“Are you having fun, peanut?” I asked.
“Yes!” She giggled. “Niya’s letting me help decorate her new dollhouse.”
I glanced into the living room and saw a dollhouse that was probably as tall as my daughter and a little girl about the same size as Rasha standing there with her arms buried in the dollhouse.
The little girl grinned at me with her two front teeth missing, then looked at Basil and said, “You have grass in your hair.”
Basil snorted. “I’m sure I do. Niya, this is Hiro, my viramore and Rasha’s dad.”
“I know,” Niya said with an attitude and an eye roll that made me want to laugh.
“Okay, brat, I just wanted to make sure.”
Niya stuck her tongue out at him, and Basil did it right back at her. This time I did chuckle.
Basil shrugged a shoulder at me and said, “What can I say? She’s got the whole bratty little sister thing down pat, and somehow I always fall for it.”
“Wasn’t gonna say a thing,” I said.
“Yeah right, asshat.” He cringed when he realized Rasha was still standing there. “Sorry.”
Rasha giggled, then ran back over to her new friend, and to my surprise said, “We should paint that room gray and pink since that’s Daddy and Basil’s favorite colors.”
“Okay, you do that one,” Niya said with her tongue sticking between her teeth as she tried reaching something again.
Basil said, “Do you need some help, Ni? I can—”
“No!” Niya and Rasha both yelled together—I couldn’t believe Rasha had as well—and Rasha added, “We’re doing it all by ourselves. No adults allowed.”
“And definitely no annoying brothers,” Niya said.
“No dads either,” Rasha said with a pointed look aimed my way.
My eyebrows rose, but I held my hands up in defeat. “Okay, have fun.” Basil led me back toward the stairs, and as we ascended them, I whispered, “I’ve never seen her so comfortable around someone she just met. I can’t believe she yelled at you like that when we’re in someone else’s home. That was… kinda amazin’.”
Basil grinned at me. “I’m glad she’s comfortable here. I knew she and Niya would get along.”
When we reached the top of the stairs, I grabbed him, pushed him against the wall, and leaned down to bury my face in his neck. My hands were fisting his shirt as I took a deep breath and murmured, “She doesn’t make friends easily, Basil. She… she doesn’t really have any friends, so to see her like that…” I trailed off and breathed to keep my emotions at bay.
Basil wrapped his arms around me, kissed the side of my head, and settled in, just holdin’ me while I pulled myself together. The crazy thing was, I could actually feel his affection for me through our bond. So even though I was embarrassed and worried that he’d see this as a weakness, I could tell he didn’t. In fact, if anything, his affection seemed to be growing with every passing second, and feeling that, knowing that, it was making my own affection for him grow, too.
Eventually, I got my shit together enough to let him lead me to his old room and the bathroom in there. After he showed me what to do—because apparently it was a fuckin’ magic shower, which was so far out of my norm, I was in shock—he asked, “Are you going to be okay by yourself?”
I smirked. “Are you offerin’ to wash my back?”
He sighed. “As much as I like that idea…” He trailed off and chewed on the inside of his cheek for a minute. “If you need help, I’ll help you, but that’s all I’d be doing.”
“I know, baby. Relax. I’ll be fine.” If I had a choice, I’d wait until I could really enjoy him naked, so I was goin’ to make this work without his help, otherwise I’d devour him too quickly.
“You sure? I can stay in here in case you need help.” His voice was soft, so I focused on him to try and figure out what was goin’ on in his head.
“You okay?”
“Huh?”
“Are you okay?”
He blinked at me. “Yeah, I’m good. Do you want me to stay or go?”
“Tell me what’s goin’ on in your head, shadow boy.”
He sighed again. “I don’t want to leave you in here by yourself.”
“Why?”
“Because I thought I lost you last night, and I’m still not ready to be away from you, but this isn’t really the way I wanted to see you completely naked for the first time. But I feel like a fucking jittery mess because I’m worried you might get hurt or that maybe this is a dream and you’re really still trapped by that fucking warlock or whatever, and I’m—”
“Bas.” I cut him off and stepped in front of him. “Calm down, baby.” I took off my gloves—a little surprised he hadn’t removed them last night—threw them on the counter, then moved into Basil’s space. His back was against the wall, and my chest was pressed to his in the small area as I lifted my hand and cupped his cheek. As he closed his eyes, he leaned into my touch, so I lifted my other hand and ran my fingers through the loose hair on the non-braided side of his head. I used that hand to caress his cheek, keeping the other cupped, then I bent down to press a soft kiss to his lips. “I’m right here, baby.”
To my surprise, a tear slipped out of his eye. He went to wipe it, but I beat him to it, using my thumb to brush it away. “Sorry,” he whispered.
“It’s okay, love. Everything’s okay.” I kissed his lips again, and this time he whimpered and opened his mouth to let my tongue explore him. He kissed me back with the same desperation I felt.
“Hiro,” he breathed out.
He didn’t say it, but I could tell what he was thinkin’, so I said, “I’m right here. I’m right here, love.”
A choked sound escaped him, so I moved my lips away but only so I could pull him into a tight hug. He tucked his head against my neck and whispered, “I almost lost you before I’ve really even had you.”
I held him tighter. “But you didn’t. You got to me in time.”
He nodded against me, clinging to me desperately. I felt just as desperate to be close to him, too.
We stayed there for a long time, and besides Rasha, I didn’t know the last time I’d truly hugged someone like this. But having him in my arms felt right, like somethin’ inside my chest clicked into place, like he was a puzzle and I was the lost piece that finally found its way back home.
Eventually, he whispered, “Go take a shower… is it okay if I stay in here?”
I almost suggested that he simply jump in with me, but I could tell he was feeling too raw. The last thing he’d want was to be stripped naked in front of me right now after letting me see him lose control of his emotions. As much as Basil Ellwood acted like a confident ass, it was mostly a front. Something happened in his past that made it hard for him to trust people. It seemed we both had pasts that messed us up a little—or a lot.
“Yeah, stay.”
He blew out a relieved breath.
After kissing the side of his head, I backed away and undressed. To my surprise, Basil turned his back to me and didn’t try to peek. It made me smirk at him and shake my head as I climbed into the shower. It didn’t take long to clean myself off, and when I got back out, Basil kept his back to me. I dried off, got into my borrowed clothes, and said, “Why don’t you get in? I’ll wait in here.”