“Mother of God.” His head hit the back of the tub.
She watched him closely as he came moments later, fascinated by the way his jaw clenched and his breath held and his body tensed in a pleasure-pain combination. And all because of her touch. That someone like her could satisfy a man like him had hope rising in her chest, pride swelling in her throat.
Still breathing erratically, he cupped the back of her head and drew her mouth to his, kissing her in a hot exploration that seemed like way more than a simple thank-you by the time he was finished.
Afterward, he dried her body, the soft terry-cloth towel lingering over each part of her like a caress, and then applied lotion to her skin. Slow, deliberate strokes of his hands made her heart race with the tenderness he exhibited. And when he was through, she didn’t have any air left in her lungs.
* * *
Because Alec had no idea if anyone else had thought to get Faith a gift while scrambling to pull off this last-minute birthday dinner, he drove her into the touristy area of the strip and parked outside a store.
“I thought we were going to dinner?” Her wary gaze traveled over the building in front of them. A jewelry store.
“We are. After.” He opened his door. “Come on.”
She strode around the car and met him at the store entrance, still looking adorably confused. He took her hand and tugged her inside, wondering just what the hell he was doing. This kind of gift said you cared about someone deeply, and though he did care about Faith way more than was wise, he couldn’t help but think this would be impossible to walk away from. In the end, there was no other choice but to leave. He’d made his mistakes, and he had to live with them.
Yet even with all the doubt ramming his temples, the thought of what Faith might be doing today had he not figured out it was her birthday knotted his gut and tightened his throat.
“Pick out anything you want.” He gestured at the glass display cases lining the walls.
“What?” Her wide, panicked gaze met his.
“Pick out—”
“No, I heard you.” She waved a flustered hand. “Alec, no. I can’t.”
He stepped behind her and held her waist to lean down and speak into her ear. “Yes, you can. You just walk over to one of the cases and pick out whatever piece of jewelry catches your eye.”
She trembled beneath his hands. “Alec . . .”
“Had I known sooner, I would’ve picked something out myself. Happy birthday, Faith.”
“Can I help you folks?” A salesperson walked up to them, her perfume as heavy as her makeup.
“Give us a second,” he said, training his gaze back on Faith.
Not one word fell from Faith’s lips, but the tension in her body spoke volumes. He could’ve plucked her like a guitar string. “Any day now. We have dinner plans.”
She shook her head violently.
Frustrated, he stepped around to face her and found tears. A lot of them. Too many for her to will away like she’d done before.
“Faith. Please? I want to. It’s your birthday and I want to give you a gift.” He cupped her cheeks and wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs.
Earlier, he’d had the odd thought that he’d slay a demon for her. He’d been wrong. He’d slay them all. Because the sight of her like this was killing him.
She blew out a watery breath and met his gaze. “How . . .” She cleared her throat. “How did you know it was my birthday?”
“I’m an author. Research comes with the territory.”
She nodded. “Thank you, but this is a bit much.”
“Then pick out something small if it makes you feel better.” He studied her face for a moment. “Why didn’t you tell me it was your birthday?”
She stared over his shoulder and shrugged. “I don’t know. It seemed presumptuous.”
He shook his head and laughed. Presumptuous? Faith? “Pick something out.” He kissed her forehead and stepped away to address the waiting salesperson. “Whatever she wants.”
The woman’s eyes widened with glee. “Of course.”
Alec backed off and stood by the register to give her some room. Faith hesitantly stepped to the counter with the rings, but quickly moved on. He bit back a grin and pretended to check his texts. Faith moved past the necklaces and earrings before stopping near him at the bracelets, the salesperson chatting her up the entire time.
“I used to have one like that, when I was a little girl.” She pointed to the top row, where a few charm bracelets were displayed on white felt.
He turned and leaned a hip on the case. “You like those?” He never would’ve guessed that, but then again, it suited her. He ignored the bigger, gaudy ones. “Can she see the one on the left?”
“Of course.”
The saleswoman unlocked the case and set the bracelet on the counter, disappointment twisting her mouth. Obviously she’d been hoping a woman allowed to pick anything she wanted would go with a pricier bauble. She didn’t know Faith like he did.
“We have an assortment of charms to go with it. Here’s the book. Just find what you like and I can add them right away. They have tiny clips to add new charms and rearrange however you want.”
Faith tentatively touched the bracelet with her fingertips. “It looks a lot like the one I used to have. Hope had given it to me. I lost it at the hospital during one of her treatments.”
Well, that settled that. Alec leaned in close to Faith’s ear. “Go wait in the car. I’d like at least part of this to be a surprise. I’ll be out soon.”
Her round gaze met his. Through her amber eyes, gratitude and awe radiated. Wonder. To Alec, it seemed like she was accumulating one of her moments, storing it away in her memory to pull out at a later date. She must’ve seen something when she looked at him, because her gaze softened and a trace of a smile worked her lips.
The air all but crackled between them. For the first time in years, an unnamable emotion rose up to choke him, more powerful than anything he’d ever experienced. Blinding, deafening, and not altogether unpleasant. Like a fissure sealing.
She stepped closer and he had to force himself to exhale. “Thank you.”
Because his throat wouldn’t work, he nodded.
When Faith was out of sight in the car, he turned to the book of charms and ignored the saleswoman’s curious stare. He scanned the pages, waiting for something to jump out at him. He found a seashell and pointed to indicate he wanted that one. The ocean meant a lot to her. He’d found her walking the surf, lost in thought countless times.
“I’ll get to work on this one, and you can let me know if you find more you like.”
Alec nodded, grateful for the minute alone.
The attendant returned just as he’d finished his selection. He pointed to an “H” to represent her sister’s name, and a little infinity symbol that had “friends” engraved on it, to represent Mia and Lacey, figuring those would mean a lot to her.
There was one last charm he was debating. “I’ll take that one, but don’t add it to the bracelet. I’ll take it in a separate bag.”
While the saleswoman clipped the charms and prepared the box, he texted Mia that they’d be there in under thirty minutes.
Package in hand, and the other charm burning a hole in his pocket, he stepped out into the fading light of day with his heart pounding. He was barely in the car when Faith pounced. She grabbed his arm and climbed halfway across the console.
“That was the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me.” The gratitude in her eyes burned intense, surprising the hell out of him.
“I’m a nice guy.” Or at least he was when he was around her—she’d managed to bring out that hidden quality, one he didn’t know he possessed. She did all sorts of things to him. It had been years since someone looked at him like she did.