Page 119 of Stay for Me

As soon as our plates were empty, he carried me back into the bedroom to finish what he started.

“What is it, baby?” his deep voice rumbled, causing goosebumps to spread across my exposed skin. His hand, which had been tracing aimlessly up the curve of my spine, slowly came to halt and a second later, I felt his fingers underneath my chin, forcing me to look up at him. His harsh features were the softest I’d ever seen them, his eyes filled with nothing but love.

“I’m sorry about earlier,” I whispered. I’d made myself look like an idiot, because I couldn’t figure out how to express myself and ended up hurting him in the process. “You really are beautiful, you know?”

A muscle in his cheek jumped. “Don’t apologize.”

“I need you to know that, though. I—the last thing I ever want to do is make you—”

I didn’t get a chance to say the rest, because he was on top of me, pinning my hands above my head, his mouth finding my ear. “You don’t have to apologize. It’s over and done. Get out of your head about it.”

My nipples pebbled against his chest, his pierced cock hardening against my thigh. “Fair warning; I’m in my head a lot, cowboy,” I told him as he rubbed his beard against my neck, humming.

“I’m aware,” he replied, his tongue stroking my neck before I felt the graze of his teeth. “You be in your head. I have no problem dragging you out of it.”

I chewed on my bottom lip. “I’m sorry.”

His head shot up, his eyes darker than before. “Don’t apologize,” he commanded. “That’s a habit I’m going to break you of, and I know it’s going to take time, but I’ve got the patience for it.”

“I—”

“Your ex abused you.”

My mouth closed.

“He abused you, verbally and physically from what you told me on the phone the night you didn’t want me to kill him,” he went on.

“Wait—you actually listened to that?”

“Listened to every single word, Firefly, and every day, my regret for not killing the bastard grows.”

“Mags!” I snapped.

He leaned down then, his voice deathly quiet. “That man put his hands on you, baby. You asked me not to kill him, and I didn’t, but that doesn’t mean I won’t in the future.”

“Lucas is long gone,” I stressed. “Chase dropped him on the edge of town like in those old western movies and told him to never show his face here again.”

“Diana, I know. I’ve been keeping tabs.”

I jerked, blinking once—-twice. “What?”

He said nothing, his hair falling around his face now, making him look like a god.

“You’ve been keeping tabs on my ex?” I breathed.

“On a man who threatened you? Yes. I also have tabs on your parents should they ever decide to show their faces in this town,” he said simply.

“I—”

“To get to the point I’ve been trying to make, gorgeous: you’ve been abused, not only by your ex, but also by your parents.”

Tears welled in my eyes. “You remember everything, don’t you?”

“Yes,” he answered, his dark eyes reaching out for my soul. “You’ve been abused and still have some healing to do. Healing is messy, but I can’t be your safe space if I can’t handle the mess. This is me telling you I can handle whatever mess you bring me. I’ll still love you even when I’m cleaning it up.”

I brought my hands up, cupping his face, stroking the stubble on his cheeks with my thumbs, feeling the strength in his jaw, his heat enveloping me. “I’m working on it,” I promised, looking at his lips. “I’ve been fighting this…demon for a long time now.”

“What demon is that?”

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