Page 51 of Hidden By the Gargoyle

For once, Dax didn’t seem to notice that he’d hurt me. Instead, he lifted me out of bed, setting me on my feet next to it.

“Are you sore?” he asked, changing the subject completely.

“More tender than sore,” I answered.

And it was the truth. My pussy felt a little raw, but it wasn’t painful.

“A hot bath will help anyway,” he said.

He swept me off my feet and carried me into the bathroom. I could feel the distance he was trying to establish between us. The way that he was holding himself and the way he was holding me.

When he sat me on the edge of the tub, I said, “I’ll only take a bath if you’re in it with me.”

He glanced at me when he bent to turn on the taps, but his answer surprised me.

“Okay.”

I studied him as he adjusted the water until the temperature was to his liking and then he walked over to the cabinet beneath the sinks, opening one and pulling out a bag of bath salts. I looked closer when he returned to the tub. The salts were unscented and labeled for muscle soreness.

I bit back a smirk as he poured a handful into the steaming water. I had trouble imagining Dax soaking in the huge tub, but it was clear that he did because the bag was half empty.

“Get in,” he said, turning to return the bag to the cabinet.

I climbed into the tub, wincing a little at the heat of the water, but I sank down into it. It barely came to my waist. A few moments later, Dax returned to the tub, a washcloth in one hand and my body wash in the other. He set them on the edge before he climbed in behind me. The water level was suddenly much higher.

Now I understood why he climbed in before the tub was full. If he’d waited, our combined body weights would have displaced too much water, and it would have gone all over the floor.

His arms reached around me to turn off the water when it reached my upper chest. Then, he leaned back, his hands going to my shoulders to pull me back against him. I reclined on him and released a long breath. The hot water and his big body surrounding me instantly removed the tension from my muscles.

I relaxed against Dax, letting my hands drift down in the water to rest on his legs where they surrounded my hips.

His arms came around me, one hand stroking down my belly to cup between my legs and the other spreading across the base of my neck, his long fingers resting on my collarbone and his thumb against the side of my throat.

His touch was proprietary, not meant to incite a reaction. At least until his fingers stroked over me, parting the folds of my pussy.

“Dax,” I whispered.

“Are you sure I didn’t hurt you?” he asked, his lips brushing my ear.

I understood the hold then. He wanted to see for himself that I was okay, and he was going to hold me in place until I told him the truth.

“I’m sure, Dax.”

“I wasn’t gentle in the end,” he murmured.

I shifted my hand so that it rested on his between my thighs. “I liked it,” I admitted, my voice soft. “A lot.”

His finger flexed against me, nudging my clit. For the first time that night, my body didn’t react with a jolt. I was finally satisfied.

Not wanting him to withdraw from me again, I continued, “I want to do it again.”

His low chuckle against my temple made me shiver. “Let’s give your body a chance to recover first.”

“All right. You have twelve hours, but you should know I have a list.”

His fingers had been lightly stroking my collarbone until I said that. They stilled before he asked, “A list? Of what?”

“Things I want to try. Positions, for one. And blow jobs. I’ve never given one and I’m curious what it’s like.”

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