“Get in.” As he stepped under the water, I put my own clothes in the hamper and stepped toward the cubicle.
I was about to join him when I lifted my gaze and admired him as he raised his face into the stream of water and let it run down his body. Theo was muscular but not that bulky. He had the body of a man who needed to be agile and whose days were filled with manual labor and riding horses. He had strong-looking arms and thick thighs, and his ass—
“Are you enjoying the view, baby?”
I smirked. “Oh definitely.”
He held out a hand and pulled me close under the showerhead. We kissed and let the hot water warm us up.
“Sit,” I ordered him, pointing at the ledge. It wouldn’t be that comfortable, it probably wasn’t meant for a grown man to sit on, but it would do.
Theo sat down and I grabbed my shampoo, then began to massage it into his hair. He made an obscene little sound and smiled with his eyes closed.
I realized Theo needed more touch in his life. Human touch. Sure, the critters were giving him some of that, but it became obvious to me that he hadn’t been touched like this in a long time. I didn’t want to think that he’d maybeneverhad this, so I continued to gently and firmly wash him.
“How are my hands?” he asked in a half-drunken tone when I started to rinse him out.
He held one hand up like a paw and I smiled as I took it. “Not too bad. Do you want me to scrub them?”
With his eyes still closed as they’d been all through the process, he tilted his head as if to think.
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Okay, stay.” I stepped out of the shower and grabbed the little nail brush that had its own tiny dish by the tap. Clearly, my aunt had worked with horses and wanted her hands clean. I appreciated the brush more every day I spent around the stable.
I went back into the cubicle and took Theo’s hand again. Then I gently scrubbed his nailbeds and even under his nails to get the dirt out. Some of it was tough, but I was still as careful as I could be not to hurt him, and eventually I deemed him ready for bed.
I’d showered earlier in the day, so I turned the water off and grabbed a towel to quickly dry myself first. Then I turned around to face a sleepy, confused Theo.
“What?” I asked, holding his towel in my hands.
His eyes widened, and he smiled slowly. “Oh, this is a full service, well, service.”
I chuckled. “Yep. Hold out your arms first.” I dried him thoroughly as he enjoyed all the touching.
He was swaying by the time I was done, and I ushered him into the bedroom in all his naked glory.
“It doesn’t look like her room,” Theo murmured as he climbed under the covers. “The blanket was hers though.”
I nodded. “Yup. I wanted to keep it as a reminder and a tribute. Everything else is new. Sierra did a good job, I think.”
“Uh-huh…” Theo was drooping, and I decided dessert could wait.
I turned off the lights and got into bed. Then I pulled him close, letting him use my chest as a pillow.
“Sleep, baby.”
It was as if someone turned him off, he fell asleep so quickly.
“I love you,” I whispered into his hair, because it was the truth. How could I not?
* * * *
I woke up early the next morning to Theo rolling out of bed.
“What time is it?” I asked, disoriented as hell.
“Just before five. I need to go check on the newbies. You sleep some more.” He came around the bed to peck my lips. “I’ll see you a bit later, okay?”
