The Masks We Hide Behind

Chapter Nine: "WHAT A NIGHT!"

I had a friend who was a nurse. Her name was Florence Nightingale, and since I’d saved her life once before, she didn’t ask how Roth had gotten his wound. She also insisted on helping him free of charge, and I was in no mood to argue. 

I waited outside, however, because Florence claimed that the room had to be clear of distractions. She also said that based on the halfway incoherent phrases Roth was muttering due to the excessive loss of blood, I was very obviously a distraction.

It took a while. How long exactly, I wasn’t sure. I’d started dozing off when Florence finally told me I could come in. Roth was asleep, but Florence promised he’d heal pretty quickly. I thanked her far more times than I needed to, and managed to get Roth back to his apartment without much trouble.

I carried him to his third story room, hung up his coat, and laid him comfortably on the bed. He was awake by then, and most of his pain he claimed was gone. I set my top hat and coat aside, took off my sleeveless red vest and my white button-up, and laid shirtless beside him. 

“How is your leg?” I asked.

“Don’t worry about me, darling. This isn’t the first time I’ve been shot. I’ll be in perfect condition again soon,” He leaned over, resting his head against my chest for a moment, before pressing a light kiss against my lips, “I’m just glad you’re alright.”

“When the lights first came on, and I saw you lying there…” I reached out, running my fingers through his hair, “I thought I’d lost you. It scared me so much.”

“Dear, you’re crying,” He took my hand, “I’m perfectly alright. It'll take much more than a bullet to keep me from you.”

“But it’s my fault that you’re hurt. What if I put you in danger again? What if Evie comes while I’m gone? What if I can’t save you?”

Roth wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer and kissing me roughly, “Don’t blame yourself, dear boy. I knew the risks when I agreed to meet your sister. If anything, I should have been more careful.”

I calmed down a bit, and a smile slowly formed on my face, “I meant what I said back on the train.”

He grinned back, “You said quite a few things on the train. You’ll have to be more specific.”

I inched closer, resting my forehead against his, and bringing a hand up to run my thumb over his scar, “I meant it when I said I loved you, Maxwell.”

“I love you, too, Jacob. I always have. Since tonight on the train, since our kiss in the alley, since our face to face meet at the theatre, since I first caught a glimpse of you and your Rooks fighting off my Blighters.”

I closed the distance that time, my mouth meeting his, and his arms firmly around my shoulders. My right hand drifted down a bit, taking off his tie, and undoing the buttons on his shirt. I pushed the fabric away to expose his chest, running my hand slowly up and down his bare skin.

Roth tore his mouth from mine, looking at my hand, and then meeting my eyes, “Jacob? Are you...are you sure?”

Instead of a verbal reply, I kept my hand where it was, and brought my mouth to Roth’s neck, kissing and sucking and biting until a few small bruises were there. I let my free hand run up his injured leg, squeezing lightly, causing him to moan. 
I met his gaze again, “Is this okay? I mean...was that too painful?”

His breathing was ragged, and when he looked at me, I could tell just how much he was enjoying himself. He moved my hands, however, and said, “I love everything that you’re doing, Jacob. But...I don’t want you to feel like we have to do this. I'm perfectly okay with another night of just sleeping beside you."

I took the gloves off of his hands, and kissed each of his palms, "So...you don't want to keep going?"

A shudder passed through him, "I very much do want to keep going. But I don't want you to regret making this decision later."

"You think I'm going to regret making love to you?"

He sighed, "It sounds silly, I know. But...Jacob, I've told you before that you're perfect, and the most gorgeous man I've ever laid eyes on. You could have any man or woman you wanted. I don't want you to waste that on me."

"Maxwell," I whispered against his ear, "You're the only one I want."

He sat up, and so I did too. I watched him as he shrugged his arms out of his shirt, letting it drop onto the floor. He gingerly pressed his palm against my chest, massaging it a little, before bringing it down over my stomach, and then lower still.

I breathed heavily, my face warm, and my eyes locked with his as he said, “Let’s finish what you started."

I yawned when I woke up. Roth was curled up in my arms, his face buried in the crook of my neck, still asleep. I held him a little tighter. 

Last night had been a dream come true, and I wanted to wake up next to Roth every morning. Every morning for the rest of my life. But deep down, I knew that things couldn’t stay how they were. Evie’s threat lingered in my mind.

She wasn’t going to give up. She may have let Roth and I get off the train, but she wasn’t going to give up. I knew her too well to hope for that.