“I don’t even know if I want them.” Ethan and I weren’t together… and gods, that seemed like a crime now.
“Just don’t think about it. Follow your heart,” Delmare suggested. “I suppressed what I felt for Stefan for too long, and I regret that now. What did you guys talk about up in that attic?”
“He said he was going to change,” I mused. “He wanted to put me first, and make me his priority.”
“Do you think he’s going to?”
“Yes. He wouldn’t have been able to get the demon out if he wasn’t serious about becoming a new person.”
“Then let him have that chance,” Delmare suggested. “You still love him. You can break the bond later if he doesn’t live up to his promises. But why not take this time to be happy?”
Delmare’s words made my loud thoughts quieter. I was still on the fence about Ethan, yet she was right. I loved him, and I didn’t have to give up on us anymore. What was keeping us apart was no longer there. Things could be different, but only if I didn’t push him away.
I had changed into a better person. Why couldn't my mate?
We entered the house, and Stefan turned on the lights. Sounds of delight rang out from the group. The house was huge, decorated in a trendy and modernist way. Alexei began rummaging through the giant fridge in the kitchen for food. Kiara, Odette and Theo jumped on the sectional in front of the fireplace, and turned on the seventy-inch screen TV to watch a movie.
Stefan dragged Delmare to the nearest bedroom. She laughed and grabbed a bottle of champagne that was lying on the counter.
“If you’ll excuse us, my mate and I are going to enjoy the master suite,” Stefan purred. “Don’t come in unless you want to see some perverted stuff.”
“Trust us, nobody wants to.” Kiara laughed.
The house was gorgeous, but I couldn’t enjoy it. All I wanted was space to be alone with Ethan. We still had a lot to talk about.
Ethan sensed my need for isolation. “We’re taking the bedroom upstairs. Emma has to lie down.”
“Have fun,” Alexei said. Nobody watched us as we climbed the stairs. The sound of the TV faded as Ethan and I walked together to the bedroom in the farthest corner of the house.
I opened the door and immediately relaxed. The suite was gorgeous. The lights were dim, and the bed was pushed against a wall of floor-length windows that showed the mountain range beyond. The attached bathroom had a massive Jacuzzi tub big enough for two people, and fluffy towels that felt like blankets as I ran my fingers over them.
I heard the sound of the water running. Ethan had turned on the tub. “I figured your muscles were sore,” he said. “You can’t be comfortable after making that portal for us.”
They were worse than sore. The tension in my body made it difficult to move. I was so stiff, I felt like the Tin Man.
I hobbled to the tub. Ethan poured in bath salts and a small bottle of bubbles. I stripped. Ethan’s eyes roamed up my nude body, but I paid him no attention. I got in the tub, sinking up to my nose. Relief coursed through my bloodstream, and the aching in my muscles ebbed. Finally, a bit of respite from my own body.
Ethan went to leave, but as he put his hand on the doorknob, I said, “You can come in.”
Ethan paused. He waited for a few moments, then removed his shirt. I observed him carefully as he took off his clothes. He didn’t look at all like he did hours before. The broken veins in his face were gone, and so were the bags under his eyes. The bruises and scars that matted his body from the leshane’s influence were no longer there. He appeared to be at his prime. My eyes flickered downward, but only for a moment. He wasn’t aroused, just apprehensive, and I couldn’t take my gaze away from his eyes for long.
Despite us not really being… well,together, being naked in front of each other was the most natural thing in the world. There wasn’t a need to hesitate, only a need to expose and lay bare everything that we’d been holding close to our hearts over these past few months.
Clothes wouldn’t do any good to conceal what we felt. We always had seen each other for who we were, even if there were illusions or lies in the way convincing us otherwise. I’d known he was the Phantom before I wanted to admit it— he’d known I was the White Rose despite what logic told him. What was in our hearts couldn’t hide from the light.
He sat on the edge of the Jacuzzi to remove his prosthetic. Our skin touched as he slid into the tub, and that singular motion made goosebumps rise over my skin. Ethan played with the water, but said nothing. He was waiting for me to make the first move.
I reached for a sponge, then handed it to him. “Can you wash my back?”
I moved my hair aside, and relaxed as he washed the sponge over my skin. It felt so good. In some parts he pressed too hard, and I gasped, but Ethan backed off until he was applying the correct amount of pressure.
“Staying awake?” he asked.
“Uh huh.” My eyes were closing. I didn’t have to do anything but breathe. The weight of trying to save Ethan for months had finally been lifted off my shoulders. A good thing, too, because I couldn’t carry another moment of it.
Ethan put the sponge aside, then wrapped his arms around my front. He leaned back, and I pressed against him as we laid in the tub.
Yeah, this was paradise.Goodnight, we’ll figure out what we are in the morning, because I’m happy where I’m at.
