“This is ridiculous,” Zane grumbled.

“Behave.” Pavel sat at the head of the clawed foot tub, leaning over a mostly submerged Zane with a washcloth in his left hand. He dragged the soapy cloth down Zane’s chest, tsking when he ran over one of Zane’s nipples and he emitted a sharp sound. “I told you to behave. We’re not in here for that.”

He’d been shocked when he’d finished restitching Pavel’s wound and the guy had suggested they take a bath. At first, for obvious reasons, but then he’d been reassured Pavel wasn’t planning on joining him in the tub and would keep his new bandage dry.

Still, Zane had figured it was a trap of some sort, suspiciously following the other man into the attached bathroom in the bedroom he’d woken in hours ago. He’d stood there and allowed Pavel to remove his damp clothing and run the tub. Had waited silently for the big reveal of what they were really doing in here, but…

“You can’t seriously be doing this right now?” He tipped his head back against the lip of the porcelain to catch Pavel’s dark gaze.

“What?” He continued to lavish him with his attention, dragging the cloth over his entire body soothingly. “You could catch a chill from the rain. A hot bath is just what you need.”

Zane blinked at him. “That’s not what you’re supposed to be saying.”

“Oh?” He quirked a thin brow. “Do tell. What is it I’m supposed to be saying, gorgeous?”

“That your cock is just what I need,” he blurted. “I gave you free rein to do anything you wanted with me.”

“Yes, and what I want,” he brushed his lips lightly against Zane’s forehead, “is to take care of you.”

Something zipped through his chest and he didn’t like it. “No.”

“You don’t get to say that,” Pavel reminded sweetly. “Relax. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

“I’m not afraid.” He fucking was and that pissed him off to no end. Getting hunted in the forest made more sense than this. Than the soft touches and the caresses. The way he was being treated like something precious and breakable.

“I like forcing you on your knees. I like when you cry for me and you’re choking and your only hope for air is in my hands,” Pavel said, the note in his voice so akin to adoration it only made Zane bristle more. “I like the way you resist and insist you don’t want me when I pin you down and split you on my cock.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“I’m not finished,” he chided. “Because I enjoy this too. I really was hoping to make you breakfast this morning. I made sure the fridge was stocked with all of your favorites.”

It wasn’t just the fridge.

Zane’s eyes couldn’t help but go to the shelf to the side of the tub where all of the bathing products were kept. The brand of shampoo, conditioner, body wash, hell, even the type of aftershave he preferred were all there, lined up in neat rows.

“You didn’t just take my coat that day, did you.” The coat he’d given up getting back. Especially after he’d checked his closet and realized the devil at his back had replaced it with one of his own. “Things have gone missing from my rooms lately…”

“Not just lately,” Pavel said and Zane frowned.

“I blamed the staff.”

“That’s the problem with allowing others into your personal space.”

“I don’t like cleaning.”

“Noted.”

He heaved a sigh of annoyance. “What does that even mean?”

“It means,” Pavel dragged the cloth up to Zane’s throat and used it to tip his head back again so their eyes could meet again, “I’ll take care of you, baby. If there’s something you don’t like doing, you don’t have to.”

“What if—”

“Don’t say what if you don’t like doing this ,” he cut him off. “I acknowledge that you’re freaked out, but let’s try to put the brattiness away for now, yeah?”

“What if I don’t—”

“Zane.” Pavel dropped his forehead to his. “I’m not going to punish you tonight. There’s no point in you trying to rile me up. I’m tired and my wound hurts. You were right, I was foolish for not considering my health earlier. Give me this moment, okay? I’ve dreamed of you here so many times, just like this, soft and languid for me. Mine to touch and bath and tuck into bed.”

“You are not tucking me into bed.” He was not some child. “If you did that when we were kids—”

Pavel’s chuckle stopped him short. “You’ve always been prideful, baby, even then. No, you may have clung to me to keep the other children at bay, but you wouldn’t let me treat you like anything other than my equal. That’s all I’ve ever considered you as.”

“Funny way of showing it.”

“You needed to be broken before you were ready.” He set the cloth aside. “A part of you still isn’t. This is what a family is. We don’t just fuck and banter. We coddle and care for. We sit in those quiet moments and exist as one and enjoy each other's company.”

“Oh yeah, I’m sure you’ve bathed Ledger just like this. Family?” He snorted.

“A different kind of family, true, but family nonetheless.” Pavel stood and then twisted on his heels so he could perch on the thin edge of the tub at Zane’s side. He smiled when Zane gave him a nervous look. “I won’t fall in.”

“I won't stitch you up a third time if you do.”

“Yes, you would.”

Yes, he would. Zane glanced away.

“Is the water still warm enough?”

“It’s fine.”

This so wasn’t how he’d imagined their evening going. If he’d known Pavel would use their game to make him do this he—Actually. He didn’t know. He didn’t know how to feel about all of this and that was the problem. This was a type of intimacy Zane wasn’t familiar with. There had never been gentle caresses and cuddles with Kazimir, and Lyra had only ever touched him possessively.

But Pavel…He’d cleaned Zane off almost reverently just now. As though he truly did enjoy the act as much as he claimed.

“Why didn’t you tell me you’re an artist?” He needed to cut through this unnerving silence, he didn’t even care if that’s what Pavel wanted. He needed to behave and calm down? Fine. But he wouldn’t be quiet while doing it. “Everyone seemed to be aware of it except for me.”

“I didn’t think it was important. It’s merely a pastime. Nothing serious.”

“You're supposedly really good,” he said. “Why not turn it into something serious?”

“I lack the drive,” he surprised him by saying. “To enter a field like that, you have to want it. Desperately. But there’s only ever been one thing I’ve wanted that badly, and I already have him, so…” He shrugged. “I’ll show you my work sometime. If you’re interested.”

Was Zane interested?

He found himself nodding slowly. “Yeah, okay.”

“What else would you like to know?”

He nibbled on his lower lip and then forced himself to ask, “What else did you take that day you stole my coat? My toothbrush was changed out and I was missing a bottle of body wash. That was you, right?”

“Guilty.”

“Why?”

“Being around your things makes me feel close to you.”

Zane risked looking up at him and instantly wished he hadn’t. There was an openness in Pavel’s dark gaze that he wasn’t used to seeing. A vulnerability that felt far too private to be shared with him.

“Don’t be afraid, Zane.”

“You keep saying that.”

“You keep needing to hear it. I won’t hurt you, bashert. This will take some getting used to, yes, but we’ll get there. Eventually, this won’t be so foreign for you.” The corner of his mouth turned up subtly. “Perhaps even one day you’ll bathe me in return.”

“Don’t hold your breath.”

“No, that’s your role.” Pavel stood with a flourish. “But that isn’t the game tonight.”

“Is that what this is?” Zane swallowed the lump in his throat, watching the other man cross the room to grab a navy towel off a wall hook. “Another game?”

“Apologies,” Pavel came back over, “that was poor wording on my part. I’m not toying with you. That’s not what this is.”

He hated it but…He needed to ask. “Promise?”

“Only you would find being viciously fucked against your will more comforting than being pampered at home.” Pavel motioned for Zane to stand, helping him out of the tub before toweling him off. “I promise. I’m not doing this to manipulate you. I’m doing it because I want to.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re important to me and I want to show it. Acts of affection are surprisingly second nature to me. I wasn’t joking. I’ve fantasized about doing tiny acts like this just as much as I have about fucking you on my cock. I want to make you breakfast in the morning and kiss you goodbye at the car before we head off to our separate classes. I want to meet for lunch and gossip about all the idiots we’ve had to endure so far that day. I want to take you to nice candle-lit dinners, go on long drives on the coast, and come home to matching pajamas.”

Zane shivered and practically pleaded, “Tell me about the other stuff. Talk about that. Please.”

Pavel searched his expression and then sighed, taking his hand to lead him to the attached room. He urged him down onto the end of the bed and momentarily stepped back into the bathroom, returning with a wireless hairdryer.

It was quiet when he turned it on and pressed Zane’s head forward a bit so he could start drying his hair with skilled fingers as he finally spoke again.

“I want to do other stuff too,” he admitted softly, his tone such a juxtaposition to the words pouring out of his mouth. “I want to chain you to the bed and keep you there for days, completely at my mercy. You’d only be able to eat, drink, or sleep when I allowed it. Or even in this big house. I’d lock you inside and never let you leave. Trap you so thoroughly you’d have no other choice but to accept me and everything I have to offer. We’ll play like that sometimes, but it's only part of it. Only part of the way I want you.”

Pavel turned the blow dryer off and then set a single finger beneath Zane’s chin, easing his head up. His gaze was stormy and filled with passion, but they still weren’t glowing. “Breathe, baby.”

Zane realized with a start that he’d been holding his breath, and he inhaled deeply on command.

“Chains and orgasms are nice, but I’ll teach you all the other ways you can gain pleasure. I’ll teach you what it means to be part of a family.”

His hand came up and grabbed Pavel’s wrist, but when that merely earned him a stern look, he found his fingers loosening and his arm dropping back to the bed.

“Good boy,” Pavel praised, bending down to give him a kiss, just the barest brush of his lips against Zane’s. “Come downstairs with me. I’ll cook you dinner, and then after we can snuggle on the couch and watch a movie. You like movies.”

Due to his packed schedule, Zane only allowed himself to watch one once every month, but he did really like them. “How do you know that?”

Wouldn’t a stalker look at the facts and conclude otherwise? Zane rarely watched them, so wouldn’t it be more logical to assume he wasn’t a fan? What made Pavel so sure he’d pegged him when no one else ever had?

Pavel brushed his thumb over the curve of Zane’s cheek, as if he simply wanted to touch him and didn’t care where. “You get this excited little look on your face when you’re preparing to put one on. You gather all your favorite snacks and bring a blanket, get all cozy before pressing play. It’s a cute, endearing ritual. I’ve found myself mimicking it at home. We can do movie nights together from now on though. I made sure to get a big enough blanket for us to both fit under.”

Zane did do all of that, but only in his living room at the Little Palace. His private one, located in his private rooms. “How do you know all of that?”

“Simple.” Pavel lost some of that soothing vibe. “I hacked into the cameras.”

“The…cameras…?” There were cameras in his room?!

“You didn’t know.” It sounded like Pavel was caught off guard by that realization.

“No!” No, he had not. “Was it Lyra?” He swore. “Don’t answer that. Of course it was her.”

Pavel tipped his head. “You don’t like the fact that you were being watched?”

“Absolutely not! I feel violated and disgusting.”

His eyes shuddered. “I’m sorry.”

“What?” Zane frowned. “What for? It’s not like you hid the cameras.”

“No, but I watched you through them.”

“Well, yeah, but so?”

Pavel frowned. “You just said that disgusted you.”

He grabbed Pavel’s shirt over his stomach, twisting the material in his hold, needing to feel connected to him. He didn’t like that forlorn look on the other man’s face. Didn’t like the fact that he’d accidentally been the one to put it there.

“Not by you ,” Zane insisted. “If having you spy on me was gross, why would I have purposefully left the house so many times in the middle of the night just to lead you on random strolls through the city?” This past month, he’d gotten less sleep than he had in his entire life because of that. Because of the need to feel Pavel there, at his back. Close to him.

The need to know he hadn’t grown tired of the game and abandoned him already.

“Thinking about you watching me without my permission is different.” It was hot, way hotter than it should have been, mostly because it called to that needy, insecure part of Zane that believed no one cared what he did or said. “It’s Lyra that doesn’t have the right to me. The fact she did that is crossing so many lines.”

“That’s hypocritical,” Pavel pointed out.

“It isn’t.”

“In what way?”

“Because it’s you.” Zane blew out a breath. Damn it. He’d just admitted something major, hadn’t he?

Everything was tense and quiet for a moment—or, at least Zane was tense, Pavel still seemed relaxed—until the other man broke the silence.

“You like me, Doctor.”

“No shit.”

“You like having me around.”

“Obviously.”

“I want you to like taking baths with me, eating meals with me, and hanging out with me as well,” Pavel told him. “I want you to find in me that thing you’ve always desired.”

“Yeah,” Zane said stubbornly, “and what’s that?”

Pavel ran his hand through his hair, brushing the silky strands off Zane’s forehead, and replied matter-of-factly, “Home.”