Page 28 of Unbound

I grab her arm gently, pulling her back toward the bedroom. “He’ll be fine.”

I couldn’t care less if he bled out right now as long as he doesn’t get any blood on my sofa. I hear him chuckling like the dickhead he is as I walk with Eden back toward the room.

“You two sleep tight.”

I grit my teeth, slamming the bedroom door shut behind me.

Eden moves over to the bed and sits. “Wow, he’s … he’s a lot.”

“You have no idea. I don’t usually let him get to me like this. I’m sorry if he made you feel uncomfortable. I haven’t told him about anything you’ve gone through.”

If I had, he might have laid off on hitting on her—maybe. There’s no telling with Duke. I move over to her, taking a seat behind her.

“Sterling, it’s really okay.”

I start slowly massaging her neck. She groans, and I feel the sound in my dick.

“Maybe … maybe you should sleep in here tonight and let him have the sofa.”

My head jerks up. I meet her eyes in the mirror mounted across from us on the wall. I keep massaging her neck, the steady pressure of my fingers reminding me of the last time she let me touch her, somewhere far more intimate.

“Are you sure?”

She nods. “I want you in here.” Her voice is barely above a whisper.

I wrap my fingers around her neck, slowly turning her around to face me. “Why?”

She gnaws her bottom lip. “I didn’t tell you not to touch me.”

“I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. You said you were glad I understood.” I swallow over the lump in my throat.

I thought her response meant she was glad I understood that she didn’t want to be touched. It’s been difficult to resist her, but I wanted her to realize she mattered so much more than that. I wanted her to know she had every right to tell me no and that she didn’t owe me a thing.

“I was glad. I am glad. I still want … I still have the dirtiest mind on the planet, and I physically need you to touch me more than I’ve ever needed anything. It’s all I can think about when you’re walking around with your shirt off every single day.”

Fuck.

Fuck me.

I gaze into her eyes, struggling to believe that she’s been in here, sleeping in my bed, down the hall from me, wanting me all this time, and I had no idea.

She licks her lips. “We are married after all. It’s technically … allowed.”

“Have you been touching yourself?”

She shrugs, cheeks warming as she looks down. “I tried.”

“You tried?”

“You’re so much better at it,” she whimpers.

My chest puffs up, and I slowly release the air in my lungs. Blood floods my groin, making it hard for me to form words.

“Baby, why didn’t you say something?” I scoot closer to her. “I could’ve been taking care of you. All this time, I wanted to take care of you.”

“Why do you keep calling me that?”

“Calling you what?”