Finally, he swallowed and nodded. My heart swelled with warmth at the level of trust he seemed to be giving me, and I placed a gentle kiss on his clavicle.
“Let’s get these off,” I whispered, guiding him toward the wall so he had something to lean on while I helped him get out of his jeans. He still had his little velvet pouch that my mother had given him in his pocket, and I smiled at that.
Even when he was pushing me away, he’d kept it on him.
Slowly, I helped him undress and got him settled in the shower. Thankfully, it was large enough that I could fit three Cals in here, and there was a spacious tile outcropping built into the wall. I used it for shampoo and soaps normally, but it was a perfect seat for my injured man.
I got him settled and gently used the detachable shower head to rinse him off. He bulked at that too, but I let him hold it and control the temperature and pressure of the water, which seemed to calm him down.
It was taking everything in me not to pepper him with questions. Why had he seemed so triggered by the bathtub? Why did he wince every time I sprayed him with the shower head? What the fuck had that piece of shit done to him to fuck him up this bad?
But I didn’t want to put him through any more stress than absolutely necessary. I could tell he wasn’t one hundred percent present. He was in a sort of dazed, half-conscious state, and I just wanted to get him clean and back into bed as quickly as possible.
I got to work gently washing the blood from his skin. I left gentle kisses across his cheeks as I worked, making sure he knew he was with me and he was safe.
As the tacky blood melted off his beautiful, tanned skin, the feathery back piece I had glimpsed earlier became clearer and clearer.
My throat closed up, and I swallowed hard as I realized he had black angel wings tattooed on his back, with the words‘expelled from heaven, raised in hell’scrawled across his shoulders.
Running my fingers gently over the words, I peppered his wings with more kisses, blinking back tears.
‘You dark angel is coming, dear.’
My mother’s words rang through my mind, and it took everything in me not to break down into tears.
Cal was the dark angel I’d been waiting my whole life for.
He was here, and he wasbroken.
I resolved at that moment that even if it took the rest of my life, I would make sure he would one day be able to spread his wings and fly again.
No matter the cost.
Once I was satisfied that he was clean, I dried him off and dressed both his wounds with fresh bandages.
After giving him one of the pills the doctor had left me and a glass of water, I finally was able to get him tucked in my bed.
“Ryan…?” He whimpered as I stepped away to slip out of my own clothes, which were now wet from the shower.
“Yeah, angel? What do you need?”
“Stay with me.”
My heart cracked, and I swallowed past the impossibly large lump that formed in my throat at how vulnerable he sounded.
“I’m not going anywhere, baby. I’m just getting changed, and then we’re going to rest,” I reassured him, leaning over the bed and pressing a kiss to his cheek.
“I’m sorry… for what I said… before.” His eyes were closed, and his words were barely audible.
I slipped into a clean pair of boxers and crawled into bed with him, pulling him toward me as gently as possible. He melted into me like it was the most natural thing in the world, and I instinctively brushed back his damp hair, dropping a kiss on top of his head.
“It’s already forgotten, angel. Rest now. We’ll talk more in the morning.”
“Ryan?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for saving me.”
