I’ll be patient though. This new intimacy we’ve found outside of sex is amazing too, so it’s no hardship. Luckily, we’ve got some time, and I’ll get her to cave eventually.
Chapter 36
Willow
We’ve been cooped up for almost a week, and I’m about to lose my damn mind.
Edits are almost done and were a great distraction, but being locked in here with James is testing all of my willpower. It feels like he’s on this mission to get me to cave, and I’ve held strong so far. Unfortunately, my edits are coming to an end, and all I can think about is if his stab wound is healed enough.
“What are you thinking so hard about?”
His cocky tone tells me he knows exactly what I’m thinking about as he’s wearing nothing but grey sweatpants. I need him to stop knowing so much about what turns me on in a nanosecond because I’m dying.
“How are your stitches?” I ask, looking at the smaller bandage on his side because, let’s face it, it’s been a week—that’s plenty of time for the bulk of healing, right? God, it’s like the hours of research I put into books that have shit like this in it have just flown out the window because I’m so fucking horny.
“Good. I did a tele-med appointment with the doctor, and he said they look good. Most of the dissolving ones are already gone, and I’ll need to come in to get the surface ones removed. Same for the forearm, but that’s pretty much closed up.”
Do I look as excited as I feel? Because I feel like my face is about to break from how wide my smile is.
He slowly peels off the bandages, and I see no sign of any stitches and my smile instantly drops.
“What the fuck?” I whisper.
“It’s not the first time I’ve taken out stitches. I cleared it with the doc, I promise,” he says with a grin.
I’m not sure why, but I’m annoyed—no, not annoyed, pissed. If he took those out and it causes an infection, I’m going to … I don’t know, punch him in the dick or something.
“Meet me in the bedroom. I’ll be there in a second.”
He arches an eyebrow at me before sauntering off to my room with a smirk. Yeah, I have a plan, and it’s definitely not what he’s thinking. I walk to my bedroom and find him lying on his back, sans sweatpants, and I arch my eyebrow at him.
“Wishful thinking?” he asks playfully.
I don’t bother with a reply. It isn’t wishful thinking, but I doubt he has even thought of what I’m about to do. I know he’s as pent up as I am. Walking into my bathroom, I pull the tie off of my robe and go back to my bedroom.
His eyes lock onto the tie and light up. “Hell fucking yes.” He sits up, but I stop him.
“Nope. I’m not the one being tied up today, James.” I see the second his eyes shutter, and I walk closer to the bed. “If that’s not okay, I won’t do it,” I say softly.
I never want to make him uncomfortable, but push his boundaries like he pushes mine? Sure, but this is more of a one-off anyway because we both know I love being tied up as much as he loves doing it.
“I…” His throat bobs as he swallows hard. “I’ve never let someone reciprocate.”
He doesn’t elaborate, and I feel like there’s more to it, although I’m not sure what.
“You can tell me no.”
He eyes me for a second before his whole face transforms into admiration. “If I let you do this, you know the payback is going to be big, right?”
“Fully expecting that.”
“Tie me up, Trouble.” He lays his hands above his head in surrender, and it feels like a huge moment. Sure, we’ve said “I love you”, but this feels like a big step too. This is complete trust.
I strip out of my clothes before stepping closer and climbing on the bed. When I straddle his stomach, he groans at the contact.
“Fuuuckkkk, Will.”
“Why did you freeze up when I asked to do this?” I loop his wrists through the tie as I ask quietly.
