Chapter 250

Steven leads me into the bathroom. “Where is the first aid kit?”

“In the medicine cabinet behind the mirror,” I reply.

He gestures for me to sit down on the counter near the sink. When I hop up onto it and am seated securely, he turns to the mirror and finds the small kit. He sets it down on the counter beside my hip and opens it. Inside are a series of cleaners and wraps, as well as some Band-Aids.

I feel I should say once more, “You’re the one who noticed my healing abilities, Steven. You know better than anyone that this isn’t a big deal.”

“The sight of blood on your arm makes me uncomfortable,” he says. He’s staring hard at the kit, not looking at me at all. “Just let me do this, okay?”

It’s a simple request. I’d have to be a real asshole to deny it.

“Okay,” I say.

He opens the cap off the hydrogen peroxide and, after taking my arm and gently positioning it over the sink, he pours some over the wound. I wince as it burns, and his brow furrows with clear unhappiness.

“This will prevent infection,” he says. I know that already, but I don’t say so. He likely knows that I know. We both need a distraction so he can say whatever he wants and its okay with me.

When the burning stops, he wipes away the excess with a soft tissue. His other hand continues to hold my arm. His hold is light yet everywhere his skin touches mine, it feels like I’m burning. I feel the touch of his fingertips so acutely, it’s as if he’s pressing down straight on my nerves.

More likely, I’m attuned to everything Steven, from his fingertips, to the twitches of unhappiness in his face, to the soft puffs of breath he releases after holding whenever he gets closed to my wound.

The wound that’s already healing, I can tell.

Next, he gets a touch of disinfectant cream to rub into the wound itself. He puts a tiny amount on his fingertip and then ever-so-slightly traces it around the cut.

With it clean like this, I can see that I gashed myself pretty well. The cut is over a large area, though lessening quickly, thanks to the healing. It doesn’t look deep however. I doubt I’ll even notice it later.

But Steven is treating me like it’s a serious wound. He is concentrating as hard as he does when he works on his experiments, except now there seems to be an extra layer to it too. A hint of worry is curving his brow.

Steven cares about me, and under his watchful attentive eye, with his fingers touching me so gently, and his body so very close to mine… My insides are starting to simmer, a fire flickering to life within me.

I try my best to ignore it. I know Steven only wants to have sex for love, so getting horny right now would be a massive waste of time and also probably really disrespectful. Steven has made his boundaries clear and I need to respect those.

Yet, I can’t control my emotions. Even thinking of snow and ice and baseball has no negative effects against the growing heat between my legs.

I won’t act on it. But I can’t deny that I want Steven. He’s so gorgeous and caring and attentive. He uses his deft fingers in such careful movements. I can’t help but think about him touching my more sensitive parts in the same way he’s been touching my wound.

A light barely-there touch over my clit. Again and again, driving me wild.

I squeeze my eyes shut. With my free hand, I grip the edge of the counter and hold on for dear life. I can’t move my hips. I won’t! If I don’t move an inch, then maybe Steven won’t notice how worked up I am.

Unless he smells it.

Panicked, I press my thighs together tightly, but the action gives me friction against my clit and I bite back a strangled moan.

With dread in my heart, I snap my eyes open and look at Steven. Maybe he didn’t notice?

He’s gone totally still and he’s staring right at me with wide eyes.

Oh, he definitely noticed.

“Steven, I…” I want to say sorry, but before I can finish, he inches closer to me, and the words fall away from my brain.

He moves slowly, closer and closer, until he’s stepping between my knees, forcing me to spread them further to accommodate him. Still he moves in, closer and closer still.

I glance down. His sweatpants do very little to hide the swelling dick in his pants. Gods, my mouth waters. He’s as big as his brothers.

No! No, brain! Bad! I can’t think about Steven like this! He said…

He said…

It’s getting harder to remember, when he glances down at my lips and licks his own.

He comes so close that I can feel the warmth of his breath against my cheek, my chin.

If he gets any closer he’ll kiss me.

No! This isn’t what he wants.

I press my hand to his chest. He stops immediately and looks down at me.

“We shouldn’t…” I say, though the blatant desire in his eyes gives me pause. It has me questioning everything that we’ve talked about. “Right?”

This isn’t what he wants, except he’s looking at me like it is.

Slowly, I lower my hand away from him and return it to the counter edge. In the span of the next heartbeat, Steven surges forward and kisses me.

His mouth attacks mine. His hands reach up and comb through my hair. He cradles my head, urging me back, so that he has better access. He licks his way into my mouth.

I moan, unable to hold back my passion any more. I reach up and claw at the front of his shirt, dragging him closer. He presses against the edge of the counter. I inch myself closer so I am lined up directly against him. One of his arms wraps around my waist and tightens, dragging me even closer still against his surprisingly hard body.

He can have me like this if he wants. He can have me anyway he wants me. I’m so hot for him I might actually burst into pieces.

When we finally break apart for air, we’re both panting.

The flames are boundless in Steven’s eyes as he looks down at me. I’m sure my own are mirroring the intensity.

He could ask anything of me in this moment and I would give it.

He wants me naked? Done. He wants me on my knees? I’ll be happy to. Anything and everything, he only need ask.

But I won’t make a single move until he tells me to. We are moving at his pace, and I would rather go to bed alone, even as horny as I am, than risk taking more than he wants to give.

Neither of us move except for the heaving of our chests.

I’m waiting. I’ll wait for as long as it takes for him to decide what he wants to do.

“Chloe,” he says after a moment more.

I brace myself, unsure what he’s about to say. It could be anything from, get naked to we’re moving too fast. I genuinely have no idea.

He swallows hard, looks down the length of my body, and then speaks.

“Let’s move this into the bedroom.”