Page 144 of Aftershock
I’m only faintly aware that I’m doing any of this; that’s how deeply I want him. That’s how high I am on this climax.
“Just like that.” He thrusts into me, filling me to the point of pain. Pulling his fingers from my pussy, he focuses on my clit.
Everything turns to pleasure again when he works his hips, driving into me.
More strokes. More long minutes of blinding pleasure, of heat I couldn’t imagine existed until him.
Euphoria washes over me from his words, from how he thickens inside me. He’s stretching me, pulling on the gag, his hand hot on my flesh before he comes with a feral growl. Alaric bucks his hips, whispering my name like a prayer as he empties himself inside me.
“Good fucking girl.” His arm wraps me in a hug from behind, and he slowly removes my gag.
With the utmost care, he carries me to the shower, where he holds on to me while hot water sprays over both of us. Words of praise and tender kisses are woven into everything he does, from lathering shampoo and soap over me to brushing my hair, then blow-drying it.
When he dresses me in one of his shirts and climbs into bed with me, his hands, lips, and loving words follow me there too.
I’m in heaven.
And I’m sleepy. So, so sleepy. My eyelids are heavy. My body sinks into the bed.
I almost fall asleep.
Almost.
“Alaric?”
His fingers, warm and a tiny bit rough, smooth a strand of hair behind my ear. “Yes, little devil?”
“If I ever did something bad.” Like stalking you. Like obsessing over you so hard that I waited seven years for you. “Would you still love me?”
“Not even a question.” His gaze, though his eyes are as hooded as mine, is feral and determined. “You could put a knife to my throat. Hell, you could kill me, and I’d still love you. Unless you hurt innocent people, which I’m sure you won’t, you have my heart. No matter what.”
A frown tugs at my lips. His love is too much for someone like me. Broken. A stalker. Practically a stranger to him.
“Why?”
“I’d say this, us, is fate, except I don’t believe in it.” He draws comforting circles over my cheek with his thumb. “I believe in you. I believe in us. Nothing else has ever made as much sense as this.”
“I feel the same way.” I do my best to instill conviction in my tone. So he never forgets. “I’ll love you, no matter what.”
His smile is a sad one. Doesn’t reach his eyes.
I have a good idea why.
“You’re tired.” He presses a kiss to my temple. “Go to sleep.”
A deep, wounding ache twists my heart. As I look at him, I witness something I’ve never seen in him before.
Fear.
He worries I’ll never accept him, I think. He’s afraid of ending up alone.
It’s then and there that I decide I’m going to use my spare key to get into his storage unit tomorrow.
Yes, he has a motion detector installed. Probably cameras too.
But by the time he makes it there from the hospital, I’ll have already read his notebook and have the final puzzle piece of his story.
I’m doing it so I can tell him I’ve uncovered all his secrets, that I accept every one of them.
