“Did I hurt you?” Ivan questions after a few moments and trails his fingers down my spine. His touch makes me shiver, and I notice his flaccid cock is still inside me.
“No… I-I liked it… a lot.” I’m shocked that I’m admitting it, but I did, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want it to happen again.
“Good, I won’t warn you again though. Your safety means everything to me, and even if you don’t understand the importance of remaining hidden, I do, and I’ll do whatever I can to make certain that we both come out of this alive. There are sacrifices that must be made, and I’m sorry if that upsets you, but I’m not just going to let you do whatever the hell you want without thinking about the consequences.”
“Okay, I’ll listen.” I know deep down he is right, even if I don’t want to admit it right in this moment. Everything he just said is true. I have no idea how to do this... no idea how to survive on my own. He knows how this all works, how to deal with these kinds of people and he’s done nothing but try to protect me. He sacrificed his entire life to save me, and I need to trust him and do what he says even if it hurts like hell, even if all I want to do is call my sister and race home to her.
In the end, I don’t want her to end up hurt either. She’s all I have left, and if something happened to her because of me... I don’t even want to think about it.
“Let’s take a quick shower.” Ivan gets up, pulling ne to my feet with him. My knees shake like crazy as I try to walk, and Ivan wraps an arm around me, securing me to his body. I lean into him, and we walk to the bathroom together.
He turns on the shower, and the room starts to fill with steam. Without a word, he pulls my shirt off, and we step into the hot spray together. He washes my hair, his strong fingers massaging my scalp. He rinses my hair and moves on to wash the rest of my body, moving the soapy washcloth over every inch of my skin. I relish in the way he cares for me, showing me how much I matter to him.
When he is done rinsing me off, I take the washcloth and the soap from his hand and start washing him in return. I take care of every inch of his beautifully sculpted body, feeling his muscles flex under the washcloth as he moves.
With my other hand, I trace over his heated flesh, mapping out every inch of him, memorizing the way he looks and the way he feels because someday he won’t be here. He can’t stay forever, no matter how much I want him to. He doesn’t want me the same way I want him, and he’s already reminded me that this is temporary, and still, I can’t help but wonder if it isn’t.
If maybe it could be something more? I try not to dwell on the thought for long. Ivan and I will be here for a long while together, it seems. I’ll just deal with whatever happens when it happens.
As we exit the shower and dry off, I realize how exhausted I am. Ivan was right, we both could use some sleep. I don’t even bother putting any clothes back on and instead, I lie down in bed naked. I’m sure Ivan approves because he slips under the blankets behind me, pulling me to his chest. I feel every inch of his skin against mine, and I almost moan. His touch is comforting, his presence makes me feel safe, and it isn’t long before sleep grabs me, dragging me into the darkness.
16
Ivan
I wake up blanketed in warmth. Violet’s body is in my arms just as she has been for the last few weeks. Still, today is different. Today she is free… we are free. Today, I don’t have to take her back to a cell and leave her there. I can hold her all fucking day if I want to, and no one is going to take her from me. Pulling her even closer, I bury my face in her hair and breathe her in. She wiggles in my arms as if she’s trying to escape.