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“If you want me to.”
She nods and loosens her grip on my neck.
I make quick work of tugging the silk fabric from her skin, shoving her panties down her legs, and shucking my own sweatpants. I lift her back into my arms and step over the edge of the clawfoot tub.
The water sears into my cool skin as I carefully lower us into the water, never allowing any space between me and Mia.
She hisses when the hot water washes over her, but she never pulls away.
Once we’re settled in the water, I rearrange her between my legs with her back pressed against my chest.
Perhaps the silence should be jarring, but I’ve never felt more at peace with my own thoughts, and that’s kind of fucked up for a twenty-three-year-old. The beast inside me is sated, the need to dominate Mia is satisfied for the moment.
I don’t bother trying to shield her from my hard-on pressing into her back. I’m not going to push her into sex until she’s ready, but I’m certainly not going to pretend she doesn’t affect me.
I press my hands against her stomach and pull her closer. It doesn’t seem to matter that every part of her body is touching mine, I still need her closer.
Her body stiffens against mine when my hands settle over her stomach. A better man would move them, but so far, pushing Mia has worked pretty well for me, and I’ve never claimed to be good, not to anyone but her, at least.
“Ace,” she whispers.
“I’ve got you, sugar.”
She lets out a stuttered breath but leans her head back against my shoulder, and I lap up every second of my time with her in my arms.
The water cools around us, but I’m hesitant to lift us out of the tub because I don’t know when she’ll open up for me like this again. Or even if she ever will.
It’s only when her gentle snores fill the tiled bathroom that I stand with her in my arms and wrap a towel around her naked body. Mia stirs but doesn’t wake as I carry her into my bedroom and lay her out on the bed, carefully wiping the droplets from her skin.
Her head falls to the side, and her hair spreads across my sheets like an angel. I’ve never allowed a woman in my bed, always fucking them at a club or, worst-case scenario, at their place, but seeing Mia on the same sheets I slept on last night makes my cock ache with need.
The dim lighting only allows me to see so much of her silky skin, but I enjoy every piece I can see, pressing gentle kisses in the wake of the towel.
When I reach her stomach, I pause on the marks that catch the light. Small dots. Long scars. A littering of scars I know weren’t there when we were kids, and all the air is sucked from my lungs. I saw a glimpse of some last week, but I had no idea they were to this extent.
This is why she didn’t want me to remove the towel the other day, and it’s why she freaked out when I held her in the bath.
She didn’t want me to see what they did to her.
Mia’s yawn tears my eyes away from the marks, and I meet her tired eyes. It only takes a few seconds for her to realize what I’ve seen, the horror in my eyes is probably enough to give me away, but just when I thought we were making progress, I watch as she builds the walls back up right in front of my eyes.
Not this time, sugar.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
MIA
It was only a matter of time.
I know that.
Part of me hoped I could put it off, that I could leave without him ever truly knowing how broken I am. But that was naive of me.
The disgust is written all over his face, and I flinch just from the sight. I never thought Ace would look at me like this, but I should know by now not to be surprised by anything men do.
I’m off the bed before he can open his mouth, wrapping the sheet around me as I go. I need to get out of here. I need to get away from him.
By the time I make it to the door, Ace is still staring at the spot where I was lying on the bed, and I manage to wrench the door open and make my escape.
