Waiting.
Licking her lips, she lowered her hands and placed them on her stomach. This was the first time in a long time she’d eaten a meal and actually been full. He’d fed her and she’d accepted the food without a single thought.
She wasn’t hungry anymore.
Sated.
Simon returned, carrying two large mugs.
She stared down into the dark liquid and smelled the hot chocolate. It was a comforting smell to her. Closing her eyes, she breathed it in.
“It’s not like Angel would make, but it’ll do the job.”
Tears filled her eyes and she took a sip, scalding her top lip but not caring at all. It tasted so nice.
“Don’t cry, please, don’t cry.”
She stopped the tears. This wasn’t sadness. She didn’t know what it was, but it felt good. It felt pure, and she didn’t want the moment to end.
Finishing her hot chocolate, she settled against the sofa.
“Do you want to have a bath?” he asked.
“Yes, I’d like that.” And for now, she wasn’t going to keep on fighting him. It was way too exhausting to keep it up.
****
Simon sat in the bedroom.
He’d drawn her a bath and now he sat waiting.
She was naked.
In the bathtub and all alone.
He’d put in some vanilla scents that she loved. Rubbing his hands together, he rested his elbows on his knees and waited.
There was nothing wrong with being the perfect gentleman.
You need to keep her on her toes.
Tabby was hurting. He got it. Five years without a single word, not that he didn’t want to talk to her. There were so many times he lifted his cell phone, ready to talk to her, only to stop himself at the last number.
She didn’t need him to constantly be calling.
He wanted to.
Instead, he’d kept on fighting. Turning all of his anger into the force he needed to win. It had been a long time since he’d lost any kind of fight.
Getting to his feet, he paced the length of the bedroom, which wasn’t long enough.
Fuck.
He’d known for some time he’d fucked up. How he should have come to her sooner. Everything had moved by so fast and he’d simply rode until he was done with waiting.
Stepping toward the bathroom door, he’d seen the desire in her eyes. The tightness of her nipples. She wanted him, but was also afraid. She wanted to fight and he was okay with that.
Simon made up his mind.
He opened the bathroom door. Tabby lay within the bubbles. Her clothes a pile on the floor. She’d bound her hair up on top of her head.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
He pulled his shirt over his head, dropping it to the floor.
The gun he carried was in his drawers, locked in a compartment. Traveling the streets, seeing the kind of dirty shit he had, he’d learned to carry a weapon and conceal it.
After dropping his jeans, he lowered his boxer briefs.
He stood, letting her have her fill, allowing her to watch. His dick was rock-hard and he wasn’t ashamed of it.
Her gaze traveled all the way down to his cock and then back up.
He moved toward the tub and she didn’t argue with him.
She slid forward and he climbed in behind her, opening his thighs for her to settle against him.
“I don’t trust this submissive you,” he said.
“Good, I wouldn’t if I was you.”
He chuckled. Resting his hands on the edges of the tub, he felt her. Skin to skin.
Five years, nearly six he’d been without this.
Unable to waste a single moment, he put a hand to her stomach, stroking the delicate flesh. Nathan had been here. His son.
She didn’t move.
He waited and slowly, she softened against him.
“There has never been another woman. You can ask Dean and the guys when I introduce you to them. I haven’t been with anyone else nor will I ever be with anyone, ever.”
Her hands went to his thighs. “It was only a date. Nothing happened. I haven’t been with anyone either.”
She covered his hands with her own on her stomach.
“So, we’ve both just had each other. Like always,” he said.
“It seems that way.” She tilted her head back. “It doesn’t mean anything.”
“Of course not. Who else would save themselves for a loved one if it didn’t mean anything? It’s nothing. I get it,” he said. She’d lied about it not meaning anything and he saw it.
If this was what she needed to help her, he got it.
Slowly, he moved one hand up and cupped one of her large tits. He teased the nipple, stroking over the bud, going back and forth, pinching the tip. She gasped, arching up. Her legs opened a little wider, and with his other hand, he moved down, cupping her pussy. He held her within his grasp, letting her get used to his touch, before he finally moved a finger down her slit.
He teased from her hole, up to her clit, stroking over the bud.