Page 38 of Love At First Fright

R osemary had never felt this relaxed in all her life, she was sure of it. She must have fallen asleep, because she didn’t remember Ellis getting up, and yet the clawfoot bathtub was full and steaming.

“It smells so good in here,” she croaked, her voice a little hoarse.

“There was a bag of eucalyptus bath salts, so I poured some in,” Ellis said in her ear, and gently placed her in the bath. She wanted to tell him she could probably have climbed in on her own, but she was still feeling floaty. Almost like she was drunk, but in a good way.

The temperature of the bath was perfect.

Steam curled in the air around her, and Rosemary leant her head back on the top of the tub, her ginger hair falling down the side.

Ellis was humming to himself, a song that seemed half familiar, as he climbed into the tub and settled himself behind her, gently moving her head so it was resting against his chest. The bath was huge, so they could both stretch out, though Ellis’s legs went a lot further than hers.

“Are you okay?” he murmured.

“Amazing. I feel like I’m floating. Does that make sense?”

She felt him nod. “I think you might have gone into a subspace when we were having sex.”

A relieved part of her brain cheered: Finally.

Rosemary had always wanted to experience the subspace, the euphoric dream state that subs could fall into during sex, but she’d never quite got there.

Not with Noah, the man she’d first experienced soft domination with, even though she’d trusted him.

There was something different about being with Ellis; it wasn’t just that her guard was down, but that she felt so safe handing him control when they were having sex.

He knew what to do to get her there, as he’d proven time and again.

It helped that he was the singularly hottest man she’d ever seen and touched in her entire life.

“I can die happy now,” Rosemary replied, her limbs all wobbly and soft against Ellis.

Ellis smoothed a hand over her head, brushing strands of her hair from her eyes. “In a bit, when we’re out of the bath, we’ll get some food for you, too.” He was still taking care of her.

“Did you have a good time?” she asked, tentatively.

“That was the best sex of my life, Rosemary. Like I said, you were made for me.”

They relaxed in silence for a minute or two, the water soothing any aches in Rosemary’s muscles. Outside, the rain seemed to have stopped, and the sunlight coming through the window had that bright post-rainstorm quality to it.

“This reminds me of that time in the swimming pool,” Ellis said.

“You mean the time you ruined my book and pushed me off my floatie?” Rosemary raised an eyebrow.

“Got you a new book, though. I wanted you, from then on really, you know. Even if I was lying to myself.” She could feel him growing hard again underneath her, his hands sliding up and down the curve of her hips and thighs.

“You’ve made up for lost time now,” she said. Ellis kissed her cheek but this time left his face leaning against hers.

Rosemary thought about it for a moment then said: “You know, when we’re back in London after Hallowvale, would you want to come to one of my signings? It’s not premiere-level fancy, but I would like it if you came.”

“I’ll be there, I can’t wait to see you in your element.”

After that, they dozed in the bath, Ellis’s finger tracing a meandering line around her tattoos. She knew she’d never felt this comfortable around anyone else so fast. If it didn’t feel like the most natural thing in the world, she would have thought it strange. Ellis felt like home to her.

“Do you think there will be strawberries in the garden? I wouldn’t mind making some jam to go with breakfast tomorrow,” Rosemary said.

“At this time of year, probably not, but we could wander down to the village and pick some up? Maybe a nice bottle of wine for dinner?”

“Sounds perfect.”