It was the main reason I didn't let anyone inside anymore. I was afraid I would break them. Or lose them. It didn't matter that Savanah had cancer. I hadn’t wanted to live without her. That was exactly how I felt now.
And it scared the hell out of me.
But I didn't tell Francesca any of that.
I didn't tell her because I didn't have to tell her. She just pulled me into her arms and cradled my head against her. Then she took me to bed and made love to me until it was dark out.
I told her I loved her with my hands.
I told her I loved her with my tongue.
I told her I loved her with my arms and chest and cock.
The only way I didn't tell her was to say the words.
She didn't want love words. She told me time and time again. No talk of the future. No sad sappy words that didn't mean anything. So I didn't give them to her. Each time she made me explode though, I had to bite the words back.
Each time it got harder and harder.
Instead of telling her I was falling in love with her, each night I said the same thing. The same thing I said tonight, after we'd worn each other out all day, never once leaving the room.
"Sleep tight, my darling."
Then I wrapped the chain holding the room key around my cock. There was no way she could get it without waking me up. I always grinned at the outraged expression on her face.
I wasn't letting her out of my sight for a minute.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Francesca
I sighed, rolling to my side. My body was sore, but in a good way. A 'making love to Daniel all day and night' sort of way. I smiled to myself as I stared at the sunlight streaming in the window.
There was nothing else like it.
My stomach rumbled. We'd been in here since the spanking incident yesterday morning. Now I was hungry. Ravenous really. And the stubborn, gorgeous, bare ass naked man sleeping beside me insisted on locking me in with him each night. I didn't want to wake him though. He'd been furious yesterday. Furious and something else. Devastated. Terrified of losing me.
He wasn't play acting. He wasn't trying to tie me down for his pride. He needed me. He might even love me.
The irony of the situation was not lost on me.
So, I wanted to let him sleep. But I also wanted breakfast. And coffee.
I really, really wanted coffee.
I frowned, lifting the covers to see if the key had slipped from his cock as he slept. No such luck. The silver chain shone against the soft peach skin of his perfect shaft. I watched as the key slid to the side.
Daniel was getting hard.
I looked up to see him grinning at me. His hands were behind his head, looking supremely arrogant. His cock actually twitched when I looked back at it.
"Going somewhere?"
"I'm hungry, Daniel."
"Me too."
He reached for me but I swatted him away.
"For food."
He sighed deeply. Then he brightened as if he'd had a genius idea.
"Breakfast in bed?"
I shook my head.
"I'm too hungry to wait. Starving. Let's go eat."
His eyes slid down my body.
"That's exactly what I had in mind."
I laughed and rolled out of bed. I knew he wasn't going to keep me locked in here all day. Right?
He scowled but followed me into the shower, washing my back but nothing else. I washed his for him too. He kissed me deeply. I knew he wanted more. I could tell every time his cock brushed against me. It was pointing straight for the sky. But I shook my head at him. He was incorrigible.
I got out and wrapped myself in a soft towel. I heard him yelp as he turned the water on cold. I grinned as I slid into my jodhpurs and a silk blouse.
Any man who would take a cold shower for you was worth keeping.
Keeping...
I didn't want to think like that. But lately my thoughts had wandered in that direction more and more. Daniel made me laugh. He made me feel safe. He cared about my opinions and my well being.
I rubbed my bottom where he'd smacked it. It wasn't sore. He hadn't spanked me hard enough for that. But I could still feel the sting of his sharp smacks.
Maybe he cared a little too much about my well being...
I dressed and used the key he'd left on the dresser. All my clothes were in his suite now. He'd even emptied half of his closet for me. He definitely was not looking for a fling. It was touching. And terrifying at the same time.
The smell of breakfast led me down the stairs to the dining room. Breakfast was always served buffet style at the Delancey Estate. And now that Jake and Elle were back, there was always someone to eat with other than Daniel or Jackson.