Page 16 of End Game

“Still green?” He whispers the question.

I nod. “Yeah,” I barely breathe out, “very.”

“Good,” he responds, then kisses my forehead softly before climbing off of me and off the bed.

He goes straight to the bathroom, and I hear the water running. Before he reappears with a damp washcloth, I already know what he’s doing.

The bathroom faucet turns on.

I smile before he even comes back.

Ronan has talked about aftercare enough that I could probably teach a seminar on it by now.

He cleans me gently before tossing the cloth in the hamper by his closet.

Then, he pulls his boxer briefs on before moving toward me again.

Carefully, but quickly, he unties the tie attaching my hands to the headboard, and then he starts on the one actually tied around my wrists.

When he frees me, he examines both wrists before pressing a kiss to the tender skin of each one before he leaves me again to grab my clothes.

He doesn’t put all of them on me, just my shirt and my underwear, which is fine.

When he’s done, his fingers trail through my hair, and he kisses me softly.

And, as ordered before, I keep my hands to myself.

He breaks the kiss, and suddenly the question on my tongue feels infinitely more vulnerable than walking into his room and throwing myself at him.

“Can I stay?” My voice comes out quieter than I expect. “Can I stay in here with you tonight?”

His throat bobs, but his eyes don’t leave mine. “Yeah, sweetheart, you can stay.” He presses a gentle kiss to my forehead. “We should talk too.”

Laughing softly first, I admit, “I’m probably more capable of talking now than I was before.”

One corner of his mouth lifts. “That was part of my theory.”

Chapter three

Parameters, Not Rules

Ronan

As they say, the best laid plans .

I had very specific ones for the first time I had Cami to myself. What just happened between us doesn't ruin that—because it absolutely can and will still happen.

But none of tonight went according to plan.

And somehow, it was perfect anyway.

Even more than the plans I had for this, I really needed to have a conversation with her first. It’s a conversation I’ll need to have with Dex and Micah as well.

“How is your blood sugar?” I ask as I guide her to sit on the edge of the bed and take my desk chair across from her.

It’s almost exactly how we sat when I proposed my birthday plan to her.

Somehow, sitting across from her feels considerably more vulnerable now.