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I let the warmth run down my back as her hunger filled my head.

She wanted me.

No.

I braced my hand against the wall.

She needed me. There was a fucking difference.

I was the one who dragged her from everyone she knew.

A woman beaten half to death.

A woman still learning how to breathe without fear.

And somehow she still whispered my name like I was something safe.

The water burned too hot against my skin.

I welcomed it.

I closed my eyes and lifted my chin. That sting at my neck became a goddamn anchor. Rivulets of heat coursed down my chest. My stomach. My thighs. My cock throbbed with need. But it wasn’t just anyone I wanted.

It was her.

I shook my head.

Don’t.

Still… I couldn’t stop it.

I reached down, rough fingers skimmed the scar on my side, then the jagged line further down. I cupped myself. Fuck. My fist clenched around myself. I didn’t do this. Didn’t allow myself need. Not for a woman. Not since my⁠—

My wife.

That ache ripped through me. Theresa had been a good woman. A kind woman. I would’ve spent the rest of my goddamn life trying to make her happy. But she wasn’t this. She wasn’t aching. She wasn’t… Nyssa.

Alaric.

My own goddamn name sounded perfect in her mouth.

Too fucking perfect.

I wanted it.

Jesus Christ I wanted it.

I clenched around myself and slowly thrust. I wanted it, just like I wanted her. I played my fingers against the cold tiles. The other wrapped tight around my cock, sliding all the way from the hilt to the end. I licked my lips. I could almost taste her. I could make her feel so fucking good.

Right here.

My own words echoed.

These are the places you stay.

Christ.

I was fucking falling for her.