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He’d simply cradled me in his arms until my breath evened out, and I fell asleep.
Now, as sunlight streamed into the room, I wondered what the hell I had gotten myself into. Things with Ezra had changed. He’d told me they would before he’d slid my panties down my thighs, but I’d been too far gone to listen.
For months, I’d dreamed about what it would be like to feel him inside of me. I hadn’t considered what giving into a man like Ezra would actually mean. I worried that it would be the end of me.
“Morning,” he said, as he walked into the room.
He looked freshly showered, and I ran a hand self-consciously through my hair. “Morning,” I said, pulling the sheets up to my chin. There was something about the light of day that had made me incredibly self-conscious. Not that he hadn’t seen all of me already.
“I didn’t wake you, did I?”
I shook my head.
He smiled. “Good,” he said. “I was worried you might wake up during my run, so I left you a note.” He gestured toward the end table where a note was laid. “But when I came back you were sound asleep.”
I wasn’t sure what to say. Last night, Ezra saw every inch of me, and now, what? “I should probably get going,” I said. “I’m sure that you have a busy day ahead of you.”
He shook his head. “I’ve got a free morning. I thought maybe we’d go to breakfast.” His eyes immediately went to my ankle. “Or maybe a doctor.”
“I’m fine,” I said. I rested my foot on the plush carpet of his bedroom floor. “Like I said, just a sprain.”
Ezra still looked concerned, but he didn’t say anything. I looked down at my toes as I ran them through the carpet, my cheeks heating in embarrassment. Tension descended between the two of us, and when I glanced up at Ezra, he was pressing a hand to the back of his neck.
“About last night…”
“You don’t need to say anything,” I said, not wanting to get into it. “Emotions were high. Things were said…” I shivered as I remembered the words Ezra had spoken to me. He’d told me that he owned me, and the thought that he might scared the shit out of me.
Ezra strode forward until his feet were standing in front of my own. He reached out, and one of his fingers tipped my chin forward. “What happened last night was the start of something, not the end.”
I sighed. “Ezra…”
He shook his head. Droplets of water from his shower sprayed me slightly. “You can deny it all you want, but we both know last night was more than just sex.”
“Does it have to be?”
“Yes.”
The way he spoke made my stomach flutter. No man had ever had such an effect on me. When we first started dating, Nikolai and I had been thrust together by our fathers. We’d been their creatures, and looking back, I don’t think I even liked Nikolai. When he came back, I stayed with him out of obligation. How could you say goodbye to someone you’d thought had been dead?
“You want more from me than I can give you,” I told Ezra plainly.
His strong jaw clenched, and his eyes wandered to my scar. Last night, he’d let things go, but I wondered how long it would be before he forced the issue.
“I want to know who shot you,” he said.
I gulped at the sound of his voice. He was angry, and I suspected that anger wasn’t directed at me.
I sighed. There was no way out of this. Ezra always got what he wanted, and this time would be no expectation. I wasn’t interested in fighting him. I had larger secrets than this scar—secrets that could change everything for him and for me.
“The person who did this isn’t a problem anymore.”
Ezra crossed his arms. “Are they dead?” He was making every effort to keep his voice even, which meant that he was pissed. It was another way that Ezra and Nikolai were different. Nikolai was the type who would have flown off the handle at the slightest inconvenience. Ezra was always in control of himself. I wasn’t sure which one was more deadly.
“No,” I said. “He’s alive. But he’s in prison, and I’m pretty sure he’s not getting out anytime soon.”
Ezra nodded, but the tension in his jaw didn’t let up. “So, it was a man.”
I played with a frayed string on the sheets. I’d hoped that by telling Ezra that the person who shot me was no longer a threat, he’d let up, but I could tell he wouldn’t. “My ex-boyfriend.”
