I hear Hero leave the room, then water running in the distance.
Is he taking a shower?
Footsteps approach a moment later, and two strong arms slide underneath me to pull me up. I’m back on my feet, looking up at Hero as he gazes down at me, his expression full of concern, and maybe a little guilt. “Are you okay?” His lips ghost against my forehead.
His warm body encompasses me. I want to snuggle into his chest and never leave. “Yes, just a little weak in the knees.” Even my voice sounds drained. I feel like I could sleep another twelve hours if he’d let me.
“Okay. Let’s get you into the bath.”
That sounds like a great idea. My thighs rub together, and I feel Hero’s release sticky against my skin. “I don’t think I can walk right now.”
At my admission, Hero just picks me up like I’m a small child and carries me into the bathroom. I’m still shocked at his strength to just move me around like I weigh nothing.
My thoughts shift as he steps into the tub and lowers both of us into the water. It’s hot, and burns my skin slightly, but feels glorious with each second that passes. Positioning us just like last time, he takes the spot behind me and pulls my back flush to his chest.
Unable to even hold up my head, it bobs back, rolling back onto his shoulder. My hair sticks to his sweaty chest.
“I’m sorry if I was too rough with you. I didn’t mean to be. I just—I thought I lost you and something overtook me. It won’t happen again,” he murmurs into my hair. His lips feel like heaven, and I want to do it all over again.
“You scared me for a moment, but mostly because I didn’t know what you were doing. Then—I don’t know, I started to like it, and by the end, it was great,” I say shyly. I feel weird admitting that to him…or myself, for that matter.
What does that say about me?
“Is it weird I liked it?”
“No, not at all. A lot of girls like it rough.”
His words make me cringe and think about what Damon said yesterday.
Is that what he wants? A girl who likes it rough, who wants to be manhandled? Though I liked it, I don’t think I’d want to do it like that all the time. My thoughts swirl crazily now. I feel jealous and don’t really understand why. I know I shouldn’t be jealous of the girls Hero slept with before he even knew me, but I can’t help how I feel.
“Is that what you want?” I ask him. I need to know more now, after experiencing his dominant side. “Do you like to be rough with me? Is that what you’d want all the time?”
I can feel him shift nervously behind me as his body stiffens uncomfortably. He gives me an answer before he even starts speaking, and that hurts. It really hurts. “I do, but I don’t want to hurt you…ever. I’m scared of losing you, Elyse. I’m terrified of hurting you or scaring you, and if me being rough does either of those things, I’ll just learn to deal with it.”
What does deal with it mean?
Is he just not going to be satisfied, or is he going to satisfy himself? Or maybe he’ll find someone else who does like it that way to get him off. Every impossibly bad scenario runs through my mind.
I don’t say anything for a long moment. I think Hero realizes something is wrong because he tips my head back and angles me so he can reach my lips. He kisses me so fiercely, I can’t even remember my own name. When he pulls away, I’m breathless and a goopy mess of nothing.
“I know you’re probably thinking the worst things possible…wondering if I’ll keep you. If I’ll find someone else to satisfy my needs.”
My breath hitches at the very thought. Hero grips me by the chin, forcing me to look into his soft green eyes. His touch makes me shiver, and I feel at home in his arms. If I ever lost him, if he ever told me he didn’t really want me anymore or tossed me away…
I’m not sure what I’d do.
He continues, refusing to let me say a single word. “There’s a difference between the man Damon told you about yesterday and the man holding you right now, the man who gives you pleasure like you’ve never felt before.”
“Yeah, and what is that difference?” I ask nervously, afraid of the answer I might receive.
He smirks, two perfect dimples appearing on his face.
“I’m in love now. In. Fucking. Love. With you. I’d never risk that for some piece of ass. I’d never jump ship because you don’t want to do something. You’re mine, Elyse, until the day you stop breathing, and if you think you can get rid of me that easily, then you’re in for the ride of your life.”