SWNOVELS Before the Storm: Chapter 43
He’s kidding, right?
Surely he’s not seriously going to leave me aching and expect that I’m going to be able to sleep.
Storm chuckles and tugs my body against his, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “You’re cute when you pout, but that doesn’t mean you’re getting your way.”
I look up at him through a glare. Even though my pussy is throbbing from his rough treatment earlier, I need him again. I need the pleasure and pain to mingle together. I need his possessive claim on me. I need it all.
“Storm, this really isn’t fair,” I grumble.
“Like I said, baby girl, your pleasure belongs to me now.” He shrugs and picks up the loofah and shower gel I’ve been using since I got here.
Without another word, he washes away the remnants of his sticky release from my neck and chest, and hands my face wash over so I can do the same.
We dry ourselves in silence, and before I can take a step toward the door, he scoops me up and carries me into the bedroom. He pushes the covers back and places me down before bringing the soft blankets over the top of me. Storm doesn’t strike me as someone who looks after other people, but he does such a good job looking after me that I can barely connect this version of him to the ruthless mafia boss I know he is.
“Do you need to work?” I ask quietly.
“Not yet,” he replies, slipping between the sheets beside me and drawing me into his arms. “I just need to hold you for a while.”
I smile against his warm, naked chest and find myself burrowing into his warmth. I haven’t allowed myself to think too hard about how tonight could have ended, because if I had, I would be a mess in the corner right now, but now that we’re both safe and away from the danger, the very real possibility that I could have lost him washes over me.
I’m in love with Storm Saint James.
The realization hits me like a truck and knocks the wind out of my lungs. How can that be possible? At what point did I allow myself to fall for him? A few weeks ago, I was trying to escape, desperately trying to put as much distance between us as I could, but now… now I have very real, very scary feelings for the man who runs the city.
“Ayvah?” Concern laces his voice, but I don’t know what to say to him. I certainly can’t tell him I’ve just realized I’m in love with him. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to admit that to him. “Are you okay?”
I hesitate in my response, searching my mind for something, anything, to say that will appease him. “Tonight was… scary,” I admit. I can give him that much, even if I can’t tell him what actually plays on my mind.
He pulls me closer until my body is draped over his and presses a kiss to the top of my head. “I know. I’m sorry you had to be there for that. I’ll always do everything I can to keep you away from that kind of thing.”
“I was scared for you.”
“For me?”
I nod. “You could have been hurt.”
A deep chuckle vibrates beneath my cheek, and I force myself to look up into his gray gaze. “Were you worried about me, baby girl?”
“You know I was,” I whisper. I don’t want to admit it in as many words, but it’s the truth. He scared the shit out of me tonight and I can’t imagine spending the rest of my life worried my partner isn’t going to come home. I don’t know how Wynter, Snow, and Emerson do it, but then they’re much stronger women than I am. They’re poised and perfect. A world away from me. I’ve found myself thrown into a world that is so foreign, so far removed from the one I grew up in, and I have no idea how to navigate any of it, let alone the mafia side of things.
His arms tighten around me and something flashes in his gaze that I don’t recognize. Perhaps if I had any experience with men, this would be easier, I would be less confused, but I don’t understand relationships. The only one I’ve ever been around is the dysfunctional one my parents shared, and that’s not really something I want to model after. “It’s going to be okay, Ayvah. Nothing is going to happen to me, just like nothing is going to happen to you.”
“You can’t promise me that.”
“I can’t promise you that we’re never going to be in danger, baby girl, because that’s just part of my line of work. But I can promise you that I won’t allow anything, or anyone to hurt you.” He smirks before saying, “And I’d like to see something take me out. I’m like a cockroach.”
I laugh, burying my face into his bare chest. I like him like this. Carefree and unfiltered. The man he shows the rest of the world is so vastly different to who he is when it’s just us. I know why he has to wear the mask, it’s dangerous for others to know Storm isn’t the cold, unfeeling man he portrays, and if I’m honest with myself, I kind of like it. I’m the only one that sees this side of him. It’s reserved for me and me alone.
“I’m sorry I can’t offer you a normal life, Ayvah. But I’ll give you the world. Anything you could ever desire, I can have here in a matter of minutes.”
“I just want you,” I admit.
He growls. “Keep talking like that and I’m going to need to use your pretty pussy again, baby girl.”
I moan as his hand snakes between us and he cups my aching heat. The combination of soreness and need is intoxicating, but he notices when I flinch at his touch. He circles my clit gently, sending shockwaves of pleasure through my body and making me need more. But before I can even get close to coming, he pulls his hand from between us and rests it on my lower back.
“Not tonight, baby girl.”
I look up through long lashes, my bottom lip jutting out like it’s going to help my case, but even I can’t change the mind of Storm Saint James.
“Enough pouting, Ayvah. Unless you want to be denied for the next week…”
“No, I’ll be good,” I say quickly. There’s no way I can go without one of Storm’s earth-shattering orgasms for that long. I’m struggling just to get through the rest of the night.
“That’s what I thought.” He smirks. “Why don’t you get some sleep.” He rubs gentle circles into my back, soothing the effects of the night from my tight muscles.
“Will you be here when I wake up?” I hate how weak I sound, but what if he leaves the estate without saying goodbye and something happens to him?
He presses a kiss to my forehead. “I don’t know. But I promise if I need to leave, I’ll let you know. Okay?” It might not seem like much of a gesture for most people, but Storm doesn’t answer to anyone. He’s the leader of his company, of his family, and of the city. The fact he’s willing to be accountable to another human being is big for him.
I nod and snuggle into his warmth. Although everything feels new and foreign, I think I could be happy here in this life. Even though it’s not what I thought my life would look like, maybe this is better. It’s that thought and Storm’s steady heartbeat beneath my cheek that allows my body to relax and lulls me into a dreamless sleep with the man I love holding me tight.
I could get used to this.