I don’t. I just need him to slap me. To hurt me.
He yanks my face. “Look at me right the fuck now.”
I do, slowly my eyes lock on to his and my stomach flips, my heart swelling. Overcome with emotion, tears prick my eyes. He continues to pump inside of me. Not gentle, but slow. “Royce, I get emotional if I can’t come.”
He smiles, flashing his white teeth. “You don’t need that shit with me. You hear?”
“I know I don’t! I just like it.”
He shakes his head, dropping down onto his elbow so he’s directly on top of me now, his lips on mine. “I won’t fucking hit here again.” He bites on my cheek so hard I know it’s going to bruise. “I’ll do other shit, but I won’t slap you again. Unless it’s on your ass. Deal?”
My arm wraps around his neck. “Deal.”
He rolls over, grinding inside of me, his lips on mine, his tongue down my throat. He flicks my tongue with his, nibbles on my lip, but never breaks contact. “Let go, baby.”
I do, as he empties himself inside of me through harsh pulses.
He falls down beside me as we catch our breath.
“Jesus…”
“I actually think we might kill each other in bed one day, and I am not joking.” He chuckles, standing back up.
“Most likely.” I crawl up slowly, slipping back beneath the water and washing myself quickly again before turning the faucet off.
“Duchess.” His words stop me in my tracks, just as I reach for the towel and wrap it around my body. I watch him through the mirror as he drinks me in with his eyes. They come back to mine. “We do need to talk.”
“I know.” I squeeze the excess water from my hair, twisting it into a bun and clipping it to my scalp. “I’m hungry, though.”
After he grabbed some snacks, I shrugged on his Wolf Pack MC t-shirt while he stayed partially naked. Laying on top of his covers, the early morning sun sets the sky to flames with a soft burnt orange hue behind me. It’s comforting to have the warmth of the sun on my back after everything that has happened.
He reaches up and runs his thumb over my bottom lip. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there. I’m sorry I left. At the time, I thought I was doing it to save you, but I ended up hurting you.”
“Royce, it’s not your fault.” I sigh, running my fingertips through my hair and resting my head on the palm of my hand. “I could have told you when you came home. I guess we were both doing things we thought were right for the other person.”
Royce smiles. “Yeah. I guess.” His thumb slips between my lips and I would roll my eyes at the sexual context of it if I knew it wouldn’t turn him on. “Gotta ask you something and I need you to be honest with me.”
I nod.
“You thinking of running from me anytime soon?”
I shake my head, biting down on his thumb.
“Good.”
“Why?” I ask once his thumb is out.
He shrugs. “Don’t feel like chasing, and I will chase you if you run.”
I reach for the pack of potato chips that are near him, popping it open and chewing. “I hope they find all of his clients.”
“They will,” Royce says, looking up at the ceiling. He looks to the side, his eyes coming back to mine. “You know how many people’s lives you changed doing what you did?”
Sucking the salt off my thumb, I smile sadly. “Wish I could have saved more.”
He pulls me into his chest, pressing his lips against my head. “You know what you’re going to do with college?”
“Yeah,” I say, tossing the bag of chips onto the floor. “I’m going to get my medical degree for Bonnie.”
“Mmmm,” Royce says, pulling me farther into his arms. As a brother, he kept me safe, but as a lover, he keeps me sane. “Royce?”
“Yeah?” he murmurs into my hair.
“What are we?” It’s a question I should have been thinking about a lot more often than I have.
Silence. His shoulders are shaking and it’s not until I pull away from him slightly and glare up at him from below that I realize he’s laughing.
“What’s funny!” I shove him.
“Oh nothing,” he says casually. “It’s just amusing that you think you’ll ever have a life outside of me.”
“That’s not helpful, Royce…” I grumble.
His arm slips between our bodies, his finger hooking under my chin to tilt my face up to his. “You’re mine, Duchess. In every fucking way that is possible for a woman to be owned by a man. You’re mine.”
“Like, girlfriend, or like, old lady, or fiancée?”
His eyes close as he attempts to contain his laugh.
I shove him again. “Shut up, Roy! Your world is weird.”
His voice is hoarse from his laughing, his hard chest against mine. “Jade.” He kisses me. “All of the above.”