that she felt overheated.
“We need to stop,” she breathed. “Please.”
“You’re the boss.” He kissed her cheek. “Just one more, please?”
“What?”
“One more kiss, and we’ll stop.”
“But I—”
He tilted her head back to his, and his lips crashed to hers before she could protest. She was left holding on to him for dear life as he kissed her.
How long it went on, she couldn’t tell. But when he finally broke away, her chest was heaving. So was his. He moaned loudly—profanely—and leaned away from her.
“Fuck, that was good.” His hands held her waist, and he pressed his hips up into her, grinding himself against her. “You’re amazing. I said we could stop, but oh, by the fates, please don’t make me—”
She squeaked. “No!”
“You sure? I mean…please? I’ll beg. I’ll seriously beg. Do you want me to plead with you? I just—oh, gods, Hope—oh, that was so good.” He pressed himself up into her again, miming the dance he wanted to do with her. “Do you want me to be a good boy? I can heel. I’ll even bark for you if you ask real nice.”
“Stop—please—” She pushed off him, and he let her go. “I’m sorry. I can’t. I—”
“Too much, too soon, and you think I’m going to use you and throw you away. I get it. Fuck.” He let out a long, haggard sigh of defeat. “It’s fine. I just…I need to go take care of this. Unless you want to come and give me a hand.” He snickered at the lewd innuendo.
“No. I’ll pass.” Her face felt like it was on fire. She placed her hand to her cheek, trying to hide what must be a violent blush. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. My body isn’t your fault or your problem. Never was, never will be. Besides, I’m the one coming on to you like a train wreck. It’s fine. But I’m not going to stop trying. And I’m making great progress.” He groaned profanely again. “Shit. I’ll be back in a minute. I gotta go relieve myself, if you get my meaning. I can’t keep swimming around like this.”
And with that, he left the pool to go…she shivered. The idea of him going off to “relieve himself” was too much. She dunked herself under the water again, trying to cool down. The fact that he was going to go off and casually take care of himself, only to come back like nothing had happened—like it wasn’t she who had caused it?
Who did that?
Who in the name of Hades was that man?
She decided to do a few laps around the pool. The deep water didn’t scare her. She was a strong swimmer, and she had a great sense of direction. She had no problem finding her way back to the shallower portion after a few minutes of easing up the tension in her muscles.
She nearly screamed as someone jumped into the water. The splash crashed over her, and she sputtered. When she heard laughing, she knew who it was and why they had done it. “Gotcha.”
She smiled, but it faded a second later.
“What’s wrong?” She was in his arms then, and he was holding her. Close, but not too close. “Sweet girl, what’s wrong?” He actually sounded concerned.
“Nothing.” She tried to pull away. He didn’t allow it.
“Nope. I don’t buy it. Something’s wrong, and it’s my fault. How do I fix it? I’ll do anything you need me to. Just say it.” He was so eager.
Anything. Including telling the truth? She let out a breath and decided it was better to try and fail than not to try at all. “Nero, I need you not to lie to me. I need you not to be playing me like you probably do all the other women. I can’t…I don’t know if I can handle it. Please don’t be that cruel. Please. You’ve upended my life, and I need to know I can trust you.”
“What’s all this, now?”
“I need you to be honest with me. Why am I here?”
His palm pressed to her cheek, and his thumb ran over her skin, soothingly. She shut her eyes at the sensation. He hummed as he watched her, then let out a grumbling sigh before he committed to whatever he was going to say. “Okay. I won’t lie. I didn’t buy you to be my religious advisor. I didn’t buy you for political gain. I was serious when I said it earlier…I bought you because I want you to be my wife.”
Wife.
He grazed his lips over her