Chapter 122 (1/2)

I step toward her. “I want you, Anastasia. Now. And you want me. That’s why you’re here.”

“I really did want to know,” she says.

“Well, now that you do, are you coming or going?” I ask, standing in front of her.

“Coming,” she says, her eyes on mine.

“Oh, I hope so.” I stare down at her, marveling as her irises darken.

She wants me.

“You were so mad at me,” I whisper.

It’s still novel, dealing with her anger, taking her feelings into account.

“Yes.”

“I don’t remember anyone but my family ever being mad at me. I like it.” Gently I touch her face with the tips of my fingers and run them down to her chin. She closes her eyes and angles her cheek to my touch. Leaning down, I run my nose along her naked shoulder, up to her ear, inhaling her sweet scent as desire floods my body. My fingers move to her nape and into her hair.

“We should talk,” she whispers.

“Later.”

“There’s so much I want to say.”

“Me, too.” I kiss the spot beneath her ear and tug her hair, pulling back her head to expose her throat. My teeth and lips graze her chin and down her neck as my body hums with need. “I want you,” I whisper, as I kiss the spot where her pulse beats beneath her skin. She moans and holds my arms. I tense for a moment, but the darkness stays dormant.

“Are you bleeding?” I ask between kisses.

She stills. “Yes,” she says.

“Do you have cramps?”

“No.” Her voice is quiet yet vehement with embarrassment.

I stop kissing her and look down into her eyes. Why is she embarrassed? It’s her body. “Did you take your pill?”

“Yes,” she answers.

Good. “Let’s go have a bath.”

In the over-the-top bathroom I release Ana’s hand. The atmosphere is hot and humid, steam gently rising above the foam. In this heat I’m overdressed, my linen shirt and jeans sticking to my skin.