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There was no point in denying that I wanted this—that this was everything. And there was no point in denying that he didn’t want me back. This wasn’t a fling. This wasn’t a hookup. He wasn’t a Roget replacement.
I had fallen in love with him. I was willing to do anything and everything he asked except let go without a fight. But it wasn’t going to be easy.
Life was already hell for Aleric on set. The cast didn’t trust him and didn’t hold back letting him know they were just waiting for him to fuck up, the director was making his life miserable, and the crew acted like he wasn’t part of the team. He was stubborn—and God, he was beautiful for that—but I knew it was killing him.
Being with me meant more scrutiny. It meant more eyes on him. It meant gossip and paparazzi following him around, articles being published about him. It meant even the few secrets of his childhood that were left behind being dragged into the open.
I was used to a life with no peace, but I knew it was all Aleric wanted.
Asking him to be with me was asking him to take on a burden that might destroy him before we got our happily ever after. I needed to find a way to fix it.
I just didn’t know how.
“Knock knock?”
I was just sliding off the toilet when Aleric’s voice floated between the cracks in the door. I quickly flushed, then rolled over to the sink. “Come in.”
He padded in, still sleepy, his hair sticking up in every direction. He blinked his blurry eyes at me, then smiled like he was happy to see me. Because shit…he was. “Hi, baby,” he said, his voice a sleep-thick rumble.
I shivered and tilted my head up as he cupped my jaw and bent over to kiss me. “Oh. You’re naked.”
I was. My cock was bare and tube-free, lying limp against the seat of my wheelchair. He licked his lips like he was hungry for it, and then he quickly shook his head and pulled back.
“Oh my God, I’m sorry. I know you hate that. I?—”
“My darling,” I said, reaching for his hand. “I don’t mind when it’s you.”
He let out a breath. “You’re just really fucking beautiful, okay? It’s hard not to touch you all over.”
“I don’t mind if you touch me. Anywhere.”
His pupils dilated. “But?—”
“Aleric.” I turned my chair with one hand and tugged on his wrist until he got the message and dropped to his knees. God, I wanted to keep him there always. “Crawl forward.”
He let out a chest-deep groan as I let him go, and he pressed his hands to the floor and closed the distance between us. His eyes moved up, searching for mine, and I held his gaze. When I saw the line of tension in his body ease, I grabbed his chin.
“Kiss it.”
“Your—”
“Yes.”
He licked his lips, and I felt warmth crashing through my chest. I hadn’t let anyone near me like this. Not since…not sincehim. Not since Hugo had made me feel special and sexy only to find out he was a complete psychopath. But this moment—right here—was allowing me to prove to myself that he had not ruined me.
That I was sexy. That I was worthy. That I could let someone have access to all of me and it wouldn’t hurt.
Aleric was reverent as he reached out, cupping my dick in his hand. I watched him roll it against his fingers, and then he squeezed gently as he brought his lips to the head. It was a risk. I had no control of bodily functions down there, but watching him had me worked up in ways I hadn’t felt in years.
I groaned in spite of myself, and his gaze snapped back to mine. “Good?”
“So fucking good. You are so good. Jesus, Aleric. Kiss me. Please.”
He surged up to meet me, gripping the back of my head with his free hand as his tongue pushed against mine. It wasn’ta fight—it was a dance. We fit together like two perfect puzzle pieces that didn’t belong to a set. We were on our own.
Just us.
“Are you still touching me?”