AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She looked up at him, seeing his eyes, pale and filled with concern, his face creased with worry. She smiled weakly, her body felt boneless, so completely sated she had no desire to move.
“Lay down and sleep with me, or go away. ” She yawned, breathing deeply as drowsiness began to fill her once again. “You can fuck me again when I wake up. ”
Faith felt Jacob as he moved hesitantly from the bed. She opened her eyes again, watching him as he stood over her.
“Bath. ” He cleared his throat rather hesitantly. “We both need to bathe. You’ll relax easier. ”
“You go bathe—dammit, Jacob,” she cursed as he picked her up.
She assured herself she would have fought him, and made plans to do just that as soon as she regained her breath and her strength.
“Let me take care of you, Faith,” he said gently, staring down at her as he moved to the open bathroom door. “Stop cursing and fighting me. Just let me care for you. Just for now. ”
And how could she deny him? Especially when she had dreamed of nothing more.
She watched in silence as he adjusted the water as it poured into the tub, which was big enough to hold three normal sized people. She might fit in there with him, she thought with a flash of amusement.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” He turned back to her, holding out his hand to help her into the steamy water that slowly rose in the porcelain tub.
“Jacob, are you okay?” She frowned as she allowed him to help her in. “Of course I’m fine. I told you I was. ”
He eased into the water, then drew her down between his thighs. Faith relaxed against his chest with a sigh. She was tired, ready to sleep the rest of the day away. It was rare that her body and her mind were relaxed enough for her to do so.
“You frighten me, Faith,” he whispered as his hands held her to him, his body encasing hers.
Her heart jumped in her chest. She held herself still, barely breathing, afraid of breaking the tenuous air of intimacy that suddenly surrounded them.
“I’m terrified of your innocence,” he said softly. “Your generosity and your emotions. You threaten everything that has kept me sane all these years. How would I live if I lost you now?”
She drew in a trembling breath. “And how would I live, Jacob, if I lost you?” she asked him, her voice just as soft.
She turned until her side rested against his chest, her head in the hollow of his shoulder. One large male thigh lifted to allow her legs room, then lay over them protectively. She was surrounded by his hard, male heat. Just as she had always longed to be.
One large palm held her head to his chest as he dropped a soft kiss to her hair. He was quiet, but his heart raced beneath her ear.
“I want to protect you,” he whispered. “And I can’t because I don’t have the strength to send you away, the will to do without you any longer. But I fear for you, and those fears could restrict you. ”
She frowned, then tilted her head back to look into his face. He appeared uncertain, intense. His eyes swirled with emotions she knew he would never admit to, at least not yet, not right now.
She smiled up at him, and winked flirtatiously.
“It’s the Alpha in you. Don’t worry, babe, I’ll keep you on the straight and narrow. No restrictions unless I can live with them. ”
She wanted to laugh at the shock that filled his now
narrowing eyes.
“I am being serious here, mate,” he bit out.
“No, my love, you are trying desperately to excuse love with a need for protection. But that’s okay. ” She patted his thigh comfortingly. “For now, you can get away with it. Now bathe me so I can sleep. You dragged me in here, you can wash me. ”
She pulled a cloth from the small shelf behind him, and a small bar of soap from beside it. She slapped both in his hands and watched him expectantly.
“One day, you may not have the last word so easily,” he assured her, his voice a smooth, dark warning.
She merely arched a brow in amusement and restrained her laughter. He would come around, she knew he would. He had to, or else she knew she could never survive their future.
Chapter Twenty-Two
