Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 103010 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103010 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
He was deep, so deep under, and kept saying it, those three words, like they were the only ones he knew.
“I love you too,” I said softly, but he didn’t respond, likely couldn’t. Hell, I didn’t know if he even heard me, he was floating so high.
I had to pry his clenched hands from where they clutched the bed. After I removed the cuffs, I lay beside him and pulled him over. Finley went easily, lying on top of me, his head on my chest. I held him, stroked him, kissed his sweaty hair as he came down and drifted to sleep.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Finley
I eased slowly from sleep to being awake. Aidan’s arms were around me, his heart beating against my cheek, his hands stroking my back.
It was heaven. Seriously, I didn’t know how anything could be better than where I was right then, in his arms after he took care of me. After he flogged me and fucked me and soothed me. After he fulfilled the needs that lived so deep inside me, they were a part of me I knew I could never ever live without. Not now. Not after having them.
I had a feeling he hadn’t slept at all, but he had lain there, giving me what I needed, and I knew he would do it all night if that’s what I needed.
I shifted, felt the plug in my hole, felt my ass, back, and thighs still sore from the flogging. Feeling it, remembering what he’d done to me, was almost enough to make me fly again. “Hi,” I said lamely, without looking at him.
Aidan’s answering chuckle pulsed through me. He tilted my head up, his eyes pinning me. “Hi yourself.”
“What time is it?” I asked.
“About ten.”
“Holy shit. I’m sorry! You haven’t eaten dinner. You could have woken me.”
He frowned. “I know I could have. I don’t need you to tell me that, remember? You needed the rest. Now, lie on your stomach so I can look at your ass.”
“I don’t want to move from this spot. I would like to live right here. Can I do that? Do you think it would work?” I teased, and he snickered. I felt invincible every time I made Aidan laugh.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s possible. They might frown upon it at the hospital. Now, do as I say, please.”
“Yes, Sir.” I slid off him and lay on the bed. His fingers tingled over my skin, studying it.
“Still marked a bit. You have a couple of bruises. Does it feel okay?”
“There’s a bit of a pounding ache to it.”
“Let me rub some cream on it.” Aidan plucked a bottle from the drawer, squirted some on me, and rubbed it in. “Perfect.” He kissed my lower back.
I didn’t know what it was about that gesture, about what he said. Maybe it was the…hell, what sounded like reverence in his voice, but it made my thoughts spin and pieces of memories float to the surface.
I love you. I love you. I love you.
I’d told Aidan I loved him. My eyes snapped to him, and his brow furrowed, as if he could sense something was wrong.
I’d told him I loved him, and he was still there. Could that mean he loved me too?
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I lied. “I’m hungry.” Well, I was hungry, so that wasn’t untrue, but I was also freaking out a little because of what I’d said, and what it meant, and wondering if Aidan loved me back.
“Stay in bed. I’ll go get dinner.”
I opened my mouth to argue with him, but he cocked a brow as if he knew. “Yes, Sir.”
Aidan chuckled, kissed the tip of my nose, and got out of bed. And that…that stupid nose kiss made my eyes tear up.
He might love me too. I felt it in that simple press of his lips. If he didn’t now, maybe he would grow to. He wasn’t kicking me to the curb or telling me not to love him, at least. The thing was, Aidan made me feel loved, each and every day. Whether it was forcing me to go to school or giving me a schedule or allowing me to serve him. Whether it was orgasms or spanking me the way I craved and holding me for hours afterward. All those things made me feel loved. For over a year he had made me feel this way, even before we were fucking.
Before Aidan, I hadn’t felt loved since my mother died, and that made me cry more, which made me feel really fucking stupid. Why was I so damn emotional? It was as if Aidan opened this door inside me and gave me permission to feel, when I hadn’t felt in so long, and now I couldn’t turn it off.
A few minutes later he came back in with a large plate and a bottle of water. He frowned when he saw me crying. “Hey, what is it? What’s wrong?” He set the food on the nightstand.