26. Anton
ANTON
I turn on the bath, letting the water begin to fill the tub. Glancing around, I do what I can to make the place more comfortable, turning down the lights, making sure that there are towels and a robe prepared for her when she’s out of the bath.
And then, I look behind me, to where Maya is still sitting on the bed. And I feel a punch of concern in my guts, seeing her staring into space, too shocked by everything to so much as react to the fact that we’re home.
I can’t say I blame her. She’s been through a lot. We have been through a lot.
I straighten up and make my way over to her, planting my hand on her shoulder. She jolts slightly, and then looks up at me, her gaze distant.
“Hey,” I murmur. “Come on, let’s get you washed up.”
She rises to her feet, allowing me to lead her through to the bathroom, where I help her undress, taking off the lingerie that Artem forced her into and casting it aside with a grimace. I know plenty of guys would find that shit sexy, but what I desire about her isn’t contained in what she wears.
It’s something in her that I can’t resist, that I have never been able to, and that I don’t seem to be planning to any time soon.
I ease her into the bath, letting the warm water flood over her naked body, and she closes her eyes, letting out a long sigh as she tilts her head back and allows her hair to dip beneath the water.
For a moment, I just look at her; it doesn’t seem as though she is carrying any major injuries, a few bruises on her arms, but I have already put down the man who did that to her. She just needs to rest, for her sake and the baby’s, and I will do what I can to make sure that happens.
When I reach her face, I find that she is looking at me. There are dark circles around her eyes, but a small smile on her lips, which is something. She reaches up to touch my face, guiding my gaze down to her.
“Thank you for helping those other girls,” she tells me softly. “I know that you must have just wanted to get out of there, but... but they went through so much, and I couldn’t just leave them there, knowing that.”
I brush a strand of damp hair back from her shoulder. “That’s okay.”
Truth was, I knew there would have been no getting her out of there if we had tried to leave behind the women that she had been imprisoned with. My woman’s heart is too big.
“But we need to focus on you right now,” I remark, as I reach for the shampoo bottle behind her. Outside, rain is pattering against the window, and the dim lights make this place feel almost relaxing, despite the circumstances.
She catches my arm before I can set to work, looking up at me hopefully.
“Will you... Will you join me in here?”
I cock an eyebrow. I didn’t think she would want anyone close to her, after what she had been through.
But, as she gazes up at me, I know that she is not going to take no for an answer.
And, after everything that’s happened, I feel the sudden surge of need to feel her body against mine, and I straighten up to strip out of my clothes.
They are still spattered with blood, smeared with the gore from the bullet that killed my brother.
I don’t know if it has really sunk in yet, the reality of what I have done, but in that moment, I knew I couldn’t allow him to stand in front of me and speak about the mother of my child like that.
As though she was just another whore, another girl he could do with as he pleased. As though she wasn’t even a person.
As hard as it might be to admit, the world will be better off without that man in it, and besides, right now, I’m not trying to let myself get caught up in those thoughts.
I slip into the water in front of her, stretching my legs out on either side of her, and pull her into my lap, so she is resting on top of me. My cock stirs against her thigh, but I make no move to take things any further.
At least, not yet.
She rests her hands on my shoulders, and runs her nails through my hair, flicking her gaze back and forth between my eyes as though trying to work out just how far down these feelings go.
I reach for a cup at the side of the bath, fill it with warm water, and carefully pour it over her hair. She tilts her head back, letting out a slight moan, and the movement lifts her breasts above the water, her nipples glistening with moisture.
Once I have her hair damp enough, I grab the shampoo, and begin to work it into a lather on her scalp. She breathes deep, and I can feel her chest rising and falling against mine as she allows herself to sink into this moment.
“That feels really nice,” she murmurs, her eyes still closed, as I pour the water over her head, to wash the suds out. I can hardly focus on anything but the way she looks, her curves in the dim light, the way the water shimmers around her as though she has been made for this.
Unable to resist any longer, I lean forward and take one of her nipples into my mouth, drawing it lightly between my teeth.
She gasps and cradles my head with her hands, her hips beginning to move back and forth on top of me as she responds to the sudden sensation.
I move one hand into her hair, tugging on it lightly, drawing her head back so that I can trace my tongue all the way along her throat before I bury it into her mouth.
My cock is hard now, and she is rolling her hips against me, the warm water making it feel as though there is no space at all between us.
I’m breathing hard as our tongues come together, and she trails her nails along the nape of my neck, sending a shiver down my spine despite the heat in the room.
She pulls back to catch her breath, and I slide my hands down her back, cupping her ass beneath the water.
“You know what I want,” she tells me, brushing her nose against mine, her eyes almost glowing in the dim light.
And I do. But I want to hear her say it. Need to hear it come out of her mouth, hear her tell me how much she wants me.
“Say it,” I order her, pulling her a little closer.
The way she is sitting, it would only take the slightest change of pressure for me to slip inside of her, and I can tell from the look on her face that she is distinctly aware of that fact, too.
And she rocks her hips against me, trying to find some kind of relief to the pressure that is ever-growing inside of her.
“I... I want to feel you inside of me...”
And that is it, all I need to hear, the confirmation that she needs this just as much as I do.
I pull her towards me, planting my feet on the bottom of the tub and drawing her on to me.
I slip inside her in a single motion, flexing my hips upward to fill her, and watch as her face finally registers the pleasure that she has been so clearly waiting for.
“Oh, fuck,” she gasps, catching her breath as she drapes herself over me, hands wrapped around me, body already stirring against mine beneath the water.
I slip a hand over her ass, groping the soft flesh of her, and bare my teeth for just a second against her shoulder—making sure she knows that it is taking everything I have in me to hold off on taking a piece out of her right then and there.
And then, I begin to move up and into her, rising to meet each and every movement. The water is sloshing out over the side of the tub now, but neither of us seem remotely aware of it, eyes pinned on each other, breath mingling in the steam between us.
I can smell the scent of the shampoo, the sharp tang of rose and amber, and she presses her hands into my chest to find some leverage as she moves against me.
I draw back from her, just far enough that I can watch her while she rides me.
I don’t think I have ever seen her like this in all the times we have been together, so lost to the pleasure, to what she wants, to what she needs, and there’s something so impossible hot to me about it, I can barely think straight.
Her eyes are closed, her mouth open, her body tense, her breasts moving along with the ripples of the water surrounding us, as if the only thing she cares about is proving to herself that she is still alive.
The sight sends another shock of desire through my body, and I close the distance between us again, using all my strength to grind up and into her, feel her body give in to the sensation of the way we fit together.
“You’re mine,” I rasp to her, as I sink my fingers into her, her flesh yielding with ease beneath my touch. “You understand that, Maya? You’re mine...”
All she can do is whimper in return, clutching me tight like she fears she might drift away if she doesn’t.
But I know that she is telling me that she is.
Whoever might try to bid on her, whoever might try to take her from me, she belongs to me, utterly and completely, and I’m not going to let anything get in the way of that.
I can feel my orgasm building, the pleasure cresting to that point of no return, but I want to feel her come first. She is starting to tremble on top of me now, her thighs beginning to tense on either side of my waist, and I can’t imagine that it is going to take much more to push her over the edge.
I press my mouth into her ear, and say it one more time, making sure she knows. Making sure there is no way in hell that she could ever forget.
“You’re mine.”
And, with that, I feel her finally give in right there on top of me, her entire body shaking beneath the water as she comes on my cock.
Her pussy clenches around me, tugging and squeezing on my full length as she finishes.
Whether she’s ready to admit it or not, there is a part of her like enjoys submitting to me like this, a part of her that wants nothing more than to give herself entirely over to me.
I finish just a few seconds after she does, flooding her with my seed with a deep groan of pleasure.
Neither of us moved, our bodies still entirely entangled with one another as we search to find some way back to earth.
But that feels impossible, with the heights of pleasure that the two of us just reached, and all I can think to do is hold her.
And she holds me, too, as the steam continues to rise around us, resting her head on my shoulder and planting her hand against my heart. She must be listening to how hard it is thumping right now for her, as my body tries to right itself after everything we just did.
I stroke her back, gliding my fingers along her spine, the water softening her skin and the scent of her filling my senses.
“I didn’t know if I was ever going to see you again,” she whispers finally, and I draw back, cupping her face in my hands and looking deep into her eyes.
“You’ll never lose me, Maya,” I tell her. And, as I kiss her again, our bodies still pressed deep against each other, I know that I mean it. Whatever it takes to keep this woman safe, it’s a small price to pay to feel her here in my arms.
And I will do everything in my power to protect it now that I know just how precious it is.