Page 59 of Stray
The drive back to my apartment was thankfully uneventful. Athena was still out with the rest of the girls. Rebel must not have told Storm how bad things were. He probably didn’t want her to insist on coming along and endangering herself.
“I’m going to come in for a few minutes if that’s cool.” Stray parked in front of my building, coming around to open my door despite his obvious pain.
“Yeah, all right.” Using my key, I let us into the building. My dark apartment greeted us. I couldn’t help but remember the last time he’d been here. When he tied me up.
I flicked on the lights. Being alone with him after everything that had gone down between the two of us left me feeling uncertain. What did I say? What did I do?
“I need to get cleaned up and get out of this dress. So much for seducing you.” With a rueful smile, I kicked off my shoes and padded down the hallway to the bathroom.
Stray was right behind me. “Was that your plan? To come to the party and seduce me? I guess I kind of shit all over that, didn’t I? I’m sorry I was such an asshole. I know you were just trying to apologize.”
“It’s cool. You had every right to be. I did a really fucked up thing. I don’t deserve your forgiveness.” Hyper aware of him standing right behind me, I examined the cut on my face in the bathroom mirror. The bright overhead lights revealed how truly terrible I looked.
Mascara had been smeared under my eyes. Blood on my face and lipstick on my chin. I was a mess.
“You felt backed into a corner because of me,” Stray said. “You did what you felt like you had to do. If I hadn’t pushed myself into your life, you never would have gone to Venom, and they would never have targeted you.”
With a hand on my arm, Stray turned me around to face him. He gently caressed my cheek, careful not to touch the cut on my face. Something like sorrow shone in his eyes. Fuck me, I really was in love with this crazy bastard.
“For the record, I liked that you pushed yourself into my life. I think I started to fall for you right from the start. I’ve never felt that way before, and it scared the hell out of me. I guess I didn’t handle it well.” I fell hard into him then. Our eyes locked, and I saw my deepest emotions reflected back at me.
Neither of us seemed ready to say the words. To give life to our feelings and make it all real.
After a long tense moment stretched between us, Stray said, “I guess I should take off. I just wanted to make sure you were all right first.”
“Do you have to?” I asked timidly. “I mean, I want you to stay. I need to get cleaned up. Care to join me?”
I began stripping off my dress. I tossed it on the floor in the corner before reaching to unhook my bra. Maybe it wasn’t too late to seduce him after all.
Stray watched me strip down naked. He gave a slow shake of his head. “Damn, strawberry. You know I can’t fucking resist you.”
He got naked in record time. There was no hiding my satisfied grin. I closed the bathroom door, locking it in case Athena came home. Leaning over the tub to start the water for the shower, I savored the warmth of Stray as he pressed close behind me.
We got into the shower together, doing our best to share the hot spray of water. I winced as the water hit my face, making my cut sting. I tried to gently cleanse the blood away without making it bleed again.
“How bad is it? Do you think I should have had stitches?” I turned my face so Stray could get a good look at the cut now that it was clean.
“Actually, it’s not all that bad. It’s a pretty thin slice. Keep it clean. It should heal up fine. Maybe a faint scar.” He pressed a kiss to the tip of my nose before grabbing the shampoo bottle from the shelf.
I fully expected him to shampoo his own hair. It came as a bit of a shock when instead he shampooed mine. Who even was this guy? Was this seriously the same Stray Hurley that had held a knife to my throat and a gun to my head? I truly enjoyed seeing this side of him.
Tipping my head back, I closed my eyes and relished every second as he lovingly washed my hair. He even worked the conditioner through the length just right. While it soaked into my hair, he used the bath puff to lather me up with bodywash.
“Wow,” I remarked. “This is some serious pampering.”
Stray chuckled, targeting my breasts first like a typical man. “I aim to please. I told you before that I have mad skills.”
Despite everything I’d been through, right then I felt blissfully happy. Like maybe everything would be all right after all.
When he finished soaping me up, I took the bath puff and ran it down his chest, careful around his ribs. They were still bruised. Reaching his already hard cock, I lathered his erection until it was slippery in my hand.
Loving the way he felt in my grasp, I stroked him gently. The water had adorably plastered his black hair to his forehead. He shoved it back as he watched me touch him. My motions grew firmer. More demanding. So badly I wanted him.
Stray slid a hand around the back of my neck, pulling me close as he kissed me. He felt so good. So much better than Colt. I was happy to have him chase away Colt’s touch, replacing it with his own. I only wanted Stray’s touch to linger on my body. On my lips. All over me.
The kiss started off tender and sweet. A caress of lips. A nibble that soon turned into a bite. Passion that quickly grew to engulf the both of us. I knew what I wanted now. Without a doubt I wanted Stray.
My hand moved furiously up and down his hard shaft. He moaned softly against my lips. Moments later his cock jerked in my hand as he came.
