Page 243 of Taeja

Then all at once, the fog lifted, and she could breathe and see clearly again.

She was sitting on the edge of the bed. Her guys were on either side of her.

“Fuck,” Zain exhaled, running a hand down his face. He looked freshly showered in his white Tee and black shorts.

Damon’s shaking hands cupped her face. “Baby, are you okay?”

“I-I don’t know what happened. I was bathing, then I started crying, and I—” She choked on a sob.

Zain looked at his brother. “Sub-drop.”

Damon tugged her to his chest and kissed her forehead. Gently rubbing herback, he laid them on the bed. She threw an arm around him, burying her face in Damon’s chest as he held her close. Zain crawled into the bed behind her.

“Why did you have sex with me like that?” Taeja asked, her voice small.

“You didn’t like it?” Zain asked.

“I did, but—” She sniffled. “You guys just left me and I—”

“You didn’t want us to leave?” Damon asked, and she shook her head against his chest.

Damon held her tighter. “We’re sorry. It’s been a while since we shared a girlfriend, so we stuck to the old rule.”

“What rule?” she hiccupped, pulling away to look at him.

Damon’s brows furrowed, his eyes swirling with concern. “If you ask for space, the most we’ll give you is five minutes while one of us stays outside the room. I waited four minutes, but it didn’t feel right leaving you by yourself after all that just happened to you for the first time, so I came in and saw you—” He paused. Tears rushed to his eyes, and he blinked them away. “You scared us.”

Taeja’s lips trembled. “I’m sorry…”

He firmly kissed her, then pulled away, drying her tears. “Don’t apologize. It’s our fault, we messed up. We shouldn’t have left you.”

She nodded weakly as more tears came from her eyes. She buried her face in Damon’s chest again. “Why do I feel like this?”

“How do you feel?”

“I feel dirty,” she whispered, and Damon held her tighter. “Sad. Weak.”

“It’s called sub-drop, Taeja,” Zain explained, and she turned around to look at him. Zain’s jaws clenched.

“Sub-drop?” she asked.

“The sweet feeling you get when we have sex is a subspace. But what you’re feeling right now is a sub-drop. You were alone and falling from the high you had during sex,” he explained, his voice gentle. “Do you understand?”

She nodded.

“Do you want to shower again?” Damon asked.

Taeja shook her head. “No… Do you love me?” she whispered.

“We love you, Taeja,” Zain stated.

Her heart palpitated. He’d never expressed his love for her so strongly before.

A small smile crawled on her face. “Can you hold me?”

He nodded. “Drink this first,” he said, opening a bottle of a liquid with electrolytes and handing it to her.

She accepted it and drank a few sips before giving it back to him. He put the bottle aside, then laid down behind her. Damon released her, and she turned around. Zain threw an arm over her waist and pulled her to him.

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