Iturn on the shower and wait for the water to heat up. When I try to wake her, she wraps her arms tighter around my neck. I guess we're both going into the shower.
I kick off my shoes before stepping into the walk-in shower. I let the water spray over my back as I check the temperature. As the droplets hit her face, her eyelashes flutter. She looks up at me and smiles before nuzzling against my chest again. Why does she have to feel so perfect in my arms? Why does holding her make me finally feel complete?
I lean down to kiss her forehead, but she lifts her face to capture my lips with hers. It’s soft, sweet, and passionate. It’s making me hate myself even more. I can feel my damaged heart breaking further as I pull away from the kiss.
She wiggles against my hold until I lower her to stand in the shower. She glances down at her body and watches as the rust-tinted water flows down the drain, rinsing her of her sins. She begins to tug at her clothes, but I stop her.
“Here. Let me,” I whisper
I kneel on the shower floor. I glance up to see her watching me. I press against her stomach to have her lean against the wall as I begin to slowly undress her. I lift her leg to pull off her shoes and socks. I’ll get her a new pair of shoes tomorrow. I’m sure there’s something in the main house for her to wear, too. When I glance back up to check on her, I can see more tears threatening to spill over.
My fingers loop into the barely held-together waistband of her leggings. I pause, waiting for her to tell me to continue, and she nods. I pull the blood-soaked leggings slowly down her legs. The torn fabric clings to her skin, sliding down and wiping away some of the blood. She liftsher leg so I can pull the leggings free, then the other. I toss them into the corner of the shower with her shoes.
I look back up at her face and see that her head is resting against the tile wall as she looks up at the ceiling. Her breathing is shaky as if she’s holding back the tears.
“Sunshine,” I whisper. She glances down at me. Her makeup and the blood are smeared across her cheeks. Those beautiful silver eyes are losing their spark, and it’s killing me.
I stand to grab a washcloth and run it under the warm spray. I brush the hair from her face to start wiping the blood away. She closes her eyes and relaxes into my touch as I cup her cheek with one hand and clean her with the other.
Fuck…She’s beautiful.
Once her face is clean from the blood and makeup, I kiss her on the forehead. She leans away and begins to pull down her thong, but I touch her wrist. I can tell she’s struggling as she watches the rust-colored water continue to flow down the drain.
“Just close your eyes, Sunshine. I’ll take care of you.”
She does as I say and closes her eyes. I grab the tattered fabric that remains from her hoodie and begin to slip it off her body. It falls to the floor, and so does her bra. The sound echoes as the soaked fabric hits the tile floor. I slowly kneel in front of her to remove the last bit of clothing.
Her eyes are still closed as I pull down the small strip of fabric barely clinging to her body. Declan sliced through most of the thong, so it practically fell off of her. I stand to grab the sprayer and washcloth before kneeling again.Her eyes remain closed the entire time as she relaxes against the wall.
I run the sprayer up her inner thigh, and she slowly opens her legs. As the water washes away the blood, dark marks from his fingerprints can be seen dotting her inner thighs. She winces slightly as I run the washcloth along the apex of her thighs. I know tonight wasn’t the first time he’s hurt her, not with some of the shit he said. My poor Sunshine.
“Myles.” Her voice is a cracked whisper. When I look up at her, she looks more at peace. “Thank you.”
“No need to thank me, Sunshine.”
The water is clearer now that most of the blood has been washed away from her lower body. I finish cleaning the last bit of blood from between her thighs, making sure to get everywhere before standing and grabbing shampoo.
“Here, turn around,” I gesture as I pour shampoo onto my hands.
She hums as her body relaxes against mine, and I begin to wash her hair. This strong woman is letting me take care of her, and it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. She hardly knows me…Doesn’t know who I really am…And yet she trusts me at her most vulnerable moment.
The tightness in my chest is coming back. I need to tell her…But what will she think? Will she hate me? She probably won’t even remember who I am…But now’s not the time to think about this. I need to focus on getting her clean and then make sure she’s taken care of.
I rinse her hair and wipe the last bit of blood off her body. The cuts on her back, chest, and throatare still slightly bleeding with the water. I hope to God there is some sort of first aid kit here.
When she turns back toward me and leans against the tile, I can’t help but look at her. My eyes greedily take in her entire body. Memorizing it. If this is the only night I have with her like this, I want it to forever be engraved into my memory. She’s stunning and so fucking perfect. This woman could wear a potato sack and still be the most stunning person in the room.
“Why are you staring at me like that?” she asks. Her cheeks blush as she looks up at me.
“Sorry. I was lost in thought.”
“About?”
“Just how beautiful you are.”
I absent-mindedly reach out, cupping her cheek with my hand. I run my thumb over her cheek, savoring the feeling of her soft skin. I trace the bruises he left on her and curse the universe for not allowing me to kill him myself.
Her delicate fingers wrap around my wrist. She presses her lips against my palm, then my inner wrist. Her lips are hot and electric as they move higher. When she gets to the sleeve of my shirt, she releases my wrist to grab the torn fabric. She pulls it the rest of the way off my body before running her fingers along my chest and stomach.
