Chapter 47: Why?

“Of course,” he smiled down at her, sealing their lips together as just a peck but quickly turning it into something deeper, “I need to be inside you Angel.”

“Yes please my Duke,” Kai whined a little, wrapping her arms around his neck and pushing her hips up towards his. When did he get naked? “Please, I want you to fuck me sir.”

Duke hovered over her, his weight pressing her into the mattress, grounding her even as she trembled beneath him. One hand came down and caressed the side of her face, thumb brushing over her swollen lips, eyes burning with something deeper than desire—something raw, something only for her.

“Anything for you, Angel,” he murmured, voice thick with need.

Then he was inside her, a slow, deliberate stretch that sent a shudder through her oversensitive body. She gasped, nails digging into his back, holding him close as he filled her completely. He stilled for a moment, letting her adjust, forehead resting against hers, breath mingling in the space between them. Then, he moved.

A deep, measured thrust, pulling a whimper from her throat. Then another, slow and reverent, as if he were memorizing the way she felt wrapped around him. He didn’t rush—he savored, worshipped, let the moment unravel between them like something sacred. Every roll of his hips sent waves of pleasure rippling through her, stoking the fire that hadn’t fully burned out.

“Kai,” he breathed, voice unsteady, as if he were losing himself in her just as much as she was in him.

His control began to slip. His pace quickened, each thrust deeper, more urgent. She met him eagerly, hips rising to meet his, nails raking down his back as pleasure coiled tight inside her once more. The room was filled with the sound of their bodies moving together, the ragged cadence of their breathing, the whispered, broken pleas for more.

Faster. Harder. Until the world blurred at the edges and there was nothing but him—his touch, his voice, the way he drove her higher, made her feel so exquisitely full.

“Cum for me Angel, I need to feel it,” his deep iron voice sending shivers threw her body. He thrust in and out of her in a harsh punishing pace, barely holding back his own release.

Her body obeyed him as she shattered first, his name spilling from her lips as pleasure crashed over her, stealing her breathless, leaving her writhing and trembling beneath him. The moment her body clenched tight around him, he followed, a low groan breaking from his chest as he thrust deep one final time, holding her against him as he let go, lost in her, with her, his seed spilling deep inside of her.

For a long moment, neither of them moved, tangled together in the aftermath, breathless and spent. Duke pressed lingering kisses all over her face, neck and across her shoulders, his fingers trailing lazily down and up her arms before threading through her hair once more.

“You’re mine Kai,” he whispered, voice filled with reverence, as if the words themselves were a vow.

She squeezed arms around his neck, a soft, contented sigh escaping her lips.

“I am James.”

They laid wrapped up in each other for a few more moments. As the last tremors of pleasure faded, Duke—no, James—sat back on his heels, hands reaching out for Kai’s as they fell from around his neck, threading his fingers threw hers. The Dominant in him had taken her as far as she could go, but now, what she needed wasn’t Duke. It was him, just him.

He moved carefully, his hands suddenly tender where they had once been firm, deliberate motions. The marks on her skin stood out in soft, reddened lines and welts, proof of everything she had given him tonight. But right now, he wasn’t thinking about the power, the submission—he was thinking about her.

He gathered her into his arms, cradling her against his chest, pressing a soft kiss to her temple. “Come here, my angel,” he murmured, his voice no longer the commanding timbre of Duke, but the warm, steady reassurance of James.

Lifting her effortlessly, he carried her from the playroom to his bedroom, the place that belonged to them outside of a scene. The sheets were cool against her heated skin as he laid her down gently, brushing damp strands of hair from her face.

“You with me?” he asked, searching her face, looking for anything—uncertainty, exhaustion, doubt.

Her lips curled into a lazy, sated smile. “Always.”

James exhaled, relief flooding through him. He disappeared for only a moment, returning with bottle of water, chocolate bar and a warm cloth to clean her up, moving with the same kind of reverence that had nothing to do with dominance and everything to do with love. He worked in silence, soothing her with soft caresses, pressing kisses to her knuckles, her shoulder, her forehead.

“Turn over,” he said gently helping her to roll onto her stomach before rubbing soothing creme into her skin around the red welts. Then, he laid down next to her, pulling her across his chest and into his arms, tucking her close so she could hear the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.

“You are perfect,” he whispered, fingers tracing absent patterns along her back with one hand, with other he was breaking pieces off the chocolate bar and slipping them into her mouth.

Kai sighed against his chest, her body melting into his. “You take such good care of me.”

“Always,” he promised. And in that moment, he was the man who loved her.

James lay on his back, one arm draped around Kai, fingers tracing slow, absent minded circles on small of her back. Feeding her small pieces of the chocolate and occasionally bring the bottle of water to her lips to drink. The room was dim, the only light coming from the city skyline spilling through the window. Their bodies were still tangled, their breathing slow and even, but neither of them was quite ready to sleep.

Kai shifted, pressing herself closer against his side. The warmth of him, the steady rise and fall of his chest, the rhythmic beat of his heart—she clung to it, to the quiet safety of this moment.

His voice was soft, breaking the silence. “You never did tell me why.”

She blinked up at him sleepily. “Why what?”

“Why you finally said yes to me.” His fingers trailed up her arm, over the faint scars she still sometimes tried to hide. “After weeks of pushing me away.”

She inhaled slowly, exhaling against his skin, letting the words settle between them. It wasn’t an easy answer—not one she could sum up in a few words. But if there was ever a time to say it, it was now.

“I didn’t think I could,” she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. “For a long time, I convinced myself I wasn’t… enough. Not after everything that happened to me. The night i got cut, it broke something inside me.”

James remained silent, his hand stilling on her skin, just listening.

She swallowed, staring at the faint city lights through the window. “I used to feel beautiful. Confident. I knew who I was. And then, suddenly, I didn’t. I saw myself through everyone else’s eyes—the scars, the damage. Everyone took pity on me because i was injured, i couldn’t move, could barely walk and i couldn’t stand it, they looked at the broken me. I thought no one would ever want me again, not really. And then you came along.” She let out a quiet laugh, shaking her head. “You wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

James’s lips brushed against her forehead, but he didn’t interrupt.

“You kept showing up. Kept looking at me like none of it mattered. You made me feel seen again,” she whispered. “You didn’t rush me. You didn’t push. You just… waited. And maybe that’s why I finally said yes. Because, somehow, I started to believe that maybe I could be what you saw in me.”

James’s arm tightened around her, his breath warm against her temple. “I never saw damage, Kai,” he said quietly. “I just saw you.”

Her throat tightened, emotions catching her off guard. She turned in his arms, propping herself up on her elbow so she could see his face. “Then why didn’t you just walk away? When I told you to?”

He let out a slow breath, his fingers brushing a loose strand of hair from her face. “Because I knew you weren’t really telling me to go. You were scared, and I understood that. But I also knew that if I could just get you to trust me, even a little, you’d realize you didn’t have to carry this alone.” He paused, thumb grazing her cheek before reaching with both hands to cup her cheeks. “And because I wanted you, Kai. Not just as a submissive, not just in my bed. You. All of you.”

She felt it then—the weight of his words, the truth behind them. He had never just wanted to dominate her. He had wanted to heal with her, to give her the space to rediscover herself, scars and all.

For the first time in a long time, she didn’t feel broken. She felt his.

Kai curled closer, resting her head against his chest again. “You’re kind of annoyingly persistent, you know that?” she murmured.

“I know,” James chuckled, pressing a kiss to her lips before settling back. “Go to sleep baby, tomorrow is going to be busy.”