Chapter 7 #2
Images from before started creeping into my head. Those flashes Bael shoved into my head were now haunting me. Her curvy body. The way he described her. The things he wanted to do to her. I swallowed hard, fighting the pull that came with the memory.
My body reacted before my mind caught up, blood surging in all the wrong ways. I hated it. Hated that his voice was still buried somewhere inside me, whispering filth I couldn’t shut out.
You want to fuck her, don’t you? he’d said. You can take hr from behind while iI fuck her soul.
I clenched my fists until my knuckles cracked. “Shut the fuck up,” I muttered, my voice rough.
The sound of the shower running filled the air, a steady rhythm that made my pulse jump again. I stood, shoving away from the bed, and forced myself out of the room.
Back in the living room, I dropped onto the couch, elbows on my knees, staring at the floor. My heart was still pounding, the same slow burn running through me. I took a few deep breaths, trying to get control. I’d fought worse things before, but this, this was personal.
Bael wasn’t just haunting me anymore. He was testing me.
Testing my restraint. My loyalty, and my sanity.
I rubbed the back of my neck, staring at the faint glow from under the bedroom door. The sound of the water stopped, replaced by the soft click of the bathroom door opening. For a moment, the house went quiet again.
I sat there, motionless, every muscle locked tight. I could hear her footsteps padding across the hardwood, slow and cautious. The towel brushed against her skin as she moved, and I closed my eyes, forcing the thought out of my head.
This wasn’t about lust. Not anymore. It was about keeping her safe.
And I wasn’t about to let the demons win.
The bathroom door opened, and the sound of her bare feet padded softly against the floor. I didn’t move. Just stared at the wall, pretending I wasn’t aware of every damn thing about her presence. The scent of her soap, the quiet rustle of fabric as she shifted, the weight of her silence.
She walked out wearing one of my clean t-shirts, the hem brushing against her thick thighs and it took everything in me not to lay her back on that couch and spread her legs.
Her damp hair clung to her shoulders, the dampness curled around her breasts, outlining their plushness against the fabric and my dick stirred.
She smelled like citrus and something warm, something that didn’t belong in this place.
“You look like shit,” she said, her voice cutting through the quiet.
I huffed out a dry laugh. “You really know how to charm a man, Grace.”
“Not tryin’ to charm you.” She crossed her arms, studying me. “You’re welcome to use the shower. You need one.”
“I’m good.”
She shook her head. “You can’t keep watch all night, Hellsing. You’ll burn out.”
I looked up at her then, meeting her eyes. “You don’t get it. I can’t sleep. Not after what I saw.”
Something flickered across her face. I wasn’t sure if it was fear or curiosity, maybe both. “What you saw… or what you felt?”
My jaw tightened. “Both.”
She stepped closer, the light from the kitchen catching the glint of water still clinging to her hair. “Then talk to me,” she said. “Tell me what’s goin’ on in that head of yours.”
“I told you already,” I muttered, dragging a hand down my face. “It’s not somethin’ I can explain. Not without draggin’ you deeper into it.”
“Too late for that.”
I looked up again. She was closer now, close enough that I could smell her skin, see the pulse fluttering at the base of her neck. My muscles tensed. The air between us felt too heavy, too damn close.
“You should sleep,” I said, my voice rougher than I wanted it to be. “The bed’s yours tonight.”
“I’m not tired.”
“Well, I’m not safe company.”
Her lips twitched into the smallest smile. “Never said I needed safe.”
That hit harder than I wanted it to. I shifted, leaning back against the couch, trying to put space between us, but she followed, stubborn as hell, just like her old man.
Her hand brushed against my shoulder as she sat down next to me and I froze. Heat crept under my skin, mixing with something darker, that whisper of temptation Bael left behind.
For a second, I saw it again, her body tangled in shadows, his laughter echoing in my head. My breathing hitched, and I clenched my fists until my nails dug into my palms.
“Hellsing,” she said softly. “You’re shaking.”
I turned away, jaw clenched tight. “You should go to bed.”
“Not until you tell me what’s wrong.”
“I can’t.” My voice cracked, raw and low. “I won’t.”
“Then I’ll just sit here,” she said, and damn if she didn’t do exactly that.
Silence stretched out between us again. The clock ticked somewhere in the background. Her leg brushed against mine, and it was the smallest contact, but it hit like a spark.
I wanted to move. I wanted to tell her to stop, to go, to stay…hell, I didn’t even know.
Instead, I stood up abruptly. “I need to make a call. Go to bed.”
She didn’t argue this time. Just nodded and stood, brushing past me on her way down the hall. The scent of her followed, sweet and warm and too damn good for a man like me.
When the bedroom door closed, I let out a shaky breath and sat back down on the couch. My heart was still pounding, my body tight and uncooperative.
I stared at the dark window across from me, watching the reflection of the faint light under her door.
There were two wars goin’ on inside me now. One I could fight, and one I couldn’t.
And somehow, I already knew which one was gonna win.