Page 65 of Power and Possession

I devoured the meal, having not eaten more than a snack here and there since I'd broken Steele out of the warehouse.

As I finished, Glinda made up a tray. “I think you should take it to him,” she said, winking.

I sighed and grabbed the tray, heading for his room. The door was shut, so at some point Quincy must have gone into his room and tidied up. There was no way Steele was strong enough to get out of bed yet. I opened the door with my elbow, trying to balance the tray.

I walked into his private space, past the sitting room and into his bedroom. He was asleep, his eyes resting peacefully, his chest moving up and down rhythmically. Just three days ago I was horrified, thinking that he might not be alive, and now I was in his estate, bringing him dinner in bed. I placed the tray on the nightstand and turned to leave the room, but his hand suddenly grasped my elbow. I looked back at him, seeing the look of contrition on his handsome features.

“I’m sorry, my love. I didn’t mean to be so cross with you. I’m in a lot of…pain.”

It was the first time he put the ‘my’in front of love. I was used to the way he called me love, and it wasn’t particularly special when I knew a lot of Brits used the name love quite casually. But when he saidmy love, it did something funny to my insides. As if I had a gymnastic star rolling around and flipping in my belly.

“It’s okay,” I whispered, afraid my voice would betray me.

He patted the empty side of the bed, and I grabbed the tray and sat down next to him. I took a spoonful of the soup and brought it to his mouth.

“I can feed myself,” he said irritably, but then breathed deeply when he realized how close I was to him. “Put the spoon down. There’s only one thing I want you to be doing right now, and it’s not feeding me.”

His eyes darkened, and the stern and sensual Steele I knew rose to the surface, the desire plain to see on his face.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” I faltered.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a better idea.” He reached up and stroked my cheek with one hand, his other hand immobile and tethered to the IV stand.

“You’re going to injure yourself further.”

“Then stop making me beg for it.”

I sighed, but then sat on my knees and moved closer. Our lips met, and we both groaned. I’d missed kissing him so much, missed the way he kissed me like I was the only thing that mattered. Steele could have anything he wanted, anyone he wanted, but he wanted only me.

He deepened our kiss, but I pulled back, worried about his condition. “You need to heal first.”

He grabbed my hand and placed it on top of the bulge growing under the sheet. He was hard and aching. That was the Steele I knew. “I’ll never heal properly with this bothering me.”

I pulled my hand away and gave him a scowl. His eyes glistened as he looked up at me. “You can’t blame a man for trying.”

Steele continued to heal, quicker than I anticipated. Within a week or so, he was able to make small trips to the bathroom by himself, which he was incredibly relieved about. Me accompanying him to the bathroom was not on his list of thingshe wanted to do with me.

We’d kissed here and there, but I tried hard to avoid it. I didn’t want to jump back into bed with him. Not when my feelings were so murky. The second I started again, I wouldn’t be able to stop. I needed time to figure things out without hormones messing with my head.

One morning I came back to his bedroom after changing, and he surprised me, dressed in a t-shirt and jeans.

“Are you going somewhere?” I asked, running my fingers through my hair.

He smiled, standing upright and walking towards me slowly. “I have to get moving so I can chase around my woman when she tries to avoid me.”

My pulse thrummed when he called me his woman and a deep blush migrated from my cheeks down to my neck and chest.

“I’m not avoiding you.”

“Yes, you are. Every time I try to touch you, you pull away. You can make up excuses about my health, but I feel like I’m losing you.”

Sometimes I forgot how smart he was.

“I want you—I do. Trust me,” I said.

He smiled and I could practically see his ego inflate.

“But I can’t figure things out between us when…when we’re together that way.”

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