yourself?”
I smirked. “Are you offerin’ to wash my back?”
He sighed. “As much as I like that idea…” He trailed off and chewed on the inside of his cheek for a minute. “If you need help, I’ll help you, but that’s all I’d be doing.”
“I know, baby. Relax. I’ll be fine.” If I had a choice, I’d wait until I could really enjoy him naked, so I was goin’ to make this work without his help, otherwise I’d devour him too quickly.
“You sure? I can stay in here in case you need help.” His voice was soft, so I focused on him to try and figure out what was goin’ on in his head.
“You okay?”
“Huh?”
“Are you okay?”
He blinked at me. “Yeah, I’m good. Do you want me to stay or go?”
“Tell me what’s goin’ on in your head, shadow boy.”
He sighed again. “I don’t want to leave you in here by yourself.”
“Why?”
“Because I thought I lost you last night, and I’m still not ready to be away from you, but this isn’t really the way I wanted to see you completely naked for the first time. But I feel like a fucking jittery mess because I’m worried you might get hurt or that maybe this is a dream and you’re really still trapped by that fucking warlock or whatever, and I’m—”
“Bas.” I cut him off and stepped in front of him. “Calm down, baby.” I took off my gloves—a little surprised he hadn’t removed them last night—threw them on the counter, then moved into Basil’s space. His back was against the wall, and my chest was pressed to his in the small area as I lifted my hand and cupped his cheek. As he closed his eyes, he leaned into my touch, so I lifted my other hand and ran my fingers through the loose hair on the non-braided side of his head. I used that hand to caress his cheek, keeping the other cupped, then I bent down to press a soft kiss to his lips. “I’m right here, baby.”
To my surprise, a tear slipped out of his eye. He went to wipe it, but I beat him to it, using my thumb to brush it away. “Sorry,” he whispered.
“It’s okay, love. Everything’s okay.” I kissed his lips again, and this time he whimpered and opened his mouth to let my tongue explore him. He kissed me back with the same desperation I felt.
“Hiro,” he breathed out.
He didn’t say it, but I could tell what he was thinkin’, so I said, “I’m right here. I’m right here, love.”
A choked sound escaped him, so I moved my lips away but only so I could pull him into a tight hug. He tucked his head against my neck and whispered, “I almost lost you before I’ve really even had you.”
I held him tighter. “But you didn’t. You got to me in time.”
He nodded against me, clinging to me desperately. I felt just as desperate to be close to him, too.
We stayed there for a long time, and besides Rasha, I didn’t know the last time I’d truly hugged someone like this. But having him in my arms felt right, like somethin’ inside my chest clicked into place, like he was a puzzle and I was the lost piece that finally found its way back home.
Eventually, he whispered, “Go take a shower… is it okay if I stay in here?”
I almost suggested that he simply jump in with me, but I could tell he was feeling too raw. The last thing he’d want was to be stripped naked in front of me right now after letting me see him lose control of his emotions. As much as Basil Ellwood acted like a confident ass, it was mostly a front. Something happened in his past that made it hard for him to trust people. It seemed we both had pasts that messed us up a little—or a lot.
“Yeah, stay.”
He blew out a relieved breath.
After kissing the side of his head, I backed away and undressed. To my surprise, Basil turned his back to me and didn’t try to peek. It made me smirk at him and shake my head as I climbed into the shower. It didn’t take long to clean myself off, and when I got back out, Basil kept his back to me. I dried off, got into my borrowed clothes, and said, “Why don’t you get in? I’ll wait in here.”
He finally turned to me. “You don’t mind?”
I shook my head.