“Sure.” Amery moved in behind him, and he closed his eyes when her soft fingertips brushed his spine. “You’ve still got discoloration from bruises.” She swept her thumb across his left scapula. “How did you get injured back here anyway?”
“Probably from a takedown. Are there marks anywhere else?”
She lightly pushed on his neck until he dropped his head. More gentle touches across his shoulders. “One here. It’s on a bone, so it’s still a big lump. Does it hurt?”
Not when you’re touching me like that.
“You’ve also got a big knot in this muscle.”
As soon as her fingers connected with that sore spot, his skin broke out in gooseflesh. It’d been a lifetime since she’d put her hands on him.
“This tension is probably from how you’re holding the crutch.” She rubbed a few more times. “Any other tight spots?”
The skin covering his dick was getting tighter by the second—he couldn’t tell her that, but pretty quick it’d be obvious. “No.”
She moved to stand in front of him and placed her palms on his rib cage. “Does this hurt?”
“A little.”
Amery’s scent surrounded him so completely he couldn’t think of anything except pulling her into bed with him and holding her captive until she promised never to leave him again.
“Will any of these marks scar?” She inched her fingers down his belly.
His c**k nearly leaped into her hand, and he willed the motherfucking thing to stand down. “Doubtful. They’re just bruises.”
“Just bruises, he says.” She traced the contusions with such tenderness he ached for more. “Such a tough guy.”
“I don’t know about tough, but today I almost feel back to normal.” When she looked up at him, he said, “Being this close to you and not being able to touch you like I want is killing me.”
Just like that, Amery sidestepped him. “I wanted to talk to you before I left for work.”
Allowing her retreat, he briskly towel dried his hair. “What’s up?”
“I think it might be best if I stayed at my place tonight.”
Ronin didn’t answer. He just waited.
“You’re getting better, and you don’t need me—”
Before she could finish, he wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and brought her against his body. “Do you really believe the only reason you’re staying with me is because I needed you as my nursemaid?”
She blinked those big blue eyes at him.
“Answer me.”
“I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do know, and that’s why you’re running. Guess what? That’s not happening.” He slanted his mouth over hers and kissed her. Not bothering to hide his hunger, not allowing her to retreat. Holding her in place until she responded with the passion she still felt for him but tried to discount.
The taste of her was hot and sweet. Heaven and hell because he wanted so much more from her than this small taste.
And he knew she wanted more too when she plastered her body against his, not caring he was wet. Fisting her hand in his hair with the possession he’d missed.
He forced himself to end the kiss. He brushed his lips over her chin and down her throat, holding her tighter when she trembled. “Amery, I need you. If I haven’t made that clear, then allow me to do so now. I need you in my life every day. Not just for the short term.” He nuzzled her ear and whispered, “Please. Stay with me.” He tipped her head back and smiled at her. But his smile dried when he noticed her tears. “Baby. What’s wrong? I thought we—”
“I’m scared. I trusted you once, and that nearly broke me.”
Ronin wiped the moisture from her face. “You walking away did break me. I threw myself back into those fights because I wanted the outside of my body to hurt as badly as the inside.”
Her eyes, her posture, everything about her softened toward him.
He had no problem taking advantage of that. “We’re working through this. The only way we can do that is if we’re spending time together reestablishing intimacy and trust, right?”
“You are so damn smooth.” She traced his lips with the tips of her fingers. “And so gorgeous. Sometimes I look at you and find it hard to breathe.”
“You humble me.” He dropped another kiss on her mouth. Then he parted his lips and followed the curve of her neck on a slow glide from top to bottom. Then bottom to top.
She shivered.
Rather than get greedy and push for more, Ronin withdrew, but he had secret satisfaction in seeing that Amery trembled from just the brief touch of his mouth on her skin. “It’s too damn cold in here. I’m freezing my balls off.”
“I thought it was just me.” She raised an eyebrow at him. “There’s no excuse for you not to turn on the heat since you’ve got the funds to cover the higher cost of winter utilities.”
That was the first time she’d joked about his financial status. Had to be a good sign. He smiled at her. “That is an upside.”
• • •
THROUGHOUT the day, Ronin’s determination that they’d reunite as lovers grew. He’d made his intentions clear this morning; tonight, he’d drive the point home.
After he left the dojo, he stopped in the penthouse long enough to grab a beer, a towel and to tell Amery he was going for a swim.
On the pool deck, he rolled back the thick plastic cover, leaving three quarters of the water covered. He popped off his knee brace and shed his gi pants and T-shirt. The brisk wind blowing over his nakedness forced him to get into the pool quickly.
The water warmed him, but it wasn’t as warm as he’d like. His outdoor spaces designer had assumed he would use the area for entertaining and had set it up accordingly. But half the lounge chairs hadn’t ever been used. The tiki bar looked cool in theory, but in reality, he’d rather have a hot tub.
Sipping his beer, Ronin stared up at the sky, wondering if it’d take a helicopter to get the heavy tub portion up here. The bad thing about downsizing the cargo elevator was he lost the ability to haul big pieces past the fifth floor. He could’ve opted for big, symmetrically shaped plastic pieces for a cover, which, once assembled, encompassed the entire roof. But he’d had no place to store them in the summer months. He’d chosen extreme weather-resistant plastic, which made a tight enough seal around the area that some of the heartier trees on the garden side didn’t have to be moved indoors when the temperatures dropped below freezing.