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She wants more words, and I’m thrilled to give them to her. “It’s pure bliss, baby,” I start, stroking her thighs, feeling her weak, battered body respond. “Total gratification.” I hitch a brow, watching as she breathes through the contact, her eyes back to the usual, brilliant sparkle. “Absolute, complete earth-shifting, universe-shaking love.”
“Yeah?” she asks, doing a terrible job of holding back her satisfied smile.
“Oh yeah,” I whisper. “Complete heaven.”
Letting her smile loose, she forgets herself for a moment and plummets to my chest. “Ouch.”
“Careful,” I moan, helping her to sit up again. God, this sucks. “Does it hurt bad?”
“It’s fine. What am I going to do about work?”
“Unravel your knickers.” I start to gingerly move us to get up. She needs that bath, loads of lavender, and I’ve got to keep her moving or she’ll seize up. “I’ve spoken to Patrick.” I embellish the truth. I couldn’t talk to him because I couldn’t get into Ava’s phone to get his number, so I was forced to leave a message on the office answering machine.
She groans, clinging to me. “Is there anyone in my life who you haven’t trampled?”
She has no idea. “Don’t be cheeky. There are no whip marks on your arse, lady. Anyway, why does our home look like it’s been ransacked by burglars?” Everything is everywhere.
“I was looking for something.”
“What?”
She looks at me through one narrowed eye as I lower her to her feet, and it hits me.Oh fuck. “Nothing,” she says slowly as I turn her toward the bathroom and away from me, looking up at the ceiling.Fuck, fuck, fuck.Was she looking for her pills?
“What did you tell Patrick?”
I lift her up onto the vanity and start running us a bath. “I told him you passed out on Saturday and put your back out.”
“Did he not think it strange that you called him?”
I don’t know, because I didn’t actuallyspeakto him. “I don’t know, and I don’t really care.” I return to Ava, pouting at her back in the mirror. “Look what you’ve done to your beautiful body. I won’t be taking you on your back for a while.”
Her pout matches mine as she peers over her shoulder to inspect the damage. “Is that it?”
“What do you mean, is that it?”
“Turn around.” She’s quickly forcing me around in front of her, and she inhales when she has my back. “See, yours are better than mine.”
The fuck?
I’m moving before I think better of it, taking her from the unit and putting her on her feet, shaking some fucking sense into her, since I can’t currently fuck it into her. “Shut up, Ava.”
She wilts, remorseful. “Sorry, it just hurts so much. I thought it would look a lot worse than that.”
“It’s fucking bad enough.” For the love of God. I go back to the bath, incensed.
“I said, I’m sorry.”
I leave Ava to think about how ridiculous she’s being while I fix our bath and pick up the various things scattered around the floor, wondering if she’s going to ask me if I’ve been taking her pills. Quite honestly, I think, and hope, she’s telling herself not to be so crazy. Because who would do that? Me, that’s who. I regret it, yes, and I definitely won’t be doing it again. Because that’s crazy behavior. The question is, though, have I succeeded in my crazy endeavor?
I try to help her off the unit and get snubbed, and she goes to the bath and lowers herself in, slowly, cautiously, her face pained. She eventually opens her eyes, and I motion for her to move down to make space, which she does on a few mumbles.
I get in and ease her to my chest. “Don’t fight me,” I order, nipping at her ear, smiling when she squirms before she settles and sighs. I watch the water lap over her flesh, the air quiet, the atmosphere easy. It’s a stark contrast to the horrors of last night, and somewhere I didn’t think we’d be this morning. I’m grateful. So fucking grateful.
“So, Steve is out on his arse?” she asks, her toes slipping across my shins.
I sigh. I don’t want to talk about Steve, The Manor, or last night. “Gone.”
“No questions asked?”
