Page 90 of Bound By Flames

“I can think of a few ideas.” I smirk at her.

She chuckles, pink flushing her cheeks, then turns her back on me. “Can you unzip me, please?”

I take the zipper in my large palm and undo her dress, the fabric falling on the floor and revealing a silky pink set.

That’s my Mia right here.

She was just hidden behind that freaking black dress.

I should burn that thing. Mia wearing no colors or eccentric clothing isn’t how I like her. Not because of the stuff but because she was hiding herself, belittling who she was to please her parents. And that won’t do. I run the back of my finger from her nape to the low of her back, watching goosebumps bloom on her skin after my touch. She inhales, trembling. “We should get to bed.”

“Yeah, we should.”

She grabs a large T-shirt she took from my closet at home and shoves it on her, then she removes her bra underneath itand sighs from relief after the pink fabric hits the floor. I tap the place next to me and put the cover on her once she’s next to me.

She turns off the lights of her nightstand and hums as she sinks in the mattress, pulling the covers up and snuggling next to me. The bed is much bigger than the one we have, but still, she snuck herself close to me.

What I would give to take her in my arms right now.

Why can’t I just do it?

“You did great back there,” I tell her, my voice low, sounding like gravel as I remember how proud I felt when she stood up to her mother.

“Thank you,” she whispers. “It’s…having you here helped,” she whispers. I smile but she can’t see it in the darkness. I like this, us, talking in our bed, like a real couple. No woman has ever denied my primal need and yet Mia has me wrapped up around her fingers and smiling at the single fact of knowing she’s near me, safe and mine. The idea of this disappearing one day hits me in the guts.

“What will it take for you to let go?” I ask out of nowhere.

“What?”

“What would it take for you to let me in, fully,” I repeat, my palm drifting to her belly, resting on the warmth of her stomach, her shirt the only barrier between our flesh.

“I…I’m not sure if… it’s stupid,” she says quietly.

“It’s not Mia. I just need to know what you want from me to give us a chance and not run when things get hard,” I tell her, almost pleading, but I don’t care, I need to know. My ego will have to wait. Her breathing quickens, my hands rubbing circles on her belly.

“I think…I think I need you to say it.”

“Say what?” I stop my hand.

“You know what…” Her little voice falters. I’m glad she can’t see my face in the dark ‘cause I’m speechless.

The four-letter words.

That’s what she wants from me.

But I don’t know if I can.

“I…I’ve never said those words to anyone. I’m not even sure I’m capable of it.” My palm slides to the side of her waist, pulling her to face me on her side.

“It’s alright, it was stupid, you see,” she says with a cold chuckle.

If she asks me this, does it mean she feels this way about me too?

Time stops and I can hear my heart pump in my ears just like before a fight.

Did she just imply she loves me?

“It’s not. It’s important, I—” I try to say but the words get stuck in me and I fucking hate myself for it.