I let her go and she falls flat on the mattress, gasping for breath and clutching at her throat. I sway on my knees, my head spinning with the strength of my own climax. I’m seconds away from collapsing on top of her when a heaving sob escapes from her lips. The sound snaps me out of my orgasm-induced haze, and all I can do is watch helplessly as tears stream from her eyes.
Fuck!
Seconds drag like minutes, but she doesn’t run. She doesn’t scramble to get away from me. She doesn’t do anything. Tentatively, I reach out and trail my fingertips down her spine, and she shivers. But she’s still here. Lying between my thighs, covered in her blood and our cum, she looks so beautifully broken that my cock already aches to take her again.
“Zeke,” she rasps, her throat clogged with tears.
“Yeah?” My own voice comes equally raw and thick with emotion.
Whatever she was about to say gets cut off by another sharp intake of breath. Before she can tell me not to, before she can run, I fall onto my forearms and press my chest against her back. A heavy sigh escapes her, and tension seeps from her body into mine.
We lie here like this for I don’t know how long. Our hearts racing, breaths hoarse and ragged. After our chests stop heaving and the pulse in her neck is no longer throbbing, I press a soft kiss beneath her ear. The corner of her mouth curls into a faint smile. “That was so freaking intense,” she whispers.
I hum my agreement against her skin. It was fucking incredible. I haven’t felt a connection like that since … Ever. Not with anyone other than Fitch or West.
“We’re all sticky.” She laughs, and the sound makes unexpected emotion well in my throat. I swallow it down and push myself up.
“Zeke?” The word is a protest, and she shivers at the loss of my warmth.
I grab the corners of the blanket and wrap her up like a burrito. “Stay there. I’ll be right back.”
Burrowing her head into the pillow and closing her eyes, she murmurs her agreement. I allow myself a second to look at her. Tear-stained cheeks and hair all mussed up from fucking. Fuck me, she’s perfect.
Chapter
Twenty-Three
LILY
Opening one eye, I watch Zeke change into a fresh pair of sweats and disappear from view. Where the hell is he going? I hope he’s going to grab a clean set of sheets considering we all but destroyed this set. I can’t even bear the thought of looking at the stains or the prospect of unwrapping myself from the duvet cocoon he made me. But despite how warm and comfy and spent I am, I’ll have to do that soon.
Zeke walks back into the room with something clutched in his hands. He places whatever it is on the dresser, then goes straight to the bathroom. A few seconds later, the sound of running water drifts out of the open doorway. I guess I’d better get cleaned up too. I shrug off the covers and shiver as the cool air hits my damp skin.
Zeke comes back out of the bathroom and glares at me. “I thought I told you to stay right there,” he says in his usual grumpy growl, but something about his tone is different. Laced with a hint of concern, perhaps.
“I need to get cleaned up.” I sit up and wince at the sight of the blood-soaked sheets, my cheeks burning with embarrassment. “And all this.”
He stares at them too, an unmistakable look of pride on his face as he surveys the damage. “I’ll take care of the sheets.” He scoops me into his arms, eliciting a tiny shriek of protest from me, but when he curls those huge biceps around my body, I practically melt into his chest. “After I take care of you.”
Oh, well now my ovaries have exploded. I study his face, waiting for him to turn back into the grumpy, ice-cold asshole I’ve come to know, but he keeps his gaze fixed ahead. The scent of cinnamon fills the bathroom, reminding me of Christmas and pulling up long-buried bittersweet memories. Steam rises from the tub that’s nearly filled to the brim with water and white bubbles. I press my cheek against Zeke’s shoulder, careful to avoid his scars. “You have bubble bath?”
“I took some from Fitch’s room.” He sets me on the edge of the tub and dips his hand into the water. With a satisfied nod, he turns off the tap, then picks me back up and places me in the hot water before I can protest that I’m capable of climbing in by myself.
Any protest would have died on my lips as soon as my ass hit this water. A harsh moan tumbles from my lips as I sink into the soothing heat, and the relief that engulfs my aching limbs makes my mind go blank. Closing my eyes, I rest my head on the edge of the huge tub and sigh. “This feels so good.”