She began to undress, her fingers fumbling with the zipper at her back.
“Here, let me,” I offered, taking the zipper from her fingers and carefully tugging it down her spine. Once I reached the end, she peeled the material off her body, letting it pool onto the floor, leaving her bare, and I just realized she hadn’t been wearing any undergarments, but that took a back seat to the bruises covering her body. A new surge of rage streamed into my veins.I’m going to kill him. I’m going to murder Rusty with my fucking hands.And every person who touched her. I didn’t care how many people I had to hunt down or how long it took. They wouldn’t get an ounce of mercy from me once I tracked them down.
Holding on to the wall, she bent and tossed the dress into the bin. “You have no idea how much I’ve wanted to rip this off me.”
Schooling my features, I did my damnedest to control the undiluted fury coursing within me. “Hold on to me.”
“I think I can manage to get into the bath on my own. I’m not helpless, Kreed.”
“No, you’re definitely not, but it would give me an excuse to keep touching you.”
“You weren’t joking about not letting me go.”
I shrugged, unapologetic, and leaned against the sink counter, staying close just in case she had a misstep, but she managed to make it to the tub and sit on the ledge before swinging her feet inside. She went still, her eyes fluttering closed as a sigh escaped. Slowly, she loweredherself into the water, the bubbles rising and covering her up to her chin as she sank deeper.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her. After a few minutes of the warmth and the scented bubbles seeping into her skin, I pushed off the sink, moving to sit on the edge of the tub. Her eyes opened, finding me watching her.
A shy smile curved her lips. “Hey.”
I rinsed a washcloth in warm water and turned back to her. “Close your eyes,” I told her.
Her lashes brushed her cheekbones when she obeyed, and something shifted in my chest. She was still as stunningly beautiful as I remembered, and I’d been such a fucking jerk. I’d been given a second chance to do things differently. I wouldn’t fuck it up. Not again.
I took her hair in my hands, letting hot water sluice through the tangles as I worked shampoo into a rich lather. I did my best to smooth away the grime and terror of the last three days. When I moved to her shoulders, my fingers trailed over evidence of her captivity, bruises in the shape of grabbing hands and thin cuts that spoke of struggles and resistance. She winced now and then, but she didn’t pull away. I washed around the injuries, careful never to be rough, treating her skin as if she were precious.
“You have no idea how good that feels,” she murmured.
I washed her back, following the delicate curve of her spine. With every touch, her muscles loosened, her limbs growing heavy, sinking to the bottom of the spacious tub. It was big enough for two, and the thought of climbing in with her crossed my mind. How could it not?
She sighed again, soft and incredulous. “In fact, I think you should experience this for yourself.”
“Is that so?—”
I caught the flash of her smile right before she reached up and yanked me forward. I lost my balance and fell into the tub. The soapy water was so slippery that I managed to slip to the side of her but not before my chest brushed against hers and I felt the bud of hernipples. I lifted my head. “If you wanted to get me wet, you should have at least undressed me first.”
“An oversight on my part that I have every intention of correcting.” Her fingers went into the water, finding the hem of my drenched shirt, and pushed the material up my chest. I took over, removing it the rest of the way and disposing of it over the side of the tub in a splat. “Now the pants,” she ordered.
I fumbled with the button and zipper on my jeans. “This would have been easier before I got in the tub.”
“What’s the fun in that? Besides, I like watching you undress.” Her fingers ran over my chest, tracking the lines of my tattoos and distracting me from my task.
“If you keep touching me, I’m never going to get these pants off.”
“They look exactly as I remembered.”
“My tattoos?”
She nodded, chewing on the corner of her lip. “I would try to recall each one and where they were on your body.”
“Did you think of me often?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking.
“Every second of every day.”
“I don’t know if I’ve ever been so afraid as I was waking up and finding you gone. I don’t know what you’ve done to me, little raven, but you’re a part of me, just like my tattoos. You’re permanently inked on my heart.”
Her eyes flared with emotion as her wet fingers forked through my dark hair. “I can’t believe I had to get kidnapped for you to say romantic things to me.”
I snorted. “I talk better with my hands.”
