A dreamy smile came over her face and Caleb ran his palms down her body until he cupped her around the waist, pulling her even closer.
He still looked a little sleepy, like he'd woken abruptly from a deep sleep, and with water gliding down his body, wetting his dark hair in the process, the result was absolutely devastating.
Without thought, she murmured, "You're so handsome, Caleb." And beautiful. And sensual. Everything about him took her breath away.
His face was unreadable, but his brow lowered just a little bit, like he was confused and maybe just a tad uncomfortable. Hadn't anyone complimented him before? How could anyone not have?
"It's true," she whispered, hesitantly sliding her arms around his neck, her breasts pressing into his stomach. She held his eyes so he'd see the truth in them.
He didn't say anything but he did lower his head until his forehead rested on her shoulder and then they were simply holding one another, naked, under the spray of the hot shower. And Maddie didn't know if it was her out-of-whack hormones or because she still felt overwhelmed by what happened last night or both, but she started tearing up.
And she just knew, right then and there, that she loved the man standing in the circle of her arms. The wounded, beautiful, short-tempered, loyal, generous man whom she had perhaps always loved.
With that same clarity, she also realized that she could never tell him. He'd never accept it. The thought of him pushing her away yet again was too painful to even stomach.
So, she would take what she could get. Did that make her a little pathetic? Perhaps. But when it came to this man, she didn't care. He mattered too much.
And the old saying goes: love makes fools of us all.
They stayed like that for a while, neither moving, and Maddie was content to just stay where she was. Eventually, Caleb rumbled in her ear, "How do you feel this morning?"
Even though her cheeks were already flushed from the steam, she swore they got hotter. "I feel … everything," she admitted, her tone a little breathy.
Caleb made a strangled sound that sounded like a mixture of a cough and a groan. "You're killing me, princess."
Maddie felt his erection between them twitch and even with everything they'd done last night, she suddenly felt shy. This-whatever 'this' was-was all new to her, so she didn't know what to do or what to say to him. But that was okay since he seemed content to stay quiet.
Eventually, he rinsed himself under the hot spray and Maddie watched, transfixed, as his muscles flexed and gleamed. She felt like a voyeur watching him, but no one could expect her to look away?
Maddie took her time studying the tattoos that he'd revealed to her the night before. The one that she'd noticed all those months ago peeking out from underneath his shirt sleeve was a beautiful abstract, swirled design that spread out over his shoulder. There was a smaller tattoo on his opposite arm, on his inner bicep, that simply read 00:00, like a timer would. But the largest one on his body was the one that ran the length of his left torso, edging onto his chest. It was a weathered black oak tree, all roots and bare branches and sharp angles. She spied his uncle's name expertly hidden within the lines of the tree and her heart softened for the millionth time towards this man.
Caleb saw her looking at it as he rinsed the soap off his body. He tugged her under the spray, warming her skin, as she looked at it up close.
"It's one of Peter's drawings," he told her.
"It is?" she asked, surprised, even though she shouldn't be. One of the first drawings she'd seen of Peter's had been of a tree, very similar to this one, except a little more macabre.
Caleb nodded. "When I saw it, I knew I wanted it."
"He is very talented. It's beautiful," she murmured, tracing one of the branches and liking it when he let her.
"You'll have to tell him that. That kid still thinks that what he does is just average. Never good enough."
Maddie agreed, but despite all her suggestions to him over the past few months to enter his art into contests so that he could finally realize that he had talent fell on deaf ears. She figured that he'd do it when he wanted to … eventually.
"You don't think he's too upset over what happened last night?" she asked quietly, voicing something that had been on her mind. "I saw that house, Caleb, and the way his father was. How could he not feel something?"
"I'm sure he does," he told her. "But it's different when you grow up with that, Maddie. He's probably seen it for most of his life. It's his 'normal.'"