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I swayed forward, body obeying immediately, yet my brain kept me rooted in place. Hesitation burned my throat as I ate him up with my eyes, desperate for him but also afraid.
“Come on, princess.” He motioned for me again. “You can do it.”
A sound ripped from my throat, and I leaped at him, my entire muscled, six-foot frame jumping into his offered arms. He stumbled under my weight but righted us both as my legs anchored around his waist and his hands palmed my ass.
Overwhelmed, I didn’t look at him, instead pushing my face into his neck, wrapping my arms tight around his shoulders.
“Good boy,” he praised softly. “Look how good you fit in my arms.”
The backs of my eyes burned even though they were closed. “I fit?” I asked.
His palm settled over my lower back to rub. “You fit so good.”
A fine tremble racked my body, relief unlike any other making my limbs weak. One of his forearms braced my ass, adjusting so he could support the weight I no longer could.
He smelled so good, a scent unique to him that could never be found in a bottle. It was so enticing that I inhaled again and again, then nudged my nose behind his ear.
Just seconds in his presence and my frenetic nervous system was soothed. The urge to scratch the skin off my bones and tear apart those ill-fitting blankets seemed much less urgent.
“I like you,” I said against his skin, not really to anyone, just letting out the emotions bubbling in my chest.
A low sound rumbled in his throat, arms tightening where he held. “Oh, baby, I like you too.”
He sat on the edge of the bed, keeping me in his lap. My feet rested on the mattress behind him as I curled even closer. Despite my size, sometimes I felt impossibly small, no match at all for the world around me. Usually, it made me ashamed. I’d been told all my life that I had to be strong, that real men weren’t weak. It only hammered home that something about me was broken because my six-foot swimmer body still seemed woefully outmatched.
It was such a raw, intimate feeling that I couldn’t bear the thought of anyone knowing, so I told no one. Not even my brother.
But right now? In Arsen’s lap? It was as if he knew.
He knew exactly how to wrap himself around me, using his size to bathe me in the security I somehow always lacked. His body unknowingly became a conduit for mine, channeling safety and reassurance, which soothed the rampant insecurity festering beneath my skin.
I melted into him. His warmth. His scent. His strength. Everything he was diluted everything I wasn’t but in the most reassuring way.
It doesn’t matter what you lack anymore because he has enough for us both.
Such dangerous thoughts. But for once, I was too relaxed to care.
All this time, I’d thought he represented chaos.
In actuality, he was my solace.
“How do you like the new place?” he asked.
I shrugged against him.
A silent chuckle moved through his chest. “Would a present make it better?” he wondered, voice amused.
“No,” I answered truthfully. “But you do.”
Strong arms wound around me, enclosing me in the tightest of bear hugs. I sighed, loving the crushing weight of his embrace. Loving the satisfied rumble in his chest and the softness of his shirt against my cheek.
“Bear,” I whispered.
“Hmm?” he hummed, drawing back a little to look at me.
I made a sound, pushing closer, and he tightened his grip once more. He held me a little longer, letting me drift in the warm security only he could provide.
I didn’t know how much time had passed when his fingers climbed the back of my neck, fingers digging into my hair to scratch lightly against my scalp.
