Chapter 12
IN THESE LOVING CHAINS
Wrapped in his arms…
The words settled over me as much as the warmth of him did.
Both equally inescapable, both sinking far too easily into places I had tried not to let him reach.
Because the moment he shifted, the moment his body aligned fully with mine, everything in me seemed to become acutely aware of just how close we were.
My back pressed firmly against his chest, his arm curved beneath my head with the other draped securely across my waist, holding me in place in a way that wasn’t forceful.
But it wasn’t something I could easily ignore either.
I went still.
Completely still.
As though any movement might somehow make this more real than it already was.
My breathing then faltered slightly before I forced it to even out.
Forced myself to draw in slow, measured breaths as I stared into the darkness ahead of me.
Trying very hard not to focus on the solid heat of him at my back.
On how much bigger he felt like this. How easily he had moved me and how effortlessly he now held me exactly where he wanted me.
“Relax,” he whispered quietly behind me, his voice softer now, less teasing, more… something else entirely.
But this single word had the opposite effect, as I stiffened instantly.
“Easy for you to say,” I muttered under my breath, my voice still carrying the remnants of sleep before clearing enough to add to my complaint,
“You weren’t just manhandled into someone else’s bed.” A quiet huff of amusement brushed against my ear.
“You are welcome to return the favor,” he replied smoothly,
“I would not object to being manhandled into yours.” I had to fight a smile at that before rolling my eyes, even though he couldn’t see it.
“Yeah… I don’t see that happening any time soon,” I scoffed, and he released a sigh before he spoke again, his voice taking on a far gentler tone.
“I understand that this may feel… fast for you,” he said, pausing long enough that it told me he was trying to find the right words. As for me, I let out a soft, disbelieving breath at that, my brows pulling together slightly.
“Says the man who just carried me into his bed without asking,” I pointed out, once again making him sigh.
“You may be in my bed, but that does not mean I intend to push you into something you are not ready for,” he said softly.
And that…
That wasn’t what I had expected.
The tension in my shoulders eased, if only slightly, the words settling somewhere deeper than I was entirely comfortable with.
“I was ready to sleep on the couch,” I pointed out, though there was way less bite to it now.
“Yes, I know,” he agreed easily, and his arm shifted slightly around me, drawing me just a fraction closer. The movement was subtle enough that it felt completely natural. As if we had spent years sharing a bed, not minutes.
“But your body was not,” he continued, his voice dipping lower, brushing near my ear.
“And unless I am mistaken… you are considerably warmer now than you were curled up like some small, stubborn creature in the cold.” I made a small sound of protest; something caught between a scoff and mild outrage.
“I was not…”
“Mm,” he hummed softly, clearly unconvinced. I huffed, though the fight in it felt weaker now, dulled by the very inconvenient truth of what he was saying.
“…fine, I will admit it… You’re… slightly warmer,” I conceded after a moment, far more reluctantly than I would have liked. A quiet chuckle rumbled through him, the sound low and annoyingly pleased.
“Only slightly warmer?” he teased, and I shifted slightly, attempting to create even the smallest amount of space, though it didn’t get me very far.
“Well, you’re definitely not snuggly… what do you do, snort protein powder before eating the can?” I mocked, making him laugh.
“Is there any part of you that isn’t packed with muscle?” I asked, making him rumble his reply closer to my ear,
“All the better to hold you with my dear.” Then, as if to prove his point, his arm tightened, pulling me even closer.
“Besides, I was under the impression that you quite enjoyed my muscles.” I let out a strangled sound that was anything but dignified,
“Erh… no.” He huffed a small laugh at my reply, before granting me with one of his own,
“Strange,” he replied, his lips close enough that I could feel the ghost of his breath near my skin.
“You didn’t seem particularly opposed to staring at them earlier.” My breath caught as heat rose to my cheeks.
“I don’t know what you mean,” I said quickly, far too quickly. But as usual he called my bluff, first by running his nose up my neck before whispering in my ear,
“Liar,”
And the worst part was… I felt my lips twitch. Just slightly. Because he wasn’t wrong. Hell, the image was so ingrained in my brain I could have painted every line, curve, bulge, and dip of the many contours of his torso and back. Of course, I wasn’t foolish enough to admit it.
Which is no doubt why silence settled between us after that.
Not the uncomfortable kind, but thick enough that it allowed my thoughts to drift.
It also meant that my body was gradually beginning to give in to the warmth surrounding me.
To the steady presence of him and to the way his breathing seemed to fall into an easy rhythm against my back.
“So…” I said after a moment, the word quieter now, almost hesitant.
“You’re really not expecting anything?”
There was a pause. Longer this time.
“Is that why you were so reluctant to sleep in the same room?” he asked instead, his tone thoughtful rather than mocking. I shifted slightly, my shoulders lifting in the smallest shrug.
“I’ve just… never been very good at this sort of thing,” I admitted shamefully.
“At what sort of thing?” he asked as if not understanding what I was trying to say. I hesitated, then exhaled softly.
“Being… intimate,” I confessed, the word feeling heavier than it should have and far too exposed. But his arm tightened just slightly around me again, not in restraint, but something closer to reassurance.
“What makes you say that?” he asked quietly. I stared ahead, my fingers curling faintly where they rested against his arm.
“I’m not very… confident,” I said, the admission quieter now, more vulnerable than anything I had said so far. Yet he didn’t respond straight away. Which somehow made it worse.
“I don’t know how to be… sexy,” I finished, the word feeling foreign on my tongue. There was a small, unexpected sound behind me, something like a breath caught halfway between surprise and disbelief.
“Are you serious?” he asked, somewhere between a hiss and a whisper. I shrugged again, feeling suddenly very aware of myself.
“What?”
“You have no idea, do you?” he murmured.
“About what?” I asked, frowning in the dark. He shifted closer then, just enough that I felt the full weight of his presence behind me, his voice dropping lower, more intimate.
“You have no idea what you do to me,” he said quietly, and my breath hitched.
“You’re the most… Gods…” he paused, as though choosing his words carefully,
“…infuriatingly, impossibly enticing woman I have ever laid eyes on.” I sucked in a quick breath before shaking my head a little.
“You don’t have to say that” I murmured, though my voice lacked any real conviction.
“You're right, I don’t have to,” he agreed softly, before adding,
“Not when I can easily prove it.” Before I could ask how, before I could even fully process what he meant, he shifted just slightly closer. Enough that the truth of his words became very, very apparent.
My breath caught sharply…Oh.
Oh my.
“Oh,” I breathed, the sound barely there, echoing my thoughts.
“Does that feel like a man who doesn’t find the woman in his arms desirable?” he growled near my ear.
I didn’t answer.
I couldn’t.
Because my brain had very much stopped cooperating.
“I asked you a question, little Goddess,” he prompted softly, and I swear it suddenly felt like I was trying to swallow cotton balls.
“I…I… it’s been a long time,” I admitted instead, my voice faltering slightly as embarrassment crept in far too quickly.
“And I can imagine you’ve had…” I cut myself off abruptly when I felt him press his hard length into me again, and the size of it stole my words.
“Oh God…”
“Eliza, stop,” he said firmly. The command wasn’t harsh, but it grounded me instantly.
“You have nothing to worry about,” he continued, his tone steady, certain in a way that left no room for doubt.
“And it is not something I will ever pressure you into. Not until you are ready.”
The tension in me instantly eased. Not all at once, but it was enough to get me relaxing back into him. Although with the very obvious arousal currently nudging into my lower back, which felt like sleeping beside a fully loaded weapon, it was becoming increasingly impossible to ignore.
“I am perfectly content to simply hold you like this,” he added more quietly, his arm tightening just slightly around me.
And that… that did something to me.
Because for the first time since he had picked me up, since he had pulled me into this bed, into his arms, I felt something shift.
It wasn’t resistance, not entirely, but something softer, something that felt… safer.
“Thank you,” I murmured softly, and a quiet chuckle followed.
“Are you thanking me for forcing you into my bed now?” he asked, amusement threading through his voice. I huffed a small laugh, shaking my head slightly.
“Well… you were right. You’re definitely warmer.”
“And the couch?” he prompted.
“Terrible,” I replied without hesitation.
“Honestly, what were you thinking?” I teased, granting myself a soft laugh from him.
“Who knew an uncomfortable couch would prove so useful?” I smiled before giggling softly, nudging him with my elbow, telling him,
“Goodnight, Wye,”
His arm tightened just slightly around me before he whispered the sweetest…
“Goodnight, Eliza.”