Her soft kiss turned demanding—a need to confirm we were both still alive. My cock swelled and as much as I wanted to break the rules, I couldn’t.
I wanted to grow old with her.
I wanted her all the days and all the nights I had left on this earth.
I wouldn’t risk her—not now I had her back.
“Wait here,” I whispered, kissing her one last time.
Moving before she had time to quarrel, I disappeared into the bathroom and turned on the taps of the large bath. Waiting until the water temperature was perfect, I slipped out of the jeans and T-shirt I’d shrugged into after Doctor Laine had gone and prowled back to the bedroom.
Cleo stood gloriously naked exactly where I left her. Her flat stomach was smooth and perfect while the shiny scars licked her right side and the pretty blue flowers and hidden star signs decorated her left.
She’s like a colorful constellation.
Her mouth parted as I looped my fingers with hers and guided her toward the bathroom.
My headache pounded harder, keeping up a rhythm with my racing heartbeat and throbbing dick.
Calm down.
No fucking way did I want to pass out again.
This wasn’t about sex or lust.
This was about more.
A purging of sorts—washing ourselves free from the past and embracing the present.
Stepping over the rim of the bath, I gently guided Cleo into the warm water until it lapped around our waists. My breathing becoming faint as my vision stuttered. The sound of gushing taps and steam spirals filled the bathroom as Cleo melted into the heat and reclined against my chest.
Having her surrender to me, with her breasts floating and breaking the film of the water and her eyes at half-mast sent my heart racing for an entirely different reason. And when her head lolled dreamily and rested between my shoulder and base of my neck, I crushed her to me with far too much strength.
She squeaked but didn’t complain. I didn’t do anything but hold her wordlessly. Her vulnerability gave me power. Her submission gave me peace.
Words weren’t needed.
Conversation not required.
The soft mist and condensation did a much better job, drenching us in silent feelings.
I’d never known how she could make me feel invincible one second, then hopeless the next. Her love did that—it was an elixir and a curse. Something that would be forever at odds with my world and everything I currently stood for.
Reaching for the expensive soap that my maid stocked, I slowly washed her chest.
She purred as I massaged her shoulders, touching her all over. Ungluing her head from my shoulder, she looked lazily into my eyes. Without a sound, her tiny hand disappeared behind her and wrapped around my cock.
What the hell is she doing?
“Cleo—” I hissed as she held me tighter. “You heard the doctor; you need to stop.”
She would have to be the one to pull away.
I couldn’t make her. I had no willpower. None. My life as well as my dick was in her hands.
She didn’t let me go, nor did she stroke me either—just continued to hold me as if I were a possession. “I have a point to make.” Her fingers squeezed. “Hopefully, I have your utmost attention this way.”
My balls twitched. I swallowed hard. “You have my undivided concentration.”
I groaned as she tightened her fingers again. “I’ve always belonged to you, Art. Only you.”
My blood pressure pinged, screaming like a kettle about to explode.
“I know.” Blissful sensation gathered stronger. My head thickened. “And you know I’ve always belonged to you. But by Christ, Cleo … you. Have. To—”
“Not yet.”
I gritted my teeth.
I couldn’t stop her. Even though she didn’t move, her grip felt too fucking good.
“Shit … it’s too much.” The room went dark. “You have to stop.”
“It’s always too much with you,” she breathed. “Everything about you is too much. Your size, your love, your generosity, your wealth.” She tilted her chin, her lips grazing mine. “But no matter how much I get of you, it’s never enough. I can’t even stay mad at you because I understand the way you think. And I can’t punish you even when you hurt me so much by hiding.”
Her other hand rose from the water, raining droplets over my chest as her fingers twined into my hair. “You terrified me, Art. You cut out my heart when you passed out inside me and I’ll never forget the feeling of losing you in my embrace.” Holding me hostage, her lips pressed against mine.
I grunted with pain. My vision went completely black. I had no idea where I was or how to fucking stay sane. “Goddammit, Buttercup. Stop.”
My hips twitched. My cock wanted every squeeze and stroke she gave, even as my brain wept at the thought of passing out again.
I hoped she’d ignore me and straddle me.
I hoped she’d obey me and grant me mercy.
I hoped for so many things.
And I ached with bitter disappointment when she finally surrendered and let me go.
Blood rushed into my balls; my vision stuttered into pieces.
“Consider that a warning, Art. Hurt me by hiding important things again and I’ll make sure you know firsthand how it felt.”