I awoke in his bed to the sound of the shower running. I stretched my legs and winced, my hand flying down to my ass. It was still hot. It stung like crazy.

In the light of day, laying in his gigantic bed and looking out the window at the view of the city below, things seemed so strange now. We’d gone to bed last night, holding onto each other like we’d found some sort of salvation. And yet, now, in the bright light of day and all alone with nothing but the very real pain that was throbbing through my body, somehow it didn’t seem quite so magical.

I’d been drunk last night.

Drunk on the power I’d allowed him to have over me.

Drunk on the relief of letting someone else be in charge.

Drunk on the act of giving my body away to him.

I crawled out of bed, grabbing his robe on a nearby chair and sliding it over my naked, red skin. I looked down at my ass and gasped. Not only was it red, but there were tiny little angry welts all over it and outlines of his fingers that would surely bruise later.

My stomach had bright pink streaks criss-crossing over it, remnants from the leather straps he’d used. My breasts were swollen, my nipples sore from his pinching. I rubbed my wrists, sliding my fingers over the sensitive, raw skin there.

“Jesus,” I said, under my breath. I walked out to the terrace, staring down at the city, as I tightened the robe around me, the cold air whipping around my face, tiny snowflakes falling onto my hair.

The people below looked tiny from up here and I couldn’t help but wonder if any of them were licking the same sort of wounds as I was this morning.

I couldn’t deny that I’d loved it. Every second of it had been filled with this forbidden delight that I’d never experienced before. But I couldn’t help but wonder…how far was this going to go? What was his limit?

The rougher he got, the more turned on he was. Fuck, it wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t admit that I felt the same way. We both enjoyed whatever this was. I didn’t have a name for it. I didn’t know if he did either.

My mind was spinning as I heard the shower shut off. A minute later, he joined me on the terrace, naked and dripping with tiny beads of water, his hair wet. He smelled like soap and minty toothpaste. I smiled at him, shaking my head as I watched snowflakes land on his eyelashes.

“It’s freezing,” I said. “You’re crazy!”

“I like it,” he said, lifting his face to the sky, the snow falling around him. He was a beautiful, magical vision, his perfectly sculpted body looking like something out of a magazine. He smiled and spun around, raising his hands up in the air and laughing. My heart soared as I watched him, amazed at the light that was shining from him in such a purely joyful moment.

Who is he?

He had so many different layers that I couldn’t keep up.

I shivered, the flesh on my ass stinging even more out here in the cold. He stopped spinning and closed the distance between us, pulling me into his arms and kissing me. I melted into his warmth, closing my eyes and leaning into his chest as he wrapped his arms around me.

I wanted to stay there forever, the snow drifting around us on his peaceful terrace, high above the frantic pace of the world below.

I had no idea where any of this was going.

I didn’t know if this was love.

I had no idea what he was thinking.

I didn’t know what our future held.

All I knew was that in that moment, no matter what happened, no matter where I was in a year or a week or even tomorrow, I had—for a brief moment—experienced perfection.

“Let’s go inside,” he said, breaking the spell. “I have to get to the office.”

I sighed and reluctantly followed him in.

“Oh, me too!” I said. “I’ll take a quick shower, if that’s okay?”

“Sure, but we can’t be seen going in to the office together. Max will be waiting outside for you.”

“Oh,” I said, my heart sinking. After all that stuff last night, part of me thought we’d reached another level. “I see.”

He looked at me for a quick second, a flash of something in his eyes that I couldn’t quite name, and then he turned and walked into his closet, leaving me standing in his room alone.

“I’ll see you at the office,” he yelled from the closet. “Lock the door on your way out. Towels are in the top cabinet in the bathroom.”

So, that was it?

He was just going to leave me here alone like that? No hug or kiss goodbye? I walked into the bathroom, my heart heavy, feeling like I was doing the walk of shame or something.

I’d let him do things to me last night that I never would have allowed anyone to do—and I’d liked it. It felt so intimate, so personal. I turned on the shower and climbed inside.

When the tears came, I told myself it was because of the pain of the water hitting my raw skin.

By the time I got out of the shower, the tears were gone and so was Bear.