Her eyes were enormous as she licked her lips nervously and stared up at him. “Maybe.” She whispered.
He shifted forward, ever so slightly, and tilted his head toward her. “What did you say?”
She looked down at the floor, as if trying to hide. “Maybe I am disappointed.”
He reached one finger to gently tip her head up to look at him. “Tell me what you want, Clodagh.”
She shivered, but didn’t look away. One breath, then two. Another. Just when Domik thought she wouldn’t be brave enough to say what she wanted, she lifted her chin, pulled her shoulders back and spoke. Her voice was clear and steady as she said words he never expected to hear from her.
“I want you to hold me, Dom.”
He went immediately rigid, his cock straining at the tight fabric of his pants, tenting them almost obscenely. He shifted, adjusting the heavy weight with one hand to fit more comfortably, but stalling with his hand still on his cock as she watched.
A thrill raced through him at the thought of her watching him. He cupped his thick length, watching her. Her breath was coming in short bursts, her hands twisting in the fabric of her tee-shirt, the hem riding up to show more of her legs than he thought she meant to.
Sliding his hand down, he caressed his heavy balls, groaning at the sensation.
Her eyes shot to his. “Dom?”
“Yes?”
“I need to feel like I’m not alone. That’s all.”
His hand stilled. If that’s what she wanted, then that’s what he would do. He removed his hand and gripped her shoulders gently. His hands were so big that his thumbs touched at the front of her throat, across her collarbones, and his fingers still curled over the back of her shoulders.
She closed her eyes, her head falling backward, exposing her throat.
Domik bent, his head dipping to slide his nose along the pale column of her neck. She tilted her head to one side as he breathed in her scent. Warm, clean woman, and the scent all of her own. The feeling of being home hit him again. He pushed it aside.
Maybe not forever. But maybe you can pretend?
He gathered her in his arms and dropped a kiss to the top of her head. “I want to make you feel good,” he said against her hair.
She pulled away slightly to look at him. “Then hold me.” She smiled, lifting a hand to rest on his bare chest over his heart, which thudded so fast he swore she could hear it.
Don’t let her guess how much I want her.
Her hand burned like a brand where it touched him, and he covered it with one of his.
She opened her mouth to speak, but squeaked as the room was plunged into darkness. “Oh, shit! The torch!” She laughed.
He released her and stepped sideways just as she did, CJ colliding into his chest, her arms pressed against him. His hands went automatically around her, her slight figure fitting against him as if they were made for each other.
“Hold on, Dom. I think I saw some candles somewhere…” She slipped out of his arms, moving around him in the room.
His eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness, the faint moonlight sending her into relief as she walked in front of the windows that were covered only with a filmy curtain. A spark of a match and then a flare of light, the smell of sulfur hitting his nostrils. CJ’s face was lit by a glow of a small candle, which was quickly followed by a handful of others.
She walked around to his side of the bed, lighting another few candles and placing them on the small side table.
The glow lit the room in a soft, flickering light that danced across her skin, lighting her in a soft hue. His breath caught as she turned and smiled at him.
“That’s better,” she said. She bit her lip as she looked up at him, uncertainty in her expression.
Domik lifted an eyebrow and held out his hand to her. The choice had to be hers.
She looked at his hand, chewing on her lip. “Could you go back to the way things were? After this, I mean.”
The way things were? Being tortured every day by her presence and not being able to touch her, to hold her, to comfort her when she was upset or afraid? If in his whole life all he had was this one night, then it would have to be enough.
He looked at her uncertain expression, and hating himself for it, he lied. “Yes, I can go back to the way things were.”
She smiled a little and slid her hand into his.
