I throw the tunic in the laundry bin in the corner so I’m just in my bra, keeping my back to him. Not that I’m especially self-conscious around him, though I am on some days, but it’s because his one-track mind as of late will quickly derail everything. My boobs are still his kryptonite to this day.
I go over to the drawer and pull out a t-shirt and pajama pants to crawl into after the bath, then head toward the bathroom. “I need a bath first to compose my thoughts. I feel gross.”
He reaches out and grabs my wrist, pulling me to him. His eyes rest on my chest for a second before he manages to pry them off. “Are you kidding me? Tell me now. Why the hell were you there, Perry?”
I can tell he’s getting more worried and agitated by the second. “I told you. I don’t know why. Suddenly I was just there. It was like I was on autopilot. I should have gone right home but for some reason I didn’t.”
“And then what happened? How did you see Atlas?”
I stare down at his grip around my wrist, how strong and assured and protected he makes me feel even from the slightest gesture.
“I thought I saw someone in the house. The next thing I knew, I was reaching for the door, trying to get inside.”
His grip tightens. I glance up at him, knowing he won’t take this very well. His jaw is clenching, nostrils flaring. “What? You were trying to go inside?” he says, his voice coming out in a ragged hush. “Why would you do that without me? Perry, you know how fucking dangerous that is.”
I give him a faint smile. “I know, okay? I know. Like I said, it was like I was on autopilot. I felt…compelled. Like I wasn’t even in charge of myself.”
He swallows audibly as he stares at me. “Did you go inside?” he whispers.
“No. Atlas stopped me. He was in the front yard. Caught me trying to get into his house, which was all sorts of embarrassing.”
“Was he angry?”
“I don’t think so. It’s hard to tell with him. Actually, he invited me inside to talk.”
Dex stiffens again. “I see.”
“I said no,” I assure him. “I left. Came right here.”
He frowns. “So who did you see in the house? You said you thought you saw someone.”
“Just a ghost.”
I don’t want to tell him it was Maximus. I have a feeling that will upset him, and he’s already agitated as it is. Besides, the more I think about it, the more I think it wasn’t him at all. Maybe a trick of the eye, or a trick of the house. Making you think there was something you wanted inside. Certainly worked with me.
“Did you hear the woman’s voice?”
“No. Nothing else.”
He closes his eyes for a moment, worry washing over his brow, then opens them, fixing his gaze on mine, his hand going around to the back of my neck, holding me there. “Please promise me you won’t do that again.”
“It wasn’t on purpose, Dex.”
“Promise me,” he says again, voice hard. “I mean it. You shouldn’t…you can’t do these things without me, okay? We either do this together or we don’t do it at all.”
It’s a hard thing to promise when it felt like I had no control over it, but even so, I need to put his mind at ease. “I promise.”
His gaze sharpens on mine, heat igniting, before his eyes drop to my lips. “I don’t know what I’d do if something were to happen to you.”
Okay, now he’s making me nervous.
“Nothing is going to happen to me,” I assure him.
But why does it feel like I’m lying?
A strange look of fear comes over his features for a moment. His hand at the back of my neck holds me tighter, his palm warm against my cold, damp skin. He leans in and puts his lips on mine, kissing me hard, my mouth opening to his, letting him in.
I feel the kiss all the way to my bones, making my toes curl against the floor, his tongue straight-up fucking mine. Nothing soft or slow or sweet, just a wild plunge that strokes a fire inside me, the kind of fire that will engulf the both of us if we let it.
I put my hands on his firm chest and push back enough to catch my breath.
“I need to take a bath,” I manage to say.
The lids of his eyes are heavy, his gaze carnal. “Have to get naked first.”
He captures my mouth again, his kiss more urgent than before, causing my legs to squeeze together, flames licking me from the inside. One hand goes behind my back, deftly unhooking my bra, my nipples already hard. I drop the clothes I was carrying, and my bra falls with it to my feet.
He’s not going to let me take my bath, is he?
I’m thinking no, especially as he brings his mouth across to my jaw, nipping hungrily at my skin as his lips and teeth work their way to my neck.
While still gripping me tight, his other hand skims over my stomach, popping the button on my jeans before sliding his palm down into my underwear.
I let out an audible gasp, my nails digging into his shoulder, as he slips a long finger over my clit.
“Fuck,” he groans, taking my earlobe between his teeth. “You’re so fucking wet for me, baby.” The heat of his breath makes me shiver as his fingers start working at me, rubbing me until I’m weak in the knees. I can barely stand up as it is.
“This isn’t fair,” I whisper. He can’t just start fingering me when I’m obviously trying to go and do something.
“I think this is very fair,” he says hoarsely before sucking at my skin.
God, I can’t handle this man, not when he knows exactly what to do to make me lose my fucking mind.
To prove my point, he thrusts a finger up inside me, reaching deep, enough to make my head go back, my mouth falling open in a low, animalistic groan.
Shit.
“Oh fuck,” I cry out, my voice high and breathy, my balance starting to waver.
He’s strong and relentless, holding me in place as he brings his finger up and over my clit again before plunging back in, three of them now.
I’m going to come right here if he keeps it up.
He knows this too. Of course he does.
“Are you going to come like a good girl?” he asks.
Dear lord, I’m flushed from head to toe, my skin burning from his dirty talk.
His head darts down to my breasts, his lips wrapping around my nipple and sucking hard until I whimper with frantic need.
I can’t even speak, can’t even answer. I can only make greedy little noises, expanding around him as his fingers drive in deeper, his tongue flicking my nipple until every single nerve inside of me tightens into a ball and I’m seconds from going over the edge.
He lifts his head, kissing me again, his mouth wet and tasting like my skin, his lips ravenous, the kiss building and building as he fucks me with his unyielding fingers.
His thumb glides over my clit.
He pulls his mouth away, his forehead resting against mine, searching my eyes with his primal, wild stare. A smirk appears at the corner of his lips, the smirk that tells me what he’s about to do.
The pressure from his thumb increases, just enough to trigger me.
“Oh, hell!” I yelp, my nails digging into his back while I go off like a motherfucking bomb. The air is ripped from my lungs and I can’t even stand up anymore. I’m a quaking mess of cells, my limbs turned to jelly. Somehow he manages to keep me upright, his hand still working at me, extending my orgasm again and again and again until the room begins to spin.