Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Maple

Like I would go anywhere. Where the hell would I go? I'm exhausted. I can't move my head without it hurting and the rest of my body is no better. Why is he back and how did he know I wasn't in the guest house?

He's back before I can argue with myself over whether or not I even give a fuck to find out right now. He hands me two pills and I look up at him.

"They're just over-the-counter pain meds, sweetheart. They may help take some of the pain away without leaving you spacey or drowsy."

"You mean drowsier than I already am?" I huff the words out even as I reach for the glass of water on the nightstand.

Once I hand the glass back to him, I lay myself back on the mattress and try to close my eyes… until I feel the bed dip and warmth hit me along one side. When I open my eyes, it's to find Caspian wrapped around me.

"What do you think you are doing?"

"I told you, sweetheart. I'm going to stay with you tonight."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you can crawl in bed with me half-naked."

"Why don't you tell me what happened before you kick me out of your bed and make me sit on the World's most uncomfortable chair for the rest of the night?"

It's not really what I want to do but… what do I have to lose telling him? I recap the story leaving parts out about me being slightly upset he left without so much as a goodbye and all because he found out I wasn't after his grandfather. But he's smart. He picks up on things.

"Why haven't you been sleeping, sweets?"

"I don't know, it might be that late-night visit where you barged in and out without so much as a second thought all because you found out…"

"I found out what, sweets?"

"That I wouldn't make a good sugar baby. That I wasn't who you wanted. That someone was clearly more preferable than me."

His big body moves against my own and I realize he's laughing. The asshole. I don't care how bad it will hurt my head I am out of here. I try to jerk away from him, but he holds me to him.

"That's not what happened at all." Sure, it isn't! I wait for him to rewrite the narrative where I end up causing all the problems. "I left you because I was afraid of what I might do. I didn't want to throw you down on the floor and take you right there when you had doubts about what you wanted and if I was the right person for you to be with."

"God damn it! I can't figure you out, Caspian. First you call me a whore only after money, then you tell me you're going to…to… do dirty things to me, and next you're saying you're going to kill someone if they look at me for too long. Now, you say you left so you wouldn't push me or do something I might regret but you won't leave my room or let me get up. Are you a businessman or a freakin' FBI agent? Or are you just a crazy nutjob who can't take no for an answer? I can't figure it out and honestly, it makes my head hurt."

"Why don't we just stick to the basics? I'm a man who wants you. I used to be an agent but now I'm just a businessman and… I tend to be obsessive about things I am after."

Like that clears up anything.

"Now, let's just focus on getting you some rest."

"Casp… how did you know I wasn't in the guesthouse? Or that the last time you came I wasn't sleeping in my bed?"

My eyes have gotten heavy and some of the pain has dulled enough that I can feel the weight of exhaustion weighing down on me.

"My sweet, sexy sugar," he stirs the hair at my ear as he speaks close to me, "don't ask questions about things you don't want to know just yet."

Asshole!

"So, you will tell me one day?"

"I will. I'll tell you everything. Someday soon,"

I drift off in his arms expecting him to be gone by the time I wake up in the morning, but instead, I wake to the feel of lips skating down my body and a warm, wet mouth latching onto my achy breasts.

"Oh God!"

"You still taste fucking delicious. I expect you to not be as good as I've imagined but I keep finding out you taste even better than I remember."

I moan and arch my back off the mattress as the drag of his mouth on me causes my skin to tingle and my body to grow heavy. "Your head starts hurting or you feel sore, you tell me to stop. You understand, sweetheart?"

I can't seem to find the right words and moan instead.

"You hear me, sweets? If you hurt, you tell me right away."

What if I hurt for a whole different reason than he is thinking about? What if what he's doing makes parts of me hurt that I never even knew could hurt? When he takes his mouth away from me, I can only whimper and give him what he wants.

"Yes, I understand."

"So, fucking pretty." He mumbles the words around the tip of my nipple as he massages the other one to aching anticipation.

"Casp…I...," How do I tell him what I need? "Damn it. Damn it!"

"I don't want to lay on top of you, sweet baby. I'm too worried that I'll hurt you when I push you into the mattress." I give him another whimper. "I'm not going to leave you hurting though, sweets."

I frown and open my eyes just a bit so I can look at him. He leans forward and takes my mouth with his in a heart-stopping kiss.

"I'll use my fingers."