I hate you.

Fuck, not again. I push away the memory of her small, accusing whisper and focus on the present. I can feel her stirring next to me, a small sound of discomfort escaping her throat as the mattress rubs against the tender spot in her upper arm. That sound does something to me, gets under my skin for some reason. I don’t want Nora in pain—not from this, at least—and I reach for her, pulling her closer to me so I can hug her from the back.

She stiffens at my touch, rigid tension spreading through her body, and I know that she’s awake now, that she remembers what happened.

“How are you feeling?” I ask, keeping my voice low and soothing as I stroke the smooth curve of her outer thigh with my hand. “Do you want some water or anything?”

She doesn’t say anything, but I feel her head moving slightly, and I interpret that as a nod.

“All right then.” Reaching back with my hand, I grab the water bottle, fumbling a bit in the dark. Propping myself up on one elbow, I turn on the bedside lamp, so I can see, and hand the bottle to Nora.

She blinks a few times, squinting at the light, and takes the water from me, her slender fingers curving around the bottle as she sits up. The movement causes the blanket to slide down, exposing her upper body. I undressed her before putting her in bed, so she’s naked now, with only her thick hair hiding her pretty, pink-tipped breasts from my gaze. Familiar lust stirs within me, but I push it down, wanting to make sure she’s okay first.

I let her take a few sips of the water before asking again, “How are you feeling?”

She shrugs, her eyes not meeting mine. “Fine, I guess.” Her hand lifts across her body to her upper arm, touching the Band-Aid there, and I see her shiver slightly, as though she’s cold. “I have to use the bathroom,” she says suddenly and, not waiting for my response, climbs out of bed. I catch a brief glimpse of her rounded little ass before she disappears through the bathroom door, and my dick jumps, ignoring my mind’s directive to be still for once.

Sighing, I lie back on the pillow to wait for her. Who am I kidding? My pet always has that effect on me. I can no more ignore seeing her naked than I can stop breathing. Almost involuntarily, my hand slips under the blanket, my fingers curling around my hard shaft as I close my eyes and imagine her hot, velvety inner walls gripping my cock, her pussy wet and deliciously tight…

I hate you.

Fuck. My eyes fly open, some of the heat inside me cooling. I’m still hard, but now the lust is intermixed with a strange heaviness in my chest. I don’t know where this is coming from. I should feel happier now that the trackers are in, but I don’t. Instead I feel like I lost something… something I didn’t even know I had.