She let that information sink in, trying to grasp the concept of it. “Contained in? You mean me?”
“Yes. You are so tight it almost caused me pain. I could have swelled more but your body wouldn’t allow me to. It’s also why I didn’t pull out right after I came. I love being where I am but I think I’d hurt you if I tried to leave your body. Give it a minute or two more before I try to ease out of you.”
She blinked up at him. “You’re wider now than you were in the beginning?”
His expression grim, he gave a sharp nod. “You feel like a tight fist around me and it’s almost painful. That’s why I’m not moving. It’s at the base of my cock only.”
Ellie wiggled her hips and instantly stopped. She felt fused to him in the best way. She wiggled again under him and Fury groaned.
“Stop it.”
She studied him. “Move out a tiny bit.”
“Am I hurting you?”
“No. I’m curious.”
He watched her intently when he used his arms to push back in an attempt to withdraw slowly.
“Stop!”
He froze.
Ellie stared up at him. “Let’s not do that again. The pressure…”
“Hurts when I try to pull out?”
She hesitated. “It just feels weird but not painful.”
He sighed. “Does this turn you off?”
She hesitated but smiled. “I guess this means if we do this again I can turn you into a cuddler.”
“A what?” A confused look transformed his handsome features.
She laughed. “You know. Cuddle. Hold me. You’ll have to talk to me after sex.”
His teeth flashed when he grinned. “You can definitely turn me into a cuddler. And we will do this again. Many, many times.”
“Oh boy,” Ellie laughed. “Lucky me.”
Fury’s amusement died. “I am the lucky one, Ellie. Thank you for trusting me. This means more to me than the sexual pleasure we just shared.”
She stared into his beautiful eyes and fought the urge to cry. He really meant what he said. She decided to change the subject before she turned into a blubbering mess. No guy wanted a woman to get all emotional after hot sex. It would make him regret what they’d done and she wasn’t willing to risk that.
“How come you didn’t tell me that would happen—about the swelling?”
“I didn’t know how you would react.”
Another unmentioned part of them having sex together suddenly came into her thoughts. “We didn’t use a condom. I don’t have any diseases but I’m not on anything. The Pill or any contraceptives,” she clarified. “I need to see a doctor if we are going to start having sex. We took a big risk.”
“I don’t use condoms and I’m certain I can’t get you pregnant.”
She searched his eyes. His voice held a sad tone but that emotion didn’t show on his face. “Why not?”
He slowly withdrew from her body and watched her features for any sign of discomfort. It didn’t hurt Ellie. He rolled to the side to stretch out on his back. Ellie turned her head and stayed on her stomach. Their gazes met.
“Ellie, inside the testing facility they spent years doing breeding experiments to make more of us but it never happened. They kept coming up with new drugs to make it possible for us to be fertile but they always failed. By the time they believed they had found a way around all the changes they’d made to our bodies with the DNA they added, we were rescued before they could test them out. The drugs they gave us have worn off. We will die out as a race when old age claims the last New Species that Mercile created.”
The reminder of what had been done to them haunted her. She had no words of comfort to give him.
Fury sat up suddenly. “Let’s shower. I’m starving and what you cooked for dinner smells really delicious. I’m glad you took it out of the oven when I walked in the door. It smells too tasty to have been wasted if it burned.” He refused to look at Ellie.
Fury walked into the bathroom and left the door open. Ellie softly cursed. She’d reminded him of his time in the testing facility. Maybe it reminded him of what she’d done, how he should hate her, and made him regret what they’d just shared. That left her cold inside. Water turned on inside the bathroom.
“Ellie? I’m waiting for you.”
She climbed off the bed to follow him into the bathroom. Fury stood holding the shower door open. His dark eyes met hers and he smiled.
“Allow me to wash your hair.”
Surprised and relieved that he welcomed her company, she smiled back at him. “No one has ever done for me before. At least not since I was a little kid.”
His smile widened. “Then you are in for a treat.”
* * * * *
Ellie finished loading the dishwasher. She listened to the quiet house. Fury had informed her that he needed to make phone calls after dinner when she’d started rinsing the dishes. She wondered who he had to call after eight o’clock at night but hadn’t wanted to be nosy.
Ellie flipped off the kitchen light and strolled into the living room. Fury stood in front of the wide-open front door and soft male voices greeted her. She spun away to head down the hallway to the guest bedroom, not wanting to eavesdrop on his conversation with whoever had come to see him.
She flipped on the television and sat on the bed. The local news station wasn’t hard to find. She wanted to know what they were saying about a New Species and a human hooking up. It certainly concerned her.
Fury walked into the bedroom a few minutes later. She turned her head to give him a tentative smile. He didn’t smile back, looking grim instead.
“I have to go out. There are some matters my people need me to attend.”
Ellie nodded, curious, but didn’t ask when he didn’t offer up the information readily. “All right.”
He hesitated. “I don’t want you to be here when I come home.”
Shock tore through Ellie as she mutely stared at him. He’d had sex with her, they’d showered together, laughed during dinner, and now he wanted to throw her out of his home? She couldn’t even form words. She felt physically and emotionally gut-punched.
Fury moved suddenly, charged at her, gripped her upper arms and jerked her to a standing position. “You have an expressive face. I meant I don’t want you staying in this room. You belong in my bedroom where I want you from now on. Do you really think I would ask you to leave our home? I meant I don’t want you sleeping away from me. You belong in my bed, sleeping in my room, with me.”
She could breathe again. She knew it bordered on pathetic, being so intensely relieved at the misunderstanding.
Fury growled at her. “Move your things into my room. I will hunt you down and tie you to my bed if you leave my house. I will mount you until you are too tired to even think about crawling away from me. Is that clear enough for you?”
She mutely nodded. The image of him wearing her out until she couldn’t even crawl turned her on. That was a whole lot of sex. She bit her lip and grinned at him.
Fury shook his head. “Women.”
“Communication breakdown.”
Fury’s hold on her arms eased and his gaze softened. “You think I’m beautiful.”
“I do.”
“Understand I mean it about tying you to my bed. Don’t leave me. I don’t want to lose you. I won’t.”
“I want to stay with you.”
Chapter Twelve
“No,” Fury roared.
Ellie heard the commotion after the doorbell rang. They had planned to spend Saturday together watching movies. Ellie had just finished a load of laundry while Fury made popcorn. At Fury’s outburst, Ellie ran from the bedroom where she’d started folding clothes.