He stands up and gets out of the tub. Reaching for a towel, he turns around and reaches for my hand to help me out of the water, before draping the towel over my shoulders. I stand here and watch as he blows the candles out and drains the water out of the tub.

“Next time we’re in that tub, I’ll be making love to you.”

He grabs my hand and pulls me through the house, his body dripping wet as he guides us to his bedroom. Without turning on the light, he gets into his bed and tugs on the towel, pulling me down next to him.

“Lose this,” he whispers while unwrapping me from the towel. “You know I can’t sleep unless I’m wrapped up in your naked body.”

I sit on my knees, naked, as Hemy takes me all in. Then, he pulls me down so that I’m lying down next to him. He leans over and presses his lips against mine, soft at first, before going rough and deep, causing us both to moan into each other’s mouths. He kisses me for a few seconds longer, before moving down in between my legs, spreading them apart and kissing his name that is tattooed on the inside of my thigh.

My heart melts at the familiar feel, making it harder to fight my emotions.

“Goodnight, baby,” he whispers, while lying back down and pulling me close to him.

I close my eyes and cuddle in next to him, feeling his naked body flush against mine. Man, it feels so, so good; too good.

“Goodnight,” I whisper as his grip on me tightens.

Guarding my heart is going to be a lot harder than expected  . . .

Chapter Nine

Hemy

I wake up to an empty bed; the sheets smell of Jasmine and Vanilla. I always did love the scent of her hair. It always relaxed me, making me feel . . . alive. I’ve missed that scent almost as much as I have missed her.

Getting her to stay last night was a long shot; having her here in the morning was the impossible. I knew that from the beginning, but I learned to live with the idea and flowed with it. I just hope our night was enough to have an effect on her. If not, then I have a shit ton of work ahead of me.

Grumbling, I sit up and bury my hands in my hair. Having her next to me felt a lot better than I remembered. How can I ever live without that feeling now? She has ruined me. With her; I feel at peace. I feel like a real person. There is no way I’m giving up this fight, as much as I know she wants me to. A real man never gives up on his woman; he would die for her . . . and I would.

Sitting here; I feel empty. I don’t have to work tonight so I need to find a way to keep my mind busy before I drive myself insane with thoughts of her.

“Shit! I need to do something.”

I stand up, still naked and smelling of her. It instantly arouses me and I need a release. I make my way to the bathroom and run a cold shower; my thoughts stray back to her and the smooth curves of her body.

The ice cold water should be helping with my hard on, but it’s not. It’s so fucking hard, it’s beginning to hurt. The only way to get rid of it, is to release the pressure. Placing one hand against the shower wall, I grip my cock, close my eyes and stroke it to the images of Onyx in my head.

Picking up speed; it doesn’t take long before I’m busting my load into the water, it washing down the drain.

I stand under the frigid water for a few more minutes before quickly washing up, turning off the water and reaching for a towel. The doorbell rings, just as I finish wrapping the towel around my waist.

A spark of hope surges through me at the idea that it could be Onyx. Although the rational part of me already knows that it isn’t. She said so herself that she needed to keep safe. The more she’s with me; she’s in danger of falling for me again and getting hurt. At least in her eyes; she thinks I’ll hurt her. I don’t blame her for being afraid.

Securing the towel, I make my way to the living room, crack open the shade and look out. I almost feel like punching something when I realize that it’s only Stone outside. What the fuck could he want?

I yank the door open and give him a hard look. I can’t really be mad at him, but I can’t help but to be disappointed that I was right about it not being Onyx.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I growl while pushing my wet hair away from my face.

He smirks and slaps my shoulder, walking past me and into the house. “Nice to see you too, guy.” He jumps over the couch and takes a seat. “Dude, this couch smells like sex.”

Slamming the door shut, I walk over to stand behind the couch. “Yeah. Your hand is in my dried up cum right now. Now what the fuck do you want?”

My attitude doesn’t even phase Stone. He’s so used to my mood swings that he just brushes it off. He knows I mean no harm. That’s one thing I like about this kid. He may only be twenty-one and a little inexperienced, but he’s a pretty decent dude and doesn’t take stupid shit to heart.

Lifting an eyebrow, he shrugs off my outburst. “Let’s go out tonight. It’s Cale’s night to work. I have a place in mind that I want to go to but I need a partner.” He pauses for a second to turn on the TV. Sure, make yourself at home. “There’s a girl I want to see. I met her at that house we danced at last week. Her name is Ash. She’s sexy as all hell but I’m trying to play it cool. I know she wants me, but I’m not giving this dick up that easy.”

I think about it for a second and then I realize that this Ash girl probably works with Onyx. She might not like me showing up at her work again, but I don’t give a shit. I will show up there every night until she gives me a second chance. That’s how stubborn I am.

“Where?” I take my towel off and run it through my hair. “I might be down.”

Stone turns around to look at me right as I wrap the towel back around my waist. “Vixens Club, man. I heard from one of the other girls that she works there. I’ve been thinking about going to see her for a while. You down?”

“Yeah,” I say stiffly. “I’m down. Meet me back here around nine.”

Standing up, Stone gives me a fist pound and heads for the door. “Alright, bro. I’m out.”

“Cool.”

I watch as Stone walks outside, forgetting to shut the door behind him. “Idiot,” I mutter before walking over to shut it.

I stand here in thinking mode for a moment. This may make me sound like a pussy, but I want to be sure to look sexy as hell for her tonight. I’m going to dress this body of steel up for her and she won’t be able to resist. I’m making it my mission to make her mine again.