Maya
It is two in the morning, but I haven’t been to sleep yet. I was waiting for Conrad to come home. I didn’t want to fall asleep and be startled when he climbed in next to me; instead, I chose to stay awake. I am eager for him to come. I know he hasn’t been away long, but I haven’t been feeling the sense of security I usually do when he is here. I understand it isn’t fair to put all of that on him, but no one has ever made me feel safe.
I am in bed with some tea, watching a movie to keep myself occupied until he arrives. Joshua is still here. I told him he could go home since Conrad was on his way, but he insisted he wanted to stay until he did. I didn’t argue. He is stubborn, and I know he won’t leave.
I hear the sound of the front door and then talking. I smile brightly and rush through to the living room, slowing down before I enter because I don’t want to seem too needy and desperate.
“You are home,” I say brightly.
Conrad turns to me, and the biggest smile appears on his face, “There is my girl.”
I giggle and stroll over to him. He reaches for me the second I am close enough and pulls me against his chest, kissing me softly. I moan and slip my arms around his neck, kissing back. We part after a few moments, not wanting to make Joshua feel uncomfortable.
“I missed you,” he says and strokes the hair from my eyes.
I blush like I always do, “I missed you too, handsome.”
“Joshua, you can either head home or stay until morning, whichever suits you best. Thank you so much for being here while I wasn’t. It is much appreciated.” Conrad smiles.
“I will head home. You are welcome, Sir. Call if I am needed.” Joshua smiles.
We say goodbye to him, and he heads home to his wife and son. I have felt bad keeping him from them the last couple of days.
“Why are you not sleeping? It is late.” Conrad asks.
“I was waiting for you to come home,” I reply.
He hugs me tightly to his chest, “How are you doing, sweetheart?”
I glance up at him, “I am okay.”
“Are your arms okay?” he asks softly and rolls up the sleeves of his hoodie I have on.
The bruises were more prominent now. He sighs and gently runs his fingers over them.
“Conrad, it is fine. They don’t hurt.” I whisper.
“I hate that he did this to you.”
“It is nothing. He did a lot worse when we were together.”
I watch pure hatred pool in Conrad’s eyes when I say it.
“I hate he hurt you for so long.” He whimpers.
I reach up and caress his cheek, “It is okay. It is in the past. Can we please not focus on that tonight?” I say softly.
It is entirely in the past since the bastard is hanging around again, but I refuse him to ever hurt me in the way he used to. I don’t fear him in the same way I did.
Conrad nods, “Yes, we don’t need to talk about that right now.”
“Do you want anything before bed? A shower? Food?”
“I might have a quick shower, and while I do, you get your ass into bed, it is late.” He teases and bops my nose.
I wriggle it, “Yes, boss.” I reply sarcastically.
He chuckles and kisses me, “Go.”
I stick my tongue out at him, turn and start walking away. He slaps my ass, and I let out a soft squeal because I wasn’t expecting it. I glare over my shoulder at him, and he winks. I playfully roll my eyes and head to his bedroom, giggling. It is good to have him back. Hopefully, I can get a whole night’s sleep tonight since I haven’t slept much recently.
I take the hoodie off and slip into bed. Conrad comes in a moment after me, dumping his bag on the chair. He starts to strip down, and I can’t help but watch him closely, biting on my lips. He must feel me staring because he looks at me and raises his brow.
“Enjoying the show?” he asks.
“Hmm, I don’t know what you mean. I was not even looking.” I protest.
Conrad laughs loudly, “If you insist, beautiful. I won’t be long.”
He smirked and removed the last of his clothing, which was his boxers. I moan softly at the beautiful naked sight in front of me. He smirks and disappears to the bathroom. God, why does he need to be so damn sexy and beautiful.
I groan and throw myself down on the bed. I need to control myself. It is late. I am tired, and I am sure he is too. I can keep my hormones in check until tomorrow. I stare at the ceiling until I hear him enter the room. I sit up, and he only has a towel around his waist. His chest and hair were still wet.
“You couldn’t have changed in the bathroom?” I whine.
I roll onto my stomach and hide my face in the pillow.
“No, what fun of that would have been? I couldn’t have teased you then.” He chuckles.
“You are so mean.” I huff.
I feel the bottom of the bed dip down, and him crawls up towards me. He towers over me and kisses the back of my neck, “Why am I mean? I am not doing anything.”
I whimper loudly, “Yes, you are.”
I roll onto my back to look at him. He has a smug look on his face.
“What is wrong, angel?” he asks sweetly.
“Nothing! I am tired.”
It is such a lie.
“Okay, then we should get some rest.” He smiles and kisses me before he climbs off the bed.
I sigh and ignore the tingling forming between my legs. Conrad changes into shorts and a tee before he slips into bed with me. I roll onto my side, and he does the same.
“I missed you next to me.” He says softly.
“I missed it too.”
Conrad kisses my forehead, “If your horniness doesn’t fade, angel, please let me know. I don’t mind you wakening me up.” He smirks.
“Who said I was horny?”
“No one. You didn’t need to. Have you forgotten I know you probably better than you know yourself now? I know all your tells, gorgeous.” He says confidently.
He has a point. The man worked me out quickly and has done from day one.
“I will keep that in mind.” I giggle and peck his lips.
“Make sure you do.”
I will try to push it aside and get some sleep, but I don’t know how long it will last. Conrad uses the command to switch the lamp on and switch the main light off. I think he is used to sleeping with a light on now. I will manage to switch it off one day, I hope.
I turn my back to him because it is how I sleep. He quickly scoots closer and slips his arm around me, pulling me tightly against him. Conrad brings the covers over us.
“Try and get some rest, beautiful.” He whispers and kisses my shoulder.
“I will. Goodnight, handsome.” I coo and take his hand, linking our fingers.
“Goodnight, angel.”
The familiar protective feelings instantly overtook me, and I relaxed for the first time since he left. It is such a strange thing how easily he can change everything in a split second for me.