Rite of Submission - Rite 1

36: Looking for the Point of No Return

                We were only able to get a few hours of sleep before the sun started to brighten the room. I was surprised by my unwillingness to try to wriggle out from under his arms. Resting my chin on his chest, I watched him as he slept instead. His arms wrapped tighter around me, "Are you going to stare at me all morning?" His eyes blinked open, and a soft smile greeted me as they focused on me.

"You do it to me all the time," I shrugged, "thought I'd give it a try." I placed a kiss on his jaw and tried to untangle my limbs from him and crawl out of bed.

He rolled us over, pinning me down to the bed with his body, "Where do you think you're going?"

"The bathroom," I doubled my efforts to wriggle out of his grasp.

His lips found mine, little sparks blooming throughout me as we kissed. He pulled back with a knowing smile, "Are you sure that you want to get out of bed? I'm sure Sophie would understand if we..."

I smacked his chest, "Yes I'm sure, you cannot miss the first breakfast since you got back. Not after how much she worried about you." He frowned but let me up. It took more of an effort than I thought it would to actually climb out of the bed. I walked to the bathroom, ignoring the dull ache of every muscle in my body protesting as I moved.

I wished he had a tub like Sophie so I could try to soak in a nice hot bath to ease the aches and pains. But they were forgotten with a look in the mirror that left me horrified. My hair was a frizzy mass of tangles making me look more like a life sized troll doll than a woman. I turned on the shower and set to working out the knots and tangles.

One last quick look in the mirror, this time checking everywhere his teeth had been, relieved to see that he'd managed not to leave any marks behind. He'd climbed out of the bed and made his way into the shower, making me freeze in place as his reflection moved across the mirror. "Holy shit!" the words just tumbled out of my mouth in shock.

He spun around and stared at me with his brows knit together in concern, "What's wrong?"

"Not me," I assured him, "Your back, are you ok?" There were several crimson half moon shaped marks on his back from where my nails had gouged into him, a few were accompanied by little trails of dried blood.

"They're already mostly healed," he shrugged, not even a hint of pain. He smiled at me, "Maybe I should tie your hands down next time, so you won't have to be so concerned afterwards."

"There's not going to be..." my voice trailed off as the water flowed over his skin. My feet moving on their own, I followed him into the shower. Goddess help me, I was in so much trouble. There was going to be a next time. I could already feel the anticipation tingling under my skin.

I was a little disappointed that "nest time" didn't seem to be happening this morning. Maybe that was why I'd decided to argue with him about letting Blake continue to follow me around. "Haven't I already proven I don't need a babysitter?" I argued back gathering up my discarded clothes. I really needed some actually clothes brought over here.

"He isn't a babysitter, he's your guard. And it is his job to be with you anytime I can't be."

"Well he wasn't here for almost a whole week while you were gone," I pulled my clothes back on.

"I already told you that you weren't as alone as you think you were," He'd started buttoning his shirt, sending a pang of regret through me as his chest disappeared. "Why do you have to be this difficult about everything? It's not about trying to keep you here. It's about protecting you and more than that; he can link with me if you need anything, and vice versa."