He reaches for my hand, clasping it in his, and we step into the tiled shower together, standing beneath the warm stream.
Wet fabric clings to my hips, a sensation that repulses me, but this moment isn't about me. It's about Elijah and his need to feel cared for, to feel loved. I won't ruin that in an attempt to ease my own discomfort.
My thinning hair falls over my shoulders, covering my breasts. I reach for his shampoo, squirting a dollop into my palm.
“You'll have to bend down if?—”
He lowers himself to his knees, wrapping his arms around my thighs and pressing the softest kiss below my navel.
He's beautiful like this.
Elijah is always beautiful. But on his knees, in quiet surrender as he allows someone else to care for him just this once, his mossy-green eyes are so much more vibrant with the contrast of the whites shot through with red. It's almost too much. Too raw, too broken, and painfully gorgeous.
I take my time running my fingers through his roots, massaging his scalp. I feel the tension in his muscles ease with every press of my fingers, and it loosens something coiled deep inside me to know that I'm helping him.Even if I'm ultimately the cause of his pain.This soothes some of his hurt, and that's more than I feel I've done in a long time for anyone. Including myself.
When I've rinsed his hair with the shower head and conditioned the ends, I have him stand and face away from me. He jolts at the first press of my soapy hands to his shoulders, but they quickly sag as I run my hands over the broad expanse of muscles, digging my thumbs into each knot.
We take turns exploring each other. Running sud-covered hands over one another, gasping when something feels perfectly right.
I revel in his contented sighs and murmurs of appreciation. And when we're both as clean as we can be, I rise onto my toesand wrap my arms around his neck, holding him tight as he falls apart one more time.
He tries to apologise for his emotions, but I shush him, begging him to take what he needs. Asking him to let me be here to pick up some of his broken pieces when he's done.
It's not until our fingers have turned to prunes that we exit the shower, wrap ourselves in towels, and slip back into his room.
He pulls a shirt from his dresser and stands before me, tugging it over my head before grabbing a fresh pair of briefs for himself. He slips into the bathroom to change, and I slide my knickers off, depositing them with the towel into his laundry hamper before climbing back beneath the thick, dark-blue duvet.
He returns a moment later, sliding in behind me and locking my back to his chest with a heavy arm thrown over me. He presses a kiss to my cheek.
“Thank you,” he murmurs.
“Goodnight, princess,” I tell him.
“Goodnight, sweetheart,” he replies, pressing another kiss to my bare shoulder this time, where his shirt has slipped off me.
Our legs tangle together, his warmth settling into my chilled skin like a giant heated weighted blanket. Exhaustion tugs at me, pulling me into Elijah’s comforting embrace.
He snuggles further into me, his arm tightening around my waist, and heat blooms in my chest and low in my belly. I’m more comfortable than I’ve been in ages, and while I stand by my belief that couples should have their own rooms, I won’t deny this is rather nice too.
His breathing changes, evening out and growing shallow, his muscles melting into bonelessness.
My lids grow heavy, and I feel the pull of sleep, but not before Elijah’s drowsy voice caresses my ear, leaving me with a thought sure to result in sweet, gentle dreams.
“Don’t we make the cutest couple?” he teases drowsily.
And if I were to provide an answer, it would be an enthusiasticyes.
CHAPTER
SIXTY-TWO
The early morningsun filters through the curtains, but that isn’t what wakes me. The rigid cock burrowing into my back and the hand draped between my thighs are far more distracting than the rising sun.
“Elijah, do you have an issue with wandering hands?”
“Hmm?” he grunts.
“Because every time we fall asleep together, I somehow wake up with your hand between my legs, and I’m starting to wonder if that’s how you keep yourself warm.”
