“I am.” He tugged on the threads holding the man together, causing Pavel to wince. “I’m trying to fix you.”
“Funny, I’m pretty sure that’s actually what I’m doing here.” He rubbed his thumb against Zane’s bottom lip. “I can give you the life you’ve always wanted. I can give you the big house, the purpose, and the family. Someone to come home to who always wants you there. Someone to lean on and long for. I may not be a Royal, but my parents hold enough prestige that yours won’t be disappointed by our merger. Let me in. It’ll make this easier on the both of us.”
“And if I don’t?”
Pavel’s expression never wavered. “Then I’ll take you, whether you concede or not.”
Chapter 27:
“This is ridiculous,” Zane grumbled.
“Behave.” Pavel sat at the head of the clawed foot tub, leaning over a mostly submerged Zane with a washcloth in his left hand. He dragged the soapy cloth down Zane’s chest, tsking when he ran over one of Zane’s nipples and he emitted a sharp sound. “I told you to behave. We’re not in here for that.”
He’d been shocked when he’d finished restitching Pavel’s wound and the guy had suggested they take a bath. At first, for obvious reasons, but then he’d been reassured Pavel wasn’t planning on joining him in the tub and would keep his new bandage dry.
Still, Zane had figured it was a trap of some sort, suspiciously following the other man into the attached bathroom in the bedroom he’d woken in hours ago. He’d stood there and allowed Pavel to remove his damp clothing and run the tub. Had waited silently for the big reveal of what they were really doing in here, but…
“You can’t seriously be doing this right now?” He tipped his head back against the lip of the porcelain to catch Pavel’s dark gaze.
“What?” He continued to lavish him with his attention, dragging the cloth over his entire body soothingly. “You could catch a chill from the rain. A hot bath is just what you need.”
Zane blinked at him. “That’s not what you’re supposed to be saying.”
“Oh?” He quirked a thin brow. “Do tell. What is it I’m supposed to be saying, gorgeous?”
“That your cock is just what I need,” he blurted. “I gave you free rein to do anything you wanted with me.”
“Yes, and what I want,” he brushed his lips lightly against Zane’s forehead, “is to take care of you.”
Something zipped through his chest and he didn’t like it. “No.”
“You don’t get to say that,” Pavel reminded sweetly. “Relax. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
“I’m not afraid.” He fucking was and that pissed him off to no end. Getting hunted in the forest made more sense than this. Than the soft touches and the caresses. The way he was being treated like something precious and breakable.
“I like forcing you on your knees. I like when you cry for me and you’re choking and your only hope for air is in my hands,” Pavel said, the note in his voice so akin to adoration it only made Zane bristle more. “I like the way you resist and insist you don’t want me when I pin you down and split you on my cock.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“I’m not finished,” he chided. “Because I enjoy this too. I really was hoping to make you breakfast this morning. I made sure the fridge was stocked with all of your favorites.”
It wasn’t just the fridge.
Zane’s eyes couldn’t help but go to the shelf to the side of the tub where all of the bathing products were kept. Thebrand of shampoo, conditioner, body wash, hell, even the type of aftershave he preferred were all there, lined up in neat rows.
“You didn’t just take my coat that day, did you.” The coat he’d given up getting back. Especially after he’d checked his closet and realized the devil at his back had replaced it with one of his own. “Things have gone missing from my rooms lately…”
“Not just lately,” Pavel said and Zane frowned.
“I blamed the staff.”
“That’s the problem with allowing others into your personal space.”
“I don’t like cleaning.”
“Noted.”
He heaved a sigh of annoyance. “What does that even mean?”
