really, we didn't. At least… not really."

"Levy you gotta tell me," Lucy said, a huge smile plastered on to her face.

Once again my face flamed what I was sure was a brilliant shade of red and I started to rip the tiny piece of paper in my hands, the pieces cluttering the table. "Well umm, I sat in his lap and…"

"You sat in his lap?!" Lucy cut in, her eyes wide.

"Err, yea. And then we just kind of… touched each other."

Lucy gasped and leaned forward in her seat. "Where?"

The piece of paper was now completely shredded and I dropped the rest of the scraps on the table. "Nowhere bad. Just his legs and umm, my stomach."

"Eeks! That's so hot!" Lucy said excitedly and just at that moment, Natsu came crawling through the window along with Happy.

"What's hot?" Natsu asked, not bothering to say hi as he walked straight to Lucy's kitchen.

"Natsu!" Lucy screamed angrily. "What are you doing here?"

"We're hungry," he answered and I could see him through the kitchen doorway grabbing an armful of food from Lucy's refrigerator.

"Then go grocery shopping," she said and I could see that she wasn't really angry. There was way too much affection between them for her to ever truly get mad at Natsu.

"Levy, I heard you were practicing with Gajeel all day," Happy said, bouncing into the main room and climbing up on Lucy's bed.

"Who told you that?" I asked.

"Lilly told me. Are you guys in loooove?" he asked and for the 100th time that night my face flushed.

"Shut up you stupid cat," thankfully Lucy said since I couldn't think of anything to say.

I watched Natsu take a seat beside Lucy and start chowing down on the mountain of food he'd taken out. "Did you need any more help?" I asked, picking up the tiny pieces of torn paper off of the table and standing up to throw them out.

"Nah, I think I'm good for now. I'll start outlining the next chapter and let you know when I finish," she answered while elbowing Natsu in the ribs when he dropped a piece of food on the floor. "Pick it up."

I walked to the front door and opened it, "Cya guys!" I hollered before I walked through and closed it behind me. As I made my way home, my thoughts inevitably went back to my time in the bath with Gajeel and my body reacted as if I was still there, goose bumps rising on my flesh and tingles running up and down my spine. A part of me wanted to go back to his place, the lure so strong that I almost started walking in that direction but I fought the urge and headed home. I had no excuse to go back there.

A bit later I lay in bed, the book I'd been trying to read lying face down next to me while I stared up at the shadowed ceiling. My thoughts wandered, thinking about the next day and how I was going to be able to spend nearly the entire day with him… though most of it was going to be practicing. No matter what we did though it was always thrilling, my body and mind alive with excitement whenever he was near.

An image of him lying in the tub after I'd gotten out pasted itself in my mind. His long black hair had floated like ink spilt into a cup of water around his back and sides and his chest…mmm, his chest had been covered in a thin sheen of sweat or water, tiny rivers of liquid trailing down his broad form. I'd been able to clearly make out his body beneath the line of water, his torso angling down into a sexy V shape, tapering into erotically narrow hips which I'd been able to press myself against.

My body shuddered, heat pooling low in my belly. I wanted him… I wanted him badly. If only I'd been able to stay a little bit longer; if only I'd been able to see where our questing hands would have taken us...

I shook my head and tried to calm my restless thoughts. At least I had tomorrow.

I decided to try and go to bed, hoping that sleep would make the next morning come quicker. I picked up my discarded book and placed in on the bedside table, shut off the lamp there and then slid beneath the covers of my bed. Unfortunately it wasn't very easy to fall asleep and I ended up laying there for what felt like hours, my mind going over and over the events of the evening. When I finally did fall asleep, even my dreams were haunted by images of Gajeels gorgeous wet body surrounding my own so that when I woke up the next morning I was still tired and cranky, frustration rankling my nerves.

I walked up the hill towards the spot where Gajeel and I had practiced the day before, huffing and puffing as I concentrated on placing one foot in front of the other. Why did he insist on training in such far off places?

I reached the summit, bending forward and placing my hands on my knees as I took in deep breaths. Damn him for making me tired before we even start! When I finally caught my breath I looked up and spotted Gajeel about thirty feet away doing push-ups, his shirt lying on the ground beside him and when I approached him he stood up and I nearly gasped at the sight, my mouth falling open as I struggled to remind myself to breathe.

Wow, he was hot!

Moisture beaded over his perfect skin and several strands of raven hair plastered themselves to his forehead as he grinned at me in that way that made my insides quiver.

"Hey shrimp," he greeted me, standing akimbo and bringing to focus his pants which hung deliciously off his thin hips.

"H- Hi," I croaked back, swallowing the dry lump in my throat.

"You ready to start?" he asked and a surge of renewed energy awakened my body.

I stood straight and looked up at him, "I'm ready."Heck yea I was ready!

To be continued…