Page 88 of Inevitably Yves

“Take your bath, darling,” Yves says. “I’ll be back in a moment.”

After Yves leads Mercy from the bathroom, I stand and stretch, feeling energized and renewed after my meal. My cock is rock solid too, more than ready for my love to return.

I step into the steamy, scented water and lie back with my eyes closed. Mere seconds later, Yves returns with a pitcher in his hand, kicking off his jeans.

“What is that?”

“A fun little surprise.” He pours the contents of the pitcher into the bathwater, coloring it a vibrant red, and the scent of France, of wine, of magnolias and our maker surrounds me.

“How…?”

“Vivienne figured out how to filter it out. I’m so glad we managed to save some of his blood. It’s not a tubful, but it’ll do, no?”

“Get in here, you sexy beast.”

Yves joins me, twisting around so his back is pressed to my chest. I drag my hands through the bloodstained water and kiss his temple.

“All that’s left is the good,” I whisper. “I can feel it.”

“Once upon a time I think Hadrian was good. Maybe not pure of heart, but not evil.”

“Not evil. He made us, and we’re perfect.”

“We are.”

We lie in silence for a few seconds, but I can tell Yves has something on his mind.

“What is it?” I ask.

He chuckles. “Before we faced Hadrian, you said you had something to tell me, but I wouldn’t let you finish.”

“Oh, yes. It’s not bad at all.”

“No?” He tilts his face to see me. “It sounded like it was at the time.”

I shake my head. “I just wanted to make sure you knew in case we were ever lost to each other again.”

“Okay.”

“Remember the diary page Thorn and Kyson found at the museum?”

“Yes.”

Long buried emotions rise up and swirl in my chest. “I’ve told you that I was lonely and took my loneliness and anger out on those around me.”

“Yes.”

“But one of the ways I coped was writing letters to you. I had my journals as you know, which helped, but the only thing that felt truly soothing was addressing you directly.”

“You wrote me letters?”

“Thousands of them. I kept every single one, bundled together.”

He sits up abruptly, twisting to face me. “You kept them? Where are they?”

“My home in Spain. I wanted you to know they exist because they are my heart. My love for you bled onto each page.”

“You must go get them. I want them. I need them.”

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