"Hey Rob, I just have a quick question," wait, did he hear splashing in the background? His groin tightened at the thought of her being in the tub again. "Am I interrupting something?"
"Not in the least," came her reply. "What's up?" Yeah, that was definitely water he was hearing.
"Geezus, you're in the tub again aren't you?" he asked after a moment of silence.
"Umm, maybe?" she slowly responded.
Was that slow jam R&B music playing too? Dante couldn't speak. He closed his eyes as his mind conjured up images of a naked Robyn covered in bubbles in a large tub. Knowing her, she was in a dim room with candles too. Great, now he was imagining her with candlelight flickering off her wet skin too. It's probably a good thing he didn't know where she lived right now. He was currently hard, and the urge to go over and join her in the tub was very strong. He's not sure he would have been able to stop himself.
"Dante?"
He took a deep breath before croaking out, "Uh... yeah... Kill…ing…me…babe."
"You called me, Marcus," she said as she smiled. "It's not my fault you seem to have developed a radar for when I'm alone in the tub."
This woman's confidence in her sexuality was an absolute turn-on. She had no problem letting him know she was in the tub where most would try to hide it. "I mean are there times you're not alone? Who answers the phone in the bath, then tells said person she's in the tub? I don't even remember why I called you now. My entire train of thought has changed to a completely different, far more appealing subject," he admitted. "The visuals going along with my mental presentation are breathtaking."
"To be fair, it's been a very long time since I wasn't alone in the tub. Plus, you asked if I was in here. Was I supposed to lie?" she said in a low voice. "I'm not sure if I should be sorry or not."
"Me either. I'm enjoying the visuals, but the torture? Not so much." There was no way he was going to be able to focus enough to remember why he called. He was pretty sure it was a legitimate reason when the call started, right? Wasn't it? Who the hell knew or cared anymore? The only thing he did know was he'd be happy to break her streak of being alone in the tub.
"If it makes you feel better, you're the only one whose call I will answer from the tub."
"Nope, that didn't help at all." The ideas that popped into his head for the bathtime conversations they could have together made him groan. "I honestly can't remember why I called you, Robbie." He heard her sharp intake of breath at his admission and the use of his nickname for her. "The current movie playing in my head has completely taken over all previous thoughts, and I must say, it's getting glowing reviews from me. Definitely, one I'll be watching over and over again."
"Hashtag sorry, not sorry?" she offered. She felt oddly relieved when he chuckled and exhaled. She thought she might have broken him for a moment there.
"Now I really want to see you. If you're not busy, do you want to come over and try watching a movie again tonight?" he asked after a moment. His desire to see her was overwhelmingly strong, even if she was going to be clothed.
The thought of seeing Marcus was a highly appealing idea to Robyn. "Sure, see you in about an hour?"
He heard her stand up and step out of the tub and he grew harder as his mind was again flooded with images of a wet, glistening Robyn with bubbles sliding down her body. The only response he could give was a strangled, "Uh huh ..."
The call ended and he stood up. He walked straight to his bathroom and stripped off his clothes. He turned his shower on cold, and immediately stepped in. He needed to get under control before she arrived. There was no way he was going to be a hormonal teen who couldn't control himself.
Almost an hour later, Robyn was ringing Dante's doorbell. He had turned on jazz to try to calm his mind, but he had still been hovering by the door waiting for her. He opened it almost before the doorbell stopped ringing.
"Hey," he said as he stepped aside to let her in. Her perfume enveloped him and she lightly brushed against him as she entered the house. Was that vanilla he smelled as well? He had to tighten his hand into a fist to resist reaching out for her. As he closed the door, he unclenched his fist and watched her remove her coat and hang it on the same hook as her last visit. She turned around and his gaze raked her up and down. She was wearing a long orange button-down shirt over a matching scoop-neck tank top and black leggings. She wore a pair of black knee-high boots. Beautiful as always but he was still feeling like a teenage boy tonight. After visualizing her naked in a tub, all he could focus on was her ample cleavage and the way her choice of clothes hugged all of his favorite curves. Welp, his cold shower officially did nothing to help.
A moment later, she walked up to him and placing her finger under his chin, raised his head until his eyes met hers. "See something you like?" she asked innocently, dropping her hand.
"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "You look amazing."
She glanced down at her clothes and then back up at him. "Thank you," she said simply.
She was pleasantly surprised, and a bit entertained, at the effect she was having on him right now. She had dressed for comfort before coming over. While her clothes might follow her curves, they were loose enough so as not to push against her remaining bruises and also not tight enough that they would pinch when sitting. Fortunately, she only had a couple of really bad bruises left, but they were all stupidly located. Most of the bruises had looked far worse than they actually were.
She caught a whiff of Dante's cologne as she walked over to the couch and sat down. The man made her want to drool. "So, what are we watching?" she asked as she listened to Sarah Vaughn float from the surround sound speakers. She took the opportunity to take her turn to look at him. He was wearing a black form-fitting tee, with black pajama pants that hung low on his hips, and had some weird yellow pattern. His shirt was her favorite smedium size that showcased his muscular physique. Wait a minute…
"Is that Spongebob on your pants?" she asked leaning forward with a grin as he walked closer.
He laughed as he sat down. "Yeah, Stefon got them for me for my birthday. I know they're goofy, but they're also ridiculously soft and comfortable."
"No judgment here," she laughed. "Every parent has at least one piece of clothing like that."
"Oh yeah?" he said, turning to face her. "What's yours?"
"No comment," she said laughing again.
"Hey, no fair," he retorted. "You've seen mine!"
"I would like to remind you that you dressed yourself tonight."
"Okay, fair point," he admitted. He paused before asking, "Would you like some wine?"
"Sure," she answered.
"Red or white?"
"Red."
"On it," he said, standing up and moving towards the kitchen.
She followed him and found him searching through drawers in the kitchen. "Lose something?" she asked as she leaned on the counter. His head lifted to look at her while her eyes looked around the kitchen.
"Yeah," he answered. "I can't find the corkscrew. I swear I just had that thing."
His eyes followed her as she stood up, walked closer, and then stopped, a breath away, directly in front of him. Her chest brushed against him as she leaned around him and took the corkscrew off the dish rack. "This one?" she asked, straightening back up and holding it up.
He sighed as he took it from her. "You've driven me to distraction woman. I swear, I haven't been able to think straight or function since I called you," he said. He put the corkscrew on the counter and placed his hands on her hips.
She looked up at him and laid her hands against his chest. This man was beyond distracted by his thoughts. She didn't know how she continued to resist him. It's not like she hadn't done some delightful visualizations of her own recently. Screw it, you know what?
"Come here Marcus," she said before she could stop herself. Cupping her hands on either side of his face and guiding his head to hers she said, "Maybe this will help." Their lips met in an exploratory kiss before Robyn leaned back to look at him. A second later, his arms were wrapped tightly around her waist, hers were around his neck and she was crushed between the counter and him. This time when their lips met, there was zero hesitation. They kissed each other with all of the pent-up tension of the past few months. Robyn opened her mouth and Marcus' tongue immediately entered to tangle with hers. She lost track of how long they kissed. Through a haze, she realized that, at some point, he had lifted her onto the counter and stepped between her legs to get closer. She wasn't even sure when that happened. They broke apart to take in some much-needed air. Marcus took half a step back and they stared at each other, both breathing heavily. Marcus had slid his hands under the bottom of her shirt and was gently trailing his fingers along her skin.
"Robbie," Marcus whispered with a sigh as he stepped back between her legs and met her lips again. This kiss was more tender than the ones before. All of the caring and affection they felt for each other were a part of this kiss. Marcus raised a hand and threaded his fingers in her tangled hair as he cupped her head. Robyn had one hand clenching his shirt near his waist and the other holding the side of his face. Her legs had wrapped around him pulling him close.
He broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against hers. They were both breathless. He looked at her kiss-swollen lips and sighed. "Kill...ing...me..." he said before giving her another gentle kiss.
She gave a husky laugh and brushed her thumb over his puffed lower lip. "So is that a good thing or a bad thing?" she asked with a head tilt, her tangled hair falling over her shoulder.
"I'm still deciding," he gave her one more kiss, and then she unlocked her legs and he helped her off the counter. Picking up the corkscrew that seemed to have set them off, he opened the bottle of wine and poured them each a glass. He recorked the bottle and handed Robyn her glass before picking up the bottle and his glass. When they entered the front room, Robyn took a sip of wine and then started laughing. Dante gave her a questioning look.
"I've noticed that we're really bad at starting movies," she said, starting to laugh.
Dante started laughing as well. "You're not wrong," he agreed. "That being said, I really enjoy our excuses for not starting them." He set his glass and the wine bottle on the coffee table before taking hers and setting it down as well. "Dance with me?" he asked, holding out his hand to her.
She smiled as she took his hand. He led them to an open spot in the room before pulling her into his arms and beginning to sway to the beat. She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head against his chest. While they danced, he threaded his fingers into her hair and gently combed out the tangles he had caused during their frantic kissing session. Robyn took the opportunity to slide her hands under his shirt and trace the muscles in his back. When the last tangle was gone she lifted her head to look at him.
"Thanks," she said. "Added bonus for me since I love having my hair played with." She held his gaze for a moment.
"You know, I have something I never told you," he paused to think for a moment. "When I was shot, I thought for sure I was going to die. I thought about what I had missed out on. Before you found me, dancing with you in my mind is what gave me comfort and put me at peace with everything that had been happening that day," Dante confessed. Robyn quietly watched him. "I remember telling you that for my whole life there's been this noise, but when I'm with you, it's quiet, like it all makes sense."
Robyn brought her arms up and locked them behind his neck. "Even in my dream, I knew something was wrong though. I wanted to kiss you, but it didn't feel real. It felt off and I was so cold." Robyn lowered a hand to cup his cheek. She went up on tiptoe to give him a gentle kiss. "I woke up when you called me Marcus. That was the first time you called me by just my first name. I could also hear the fear in your voice." Robyn pulled him down for another kiss and Dante held her tighter. "The fact that you and the boys were the first people I saw when I woke up, that's all I wanted to see. To know my boys were okay and you were there for me meant everything." They kissed again then broke apart and looked at each other. "You know, that vision is even more real now. Being with you brings me peace just like I dreamed it did. If life is busy or hectic or if we're on a crazy case, I know I can always see you and enjoy a moment of calm." He leaned down and kissed her.
"I'm not doing a good job of moving slowly am I?" she asked once they broke apart.
He gently moved his hands up and down her back as he responded. "Are you having regrets?" he asked.
"No," she said quickly.
"Just because we kissed, doesn't mean things need to speed up. I told you, Honey, I'm not going anywhere. I'm not going to push you and I'll move at whatever speed you need me to. We can back up if that's what you need to be comfortable."
"God no. I have no desire to go backward. I have found I enjoy kissing you," she went up on her toes to give him another kiss to prove it. "I guess I'm just realizing that I can't control everything all of the time."
"That doesn't mean that things are going to be uncontrollable all the time either." He brought a hand up and cupped the side of her neck. They stilled as they locked eyes with each other. "I'm not going anywhere, Robbie," he promised.
"I believe you. You know, I will say that it's great that you stopped fighting me and trying to arrest me and decided to like me and work with me instead. I much prefer this version of our relationship." She smiled. He rolled his eyes and leaned down to give her another kiss.
"Don't let it go to your head," he said.
"Too late," she said. "It's a curse of my awesomeness."