Given the times they already kissed, Anna considered the possibility that such an event would cease to be that, an event, on repetition. But when John's weight pushed her against the back wall of the elevator as one of his hands smoothed along the line of her jaw to the back of her neck to hold her in place so he could control their kiss… Anna knew it would never cease to be an event. Not when each kiss John gave her held the energy of someone performing a not only desirable act but one about which they held the utmost respect and passion.
It took everything in Anna's body not to sink into the kiss. She wanted to. Wanted to give over to it and ruck up her skirt so John could take her against the wall. But the half-second of warning the lift gave as it slowed to their floor offered the moment John needed to break the kiss. The sliver of eternity Anna knew would not be nearly enough to lie to whomever might stand on the other side of the open doors about what they did in the lift.
But they would attempt it anyway.
Luckily for them, and what Anna suspected was John's professional dignity, no one waited for them. Even with no one else in the corridor John displayed no outward affection toward her, keeping his hands out of reach of hers while staying maddeningly close to her. The whirring cogs of her imagination wondered if the thrill running through her blood came because she could literally sense the heat from him. True or false, fact of fiction, myth or founded theory, Anna believed it.
Believed it as John used his key to open the door to their room. Believed it as he closed and locked it behind them. And heartily succumbed to it when John's hand finally caught hers to twirl her toward him.
Perhaps, the part of her brain still trying to rationalize the situation in which she found herself and the enigma of the man before her postulated, everything with John was an event because he made it that way. While so many men would leap and bound toward something with no moments to consider the significance of it, John analyzed every angle. Each moment crucial and important because he knew the value in a split-second decision. Maybe, she wondered as his fingers slowly caressed hers as if he had not snogged her practically senseless in the lift mere moments before, it was valuable to him because she found him valuable.
Or, maybe, what drew her to him drew him to her in a self-perpetuating cycle.
Or, the part of her brain that wanted to enjoy the possibility that the man who kissed every thought away would do so again, she should sodding shut up and enjoy the moment before her.
Anna chose the second option.
John's caress of her fingers, the slow massage of her hand, left Anna sighing in his hold. Her breathing slowed and her eyes fluttered shut, as if depriving herself of one sense and minimizing the other would allow her to bask more fully in the joy of the sensation of adoration clearly communicated through the gentle strokes of John's calloused fingers over her skin. Or, there was a chance that if her eyes were opened she might seize the moment from him and ruin it.
Because she would rush it. The thrum of blood in her ears blocked out all other sounds and drove her skin to practically itch. She wanted to act on it. She wanted him.
But that would rush it. That would ruin it. And when John's lips traced over the skin of her hand, in what amounted to a period drama level of affection, Anna wanted nothing less than to ruin it. She would wait whatever fraction of eternity it took for John to kiss her again if he could twist her higher and higher just kissing her hand.
Not that it hurt in the slightest that she remembered every vivid detail of his actions the night before. Or her own. And those thoughts, the promises inherent in them and John's motions now, grounded Anna enough to allow her to open her eyes.
In the dark of the room, lit only by the glow of the street lights through the barely covered window, Anna could still catch the glint in John's eyes. Could appreciate the vastness of him compared to her. And could allow her breath to catch when he finally closed the distance between them to put his lips back on hers.
He still only held her hand. Barely a breath of air could have passed between them but that distance could have been a field for as much as Anna wanted to align herself to him. But she held back. Held back to enjoy the promised pleasure lying in the game of delayed gratification John played when he deepened their kiss. For with his hand holding hers, and without breaking their kiss, John steered her backward until the backs of her legs hit the bed. Only then did John close the distance between them.
The press of John's body to hers, the way his feet moved to either side of hers to practically encase her in his hold, left Anna molding to John. Left her hands sliding over the lapels of his tuxedo to curl her fingers in the sturdy material to hold herself against him. And gave her reason to push onto her tiptoes, as much as her heels would allow, to try and steer the kiss where she wanted it to go.
And John let her. The hand not holding hers went to the back of Anna's neck and his thumb brushed the underside of her jaw toward her ear as he secured his hold before his grip firmed. They both shifted, trying to move and contort in a small space, to better maneuver into their kiss until John broke it. His chest pressed back into Anna's, his ragged breathing matching hers, and his hand finally dropped hers.
"I'd like to do more than kiss you, Ms. Smith."
"On one condition," Anna ran her tongue over her lips, "You have to call me 'Anna' before you do."
John smiled and leaned forward, the whisper of air he let out as he spoke in her ear leaving Anna shivering. "I want to lay you back on this bed, strip you naked, and love you until neither of us can move if you'll allow it… Anna."
She turned her face to meet his lips and bent backward. Only John's swift reaction saved them from a potentially disastrous tumble onto the bed but, with one hand at her waist and the other splayed onto the duvet, they landed to a gentle spring of the mattress under them. The motion only broke their kiss the second they spared for a laugh before Anna tried to devour John's mouth.
It was all she allowed herself to do. Anything else might interfere with his plan and there was nothing Anna wanted more. A fact her body betrayed as it moved almost of its own accord in trying to hurry John along toward his goal, as if afraid that without constant urging he might forget his commitment.
But John slowed them.
First, he slowed their kiss from frantic, almost savage, kisses to gentle explorations of Anna's mouth. She followed suit, matching his motions with moans and whimpers when John bit at her lip or ran his tongue along hers before ending the kisses quicker than she wanted him to. But with his body aligned so closely with hers and his hand at her hip edging up the bodice of her dress she could only sink deeper into the pleasure he offered without a word.
Next, John's hands moved in opposite directions. One dragged down Anna's bodice to caress her ass for a moment before running to her thigh. His grip firmed and he pulled her leg to his hip to better wrap around him. It also allowed him to fit into the cradle of her hips and grind slightly against her.
Anna keened into their kiss at that. And keened again when John's other hand, already inching upward, traced the bodice of her dress. The gentlest of touches left Anna squirming into his hold, as if she could force him to move faster or touch her more. But John left his hold light until Anna least expected it. When he kneaded at her breasts through her dress, Anna broke their kiss to cry out.
It was John's third move. Anna's break of their kiss gave him the moment he needed to leave a trail of kisses along her next instead. Kisses he trailed lower and lower until he retraced the work of his fingers along the bodice of her dress. And he did not stop there as his lips continued to the valley between her breasts and took advantage of whatever skin he could reach.
Whatever the fourth step in John's plan might have been, Anna did not allow him to reach it. With her fingers buried in the hair at the back of his head, Anna lifted his head from her skin to kiss desperately at his lips. The move caught John off guard and Anna used the second to sit up enough to reach the back of her dress.
But before her fingers could struggle the zipper of her dress down, John's hands covered hers. With a swing of his leg, John dismounted the bed and brought Anna up with him. He kissed her quickly, drawing it out as long as possible before breaking away, and brought his hands around to the back of Anna's dress. There, almost delicately, John dragged the zipper down with one hand while the other trailed his fingers on the newly exposed skin.
At one point Anna almost turned, as if to make it easier, but John closed the distance between them so he could watch her until he ran out of zipper. The lack of sleeves on her dress proved a boon as Anna raised her hands to John's face, stroking along the line of his jaw and cheekbones before pulling his head into a kiss while his hands divested her of her dress. It ran down her body, leaving her shivering for an instant, and pooled at her feet.
Anna stopped their kiss, pulling back from John to step free of the dress, and bent to pick it up. But John dropped to his knees first and gathered the dress with one hand while the other landed at her hip. His fingers ran over her skin, as if debating where to touch her next, before John rose to his feet again.
"I wouldn't want to ruin this."
"It's replaceable."
"All the same." John stepped away, hanging up the dress and removing his jacket and shoes before he came back to Anna's side. "You're ahead of me."
"I did warn you." Anna sat back on the bed, lounging back onto her elbows as she watched John. "I thought the information would entice you."
"It certainly did that." John leaned over her, his hands landing on either side of her hips to almost bring their mouths together. "I've never been that close to publicly embarrassing myself before."
"Never?"
"Never." John's voice lowered, "You make my job very difficult, Ms. Smith."
"Are we back to formalities now?"
"It's a term of respect," John's eyes met hers. "And I respect no one more than I respect you, Anna."
"Then don't make me wait anymore." Anna's fingers found the buttons on John's waistcoat and tugged him forward. "I'm so tired of waiting."
"Me too."
John's kiss was far less controlled now. With her fingers fumbling and slipping, Anna finally managed both John's waistcoat and his shirt before he undid his cuffs to toss both articles of clothing behind him with far less attention than he paid her dress. It only allowed Anna to smile into their kiss before she tugged the tie from around his neck, skewed as it was from the rough removal of John's shirt. It fell to the floor beside the bed as John's hands settled on Anna's hips and his kiss moved from her lips toward her neck again.
They writhed and slipped against one another, the snap of John's belt breaking them apart for only the moment it required for John to remove it and his trousers. He still wore his boxers but before Anna could help with their removal, John's mouth settled on her breasts and even the part of her brain still trying to think lost all wars on that front. There was simply nothing to do but curl around any part of John's she could reach while her fingers clawed through his hair and over his shoulders for purchase. Purchase almost lost when John's fingers delved between her legs to leave her quivering under the dueling sources of pleasure he gave her.
Anna's back arched when John's fingers crooked and deepened inside her, memorizing the strokes she enjoyed between tweaks of her clit. And she left scratches over John's shoulders when his tongue traced around her nipple between pulling one into his mouth. The repeat of the move on her other breast did little to prepare her for the sensations only heightened when John's thumb pressed at her clit in time with the motion. And when John perfected the duality of the sensations playing over Anna's body like an orchestra she tightened down to her core before releasing.
The rise and fall of her chest, her lungs expanding as much as they possibly could to fill with air so she could even attempt to slow the thunder of her heart in her chest, left Anna boneless on the bed. Even the gentle kisses and touches of John moving over her body were nothing but pleasant reminders. Reminders that turned into a second round when John's lips found her swollen folds and ran his tongue between them. Even despite the tight clench of Anna's thighs around his head, practically boxing John's ears, he continued.
If past proved prologue, than even John's fantastic efforts the night before were a tease. A preview of greater things to come. Things he offered when he shifted to put one of Anna's legs over his shoulder and ignored the dig of her heel into his back when his fingers and tongue delved deeper into her. Pleasure he sought as if there were an undiscovered country on the other side of Anna's next orgasm when he kissed and sucked her through her second one of the evening. And he only allowed himself to move away when Anna trembled and quivered through a third release his mouth and fingers offered with a final kiss just above the clit John sucked red.
Collapsing back into the bed was almost useless given she was sure she left her body somewhere on another plane of existence. But Anna managed to tilt her neck enough to watch John as he stood. The sight of his bare ass allowed a surge of adrenaline to run through Anna so she could lift herself up onto her forearms to better view John. And even the glint of the metal of his leg was nothing but a fascination as John sat on the edge of the bed to unlatch the contraption from his thigh and roll the protective sock to the floor. He pivoted and stood before her, leaning forward so the stump of his thigh rested on the bed.
Anna ran her eyes over what she could see, which was not much in the dark, and finally met John's eyes. "I do hope you're not taking that pose to scare me."
"Why would I do that?"
"In case you thought I'd change my mind." Anna sat up, her fingers dancing over the scar tissue for a second before running to John's hip while her eyes never left his. "I've not, by the way."
"I wouldn't think otherwise."
"Good." Anna paused, her fingers close to the far more interesting part of John for the evening, "Have you had a change of heart?"
"Given the evidence you're so close to feeling for yourself," John leaned down, crawling forward and allowing Anna to lay back in direction proportion to his advance. "I think we can both say I'll perform admirably."
"Me too." Anna paused, her fingers running just over John's skin so he shivered and scrunched his eyes closed. "No bad memories get to ruin tonight."
"None at all." One of John's hands found its familiar place at the back of Anna's neck. "Only good memories here."
"Only good memories." Anna agreed and brought their lips together as John's other hand raised her right leg to his left hip as he positioned himself.
It took another second, and a slight adjustment, for John to enter her. They both stopped, Anna gasping to end the kiss, and rocked together to bring their bodies fully together. Two thrusts later and John sat fully inside Anna but did not move as they both struggled to breath past the sensation for a moment.
However, the second Anna's nails dug into John's side and she surged to take his mouth into a kiss again, there was no stopping it. For the push-and-pull of the evening, the moment itself proved far more chaotic than the earlier seductions. They merged and moved, trying to find their rhythm as they learned one another differently than they had before until their bodies established the proper form. Then they gave over to it.
Anna curled around John, her ankles locking behind his ass while one hand took purchase there. Her other hand formed along John's jaw to try and control their kiss as he guided their bodies together. Their slip and slide together, struggling for breath between increasingly desperate kisses, allowed them to find the angles and depth that left them both crying out a short time later.
They arranged themselves, eventually settled so John's left side was on the bed as they faced one another, and John brought Anna's hand to his mouth to kiss the back of it. "Was it everything you'd hoped for, Ms. Smith?"
Anna snorted her laugh into the pillow for a moment before leaning forward to kiss John. "It was better, Mr. Bates."
"You're making fun of me."
"It is funny." Anna scooted closer to John, her fingers running a trail of his chest and wishing she explored him as thoroughly as he explored her on their first go-round. "After what you've done to me this evening, and yesterday evening, you'd think we'd be on far more familiar terms now."
"I did call you 'Anna' twice tonight."
"Should I start a tally and cross-reference it with what happens in the bedroom to figure out what I've got to do to you so you call me by my first name?" Anna teased, poking at John's shoulder before kissing him again. She hummed into it, spinning it out until she needed air. "Because I'd do it you know. I'm very good with numbers and metrics. I enjoy finding patterns in things."
"Are you looking for a pattern in me, Ms. Smith." John let the last syllable stretch before grinning at her.
"Do I need to?"
"Do you want to?"
"Maybe." Anna shrugged a shoulder, "I think it would be fun to figure out the patterns inherent in you, John."
"If there's one there," John closed his eyes, settling into the bed, "Please tell me what it is. I'd be curious to see what you'd find out about me."
"Why's that?" Anna's finger traced over the contours of John's face, stopping only when he opened his eyes. "Do you not think there's something to find?"
"I'm just curious what you'd find."
"So am I." Anna kissed him one more time before pushing herself out of bed. "But I already know I won't be disappointed."
"I'd rather hope not." John moved to his back as Anna headed to the bathroom. "Because I rather enjoyed what happened and I'd like to do it again."
Anna paused, leaning around the corner to stare at him. "Trust me, you're not alone in that particular sentiment."
When she emerged from the bathroom, Anna found John's eyes closed and his chest slowly rising and falling. Part of her doubted he was asleep before she was but it calmed her all the same. Sliding under the covers next to him, Anna fell asleep watching the smoothness of his face when he slept.
Sleep that still held John in thrall when Anna jerked awake a few hours later. Squinting in the growing light, Anna moved off the bed and rubbed at her eyes as she tried to find the source of her wake-up call. Her foot caught in the pocket of John's tuxedo trousers and she searched the floor for the remainder of the previous night's detritus before locating her clutch. Just as she was about to grab it, the material vibrated across the desk. Anna made a face as she grabbed the clutch before it could move again and extracted her phone.
Ignoring the yellow warning from the battery, Anna swiped her thumb across the screen and read through the emails and texts before noting the missed call log. With a sigh, and snatching one of the bathrobes from the bathroom, Anna moved onto the balcony to return the call. A call that had her shoulders hunching before the line even connected.
"Good morning General."
"Were you too busy plying people for their money to take my call last night?"
"I have my own life, General, so what I was or wasn't doing to miss your call really isn't any of your business." Anna closed her eyes, scrunching them as she pinched at the bridge of her nose, and let out a breath before continuing. "Why did you call? You don't ever call me and since it's not Auggie's birthday or any significant event in his life then there's no reason for you to call me."
"I can't call my daughter to check on her?"
"You've never called me for that kind of thing before so no, you can't."
"Now you're just saying things to be hurtful."
"No, that's not something I do." Anna took a deep breath, counting to five, and then released it before continuing. "I'm asking again, General, what do you want?"
"I want to know why you hired Branson Personal Security."
Anna frowned, "What would it matter to you?"
"I've recently invested in a security firm and I wouldn't want my daughter to hire the opposition."
"Is that why you were so incredibly insulting toward my security team the other night?" Anna snorted, "Because you want me to be the first clients of your new investment?"
"I was as judgmental of them as someone is supposed to be when her daughter's being protected by subpar security."
"Given that Mr. Branson's security team saved my life in Malaysia and never allowed me to get kidnapped or held hostage I would say they're very good."
"They're a second-rate company. And how would it look if my daughter employs a company that isn't mine?"
"The same way it looked before, since you didn't give two shits about whether or not people knew I was your daughter." Anna gave a scoff, "Not to mention the simple fact that you seemed very interested in the idea that people not have a clue that we were related."
"It's a simple ask, Anna."
"It's unreasonable and ridiculous." Anna shook her head, even if the General could not see it on the other end of the line. "So, no thank you, General. I'll be keeping my current security company. But I wish you luck in whatever venture has taken your investment."
"Reconsider, Anna."
"No, General, I won't." Anna looked over her shoulder at where John still slept. "And good morning, General."
She hung up, reentering the room to plug in her phone and remove her bathrobe. A shift of the sheets on the bed stopped Anna from carrying the bathrobe into the bathroom and leave it, instead, on the back of the desk chair. It left her skin prickling slightly in the chill of the room, given the air she allowed enter when she went to the balcony, but Anna ignored it to crawl over the bed toward John.
Her foot caught in the sheet, pushing it back, and Anna paused when she saw John's right leg. It took her a second to study it before Anna maneuvered herself for a closer look. Sitting back, folding her legs under her, Anna let her fingers lightly trace the scarring.
The intricate latticework of scar tissue that formed around the thick, ropy line where the stitches had held the skin together beckoned her first. Her fingers followed the thick line to the other scars as they resembled cracked glass. Each pattern fascinated her until Anna realized her fingers landed on skin where the nerve endings still signaled.
A change in John's breathing had Anna tucking loose hair, still held in her undo from the night before… albeit less securely than it had before, behind her ear. John blinked at her, his body tense as Anna's fingers rested just above his scars. Keeping her eyes locked with his, Anna bent and kissed the thickest of John's scars.
One of his hands reached for her and Anna intercepted his fingers with her own. Interlacing them allowed Anna to steer herself as she swung a leg over his hips to straddle him. "I hope you don't mind that I took the liberty."
"Any man who minds that a gorgeous woman wants a closer look at him is…" John cleared his throat. "Appropriately nervous."
"You don't seem too nervous." Anna's free hand slid from John's hip to the rising evidence of his interest. "In fact, you seem rather invested."
"Don't tease."
"I won't." Anna rose to her knees so she could slide down John's leg and leave a kiss on each of his hips. "I remember my manners."
Letting her tongue trace over the contours of John's musculature left him twitching under her. Anna smiled into his skin as her free hand continued lightly stroking up the length of him as he swelled under her touch. And, when she raised her head to tuck a few more escaped strands behind her ear, Anna let her tongue circle the tip of John.
He sucked in a breath, practically caving in his chest, and Anna sat up fully to release her hair. It fell around her shoulders and she shook it out to try and sort out the mess of it. Just as she grabbed it all, holding it securely in both hands, John's hands settled on Anna's hips. She paused, the hair tie ready to wrap her hair back, and met John's expression. The one that left her shuddering in his hold when his fingers delved between her legs.
The herculean effort it took for her to do something as simple as trap her hair in a messy bun would have surprised her if not for the reality that John's fingers traced her inside and out. And part of her wanted to give into his intentions when he pressed deeper and deeper. But Anna slid out of his reach and wagged a finger at him before returning to her earlier intentions. Intentions that left John's hands clawing at the sheets under them.
Anna let her tongue trace the intricacies of John's skin, hollowing out her cheeks to test the depth of how far she could suck. Each time she changed speed or angle or depth John groaned or whimpered under her. And when she traced over him or allowed her fingers to cradle his sack, his hips bucked toward her. His hands, however, remained at his side until Anna drew back to release John.
Licking over her lips, Anna left a final kiss at the root of him before rising onto her knees again. John's eyes scrunched closed, his entire body taut. Not like the tension of fear from her reaction at gaining a full view of his considerably shorter leg but one where a false move might leave him absolutely shattered. So Anna leaned forward, her lips running over the line of John's jaw to his ear, and she whispered to him.
"It doesn't matter."
"What?" The hoarseness of his voice left Anna shivering even as her hands ran over the expanse of his chest under her.
"Your leg." Anna drew back to meet John's eyes. "It doesn't matter."
"No?"
"No." Anna ensured John could not look away as she extracted his hands from the now crumpled sheets and placed them on her hips as she aligned herself above him. "Especially not if I'm the one riding you."
It only took a second, or so it seemed, for Anna to seat herself entirely on John. The tension in his body strung tighter as Anna almost detected the thrum of it through him with their hips pressed so closely together. And when she rolled into him, John's fingers dug bruisingly into her skin to hold her steady. A grip he lost when Anna repeated the motion.
Instead, John's neck arched back and his hips thrust into Anna's to meet her motions. If not at the risk of losing herself to the possibilities of pleasure their current position evoked, Anna might have smiled at the obvious concentration John attempted to exert so as to not lose himself to the moment. All she could do instead was to drag her fingers over the skin of his chest, digging her nails in sync with his when he thrust at a new angle or reached a deeper place within her, and eventually contort herself to kiss over John's jaw and retread an old path so she could whisper in his ear.
"You're holding back John."
"I can't…" The strain in his jaw practically begged Anna to kiss over him as she gyrated in her altered position to meet John's thrusts. "You're not…"
"Let go, John." Anna's fingers raked into his shoulders as one of John's hands surrendered his hold on her hip to clutch at her ass and bring them together so he could grind deeper into her. "Let-"
Never one needing instruction twice, Anna cried out as John used his new hold to drive faster, deeper, and harder into Anna. She held to him, following his upward motion when he sat up so he could bring their lips together. But the ferocity of the kiss was only surpassed by the frenetic motion of his mouth as he traced downward and traded between both of her breasts in sequence.
Anna's fingers dug familiar rivulets in John's hair as their bodies found a new rhythm with their position. A rhythm that changed again when John released his mouth from her breasts and lay back on the bed. The arch in his back drove him even deeper and his hips angled to strike right at Anna's clit.
Crying out, Anna let one of her hands hold at John's wrist for leverage while the other aimed between her legs. The beckoning ache, the one only promising salvation as they fought to reach their high together, left her whimpering and keening as John lost all finesse to his motions and drove almost mindlessly into her. But none of it mattered as he crested his high and Anna used the ending thrusts of his body to follow him. To tumble down with him and eventually sink onto his chest as their bodies shuddered in synchronizing fashion to settle and ease apart.
Laying back on the bed, Anna closed her eyes to bask in the moment before laughing a little. "I guess that one doesn't make it."
"What?"
Anna turned her head toward John, "You didn't use my name."
"Is this going to be something that you mention every time we…" John gestured toward his nude form and Anna raised an eyebrow.
"Have sex?"
"I was going to say make-"
"Let me stop you right there." Anna put a finger on his lips. "Never refer to it like that. I hate that term."
"But it wasn't just sex."
"And I'm fine knowing that but I don't really want any of that…" Anna made a wiggling motion with her hand. "Frivolous terminology. I hate it."
"Why?"
"I really don't know. But it makes my skin crawl the same way someone using the term 'mentor' or 'protégé' or 'lover' does. I don't like it."
"Then I won't say it like that." John shifted, moving onto his side. "But I will call it 'beautiful sex'."
"I won't argue with that one." Anna traced a line down John's chest. "It is beautiful when I have sex with you."
"You're beautiful, Anna" John reached for one of her hands and kissed the back of it.
"And you're still an enigma." Anna smiled at him as John scooted closer to her.
"But I'm your enigma."
"Yes, you most certainly are." Anna kissed him before pushing back at the ring of her phone from the desk. "Time to get up."
"At least it's the last day of the conference."
"At least it's that." Anna crossed the room, sighing as she turned off the alarm and addressed any new emails or messages that came through since her call with the General. "Do you think your Amazonian protection detail has any leads from the other night?"
"You mean the man from the bar?"
"Yes."
"I can check with them this morning if you'd like."
"Yes, please." Anna nodded and pivoted to look at John, stretched back on the bed. "Look at you, resting back like a pasha."
"I don't think that's the politically correct term."
"I heard it in a TV show once." Anna shrugged it off, "But that's not the point."
"You wore me out, Ms. Smith."
"Did I really?" Anna ran her tongue over her lower lip, "Then I guess my next proposal's not really going to meet any interested response."
"Depends on the proposal." John made no bones about the way he scoped out Anna's naked form. "If it's another round then I guess that depends on your schedule."
"Not yours?"
"Your schedule, Ms. Smith, is mine."
"You're right." Anna tried to appear serious, biting her tongue to stop herself smiling at the glint in John's eyes. "We should get down to breakfast and shower separately."
"But, the environment."
Anna frowned, "What about the environment?"
"We'd save water if we showered together."
"True." Anna leaned toward the bathroom. "I guess the shower's large and, if you'd like, we could share the space."
"I'd have to check it first." John stood up, using the wall next to him to hop toward the bathroom and inspect the space. As he leaned through the door Anna admired his ass and did not hide her expression when John caught her looking. "Where you just staring at my ass, Ms. Smith?"
"It's a nice ass."
"Not as nice as yours."
"Debatable." Anna brushed past John to enter the bathroom and turned on the water. "But I'm sure we can argue the benefits of one over the other."
"Can we?"
"Well, I can." Anna crooked her finger at him, "Can you?"
John entered the shower with her, using the ledge over the showerhead to hold himself steady. "I'd have to get a better look at it."
"Alright." Anna turned and immediately exhaled when John pressed against her, his hands holding to her side.
"Is this alright?" The tone in his voice had Anna pausing, twisting her head slightly toward him. "It's not going to-"
"You'll just have to keep talking to me." Anna nodding, her breathing easing in the heat of the water gathering steam in the bathroom. "And, go slow."
"I can do that." John's hands ran against her, easing her legs apart so his fingers could enter her. "And I can say, definitively, that you've a better ass than me."
"I disagree." Anna pressed back against John, blinking the water out of her eyes before she closed them as John settled into her so his arousal settled between her legs.
"You do?"
"I have to, on principle." Anna struggled to speak as John sawed back and forth, his fingers still moving inside her and pressing against her clit as his lips left a trail of wet kisses over her shoulders and neck. "I've only ever seen my ass in the mirror but I've held onto yours and I like it better."
"Then we'll just have to agree to disagree." John's fingers moved higher, stroking longer and deeper as his thumb traced and thrummed against her sparking nerves. "But it's not the end for us."
"In this argument?"
"In any of it, Anna." John's lips moved next to her ear as they both trembled in the tension of the moment. "I'm not leaving your side. I'll be here for you."
Anna let out a breath, her forehead pressing into the tile of the shower wall, and nodded. "Thank you."
"You never need to thank me for that." John's hands paused, "Anna."
His forward thrust stole all the air from Anna's lungs. All she could do was clutch at his hips and the arm he wrapped around her body so he could knead her breasts. Anna reached an arm back to cling to John's neck as he kept her away from the wall, holding her close to him, and continued whispering to her. Under the beat of the chilling water that provided the tempo for John's strokes, Anna could only lose herself to his thrusts until her vaginal muscles closed over him in time with the stroking of his fingers at her clit.
The grinding motions left her breathless and climaxing around him while John continued pressing desperate kisses to the column of her neck as he lost his rhythm. It had Anna leaning into the wall, providing the second and third legs for him as he drove harder and faster into her. And, when he came, it tipped her into a smaller, softer climax in time with the tightening of his arms around her.
They breathed out together, shivering as the water turned chill, and Anna risked their position to turn the water off. John slipped from her, slipping slightly toward the side so he could sit on the little seat in the shower. Anna leaned against the wall, watching him, and smiled. "I wasn't sure how that would work, to be honest, but I'm glad it did."
"Some positions are harder than others but, for the most part," John's right hand smoothed over what remained of his right leg. "I can manage."
"'Course you can." Anna shivered. "Can you shower too?"
"You mean actually shower or go another round?"
"Actually shower." Anna shook her head and took a few breaths. "I hate this part."
"Showering?"
"Cold water." Anna steeled herself. "It's like basic training all over again."
"I wasn't allowed to shower with beautiful women during basic training so it's already better for me now than then." John put his hand over hers. "We'll do it together."
"Sounds like a plan to me."
Anna turned the knob.