Indigo sighed. It was a sad sound, full of so much torment he barely resisted the urge to haul her into his arms. “I wish I could believe that.But if there’s one thing life has taught me so far, it’s that just when I think things are improving, that they’re going to work out, all of a sudden I'm dragged back into that dark place.”
“That won't happen again,” he vowed.
“Again, I wish I could believe that, but?—”
“No buts. What is it with you and the buts?” he muttered. “You have zero reason to believe things will get better and zero reason to believe anything I say. So don’t believe, don’t think, just feel.”
“Feel?”
“Yes. Feel. Just feel, honey. For a moment, shut down everything else and feel.”
Adding more water to the bandage he’d been using as a towel to clean her, Voodoo worked his way up her body. Making sure none of his touches were inappropriate in any way. Not only would he never take advantage of a woman, but he also knew one wrong move would spook Indigo and set back the minimal progress he’d made with her so far.
Gliding the wet material over her skin, he let his hand do more of the work, massaging each place he touched. To maintain her modesty, he shifted his hand under the blanket when he moved to her stomach. Undressing her last night was about saving her life, but now that she was conscious, he wasn't going to invade her privacy without her permission.
As he washed her stomach, his fingers skimmed her soft skin. It was littered in bumps from old wounds, and those partially healed. He felt her flinch each time he brushed over one, and because he never wanted her to be self-conscious he made it a point to caress each one.
“We all have scars, honey,” he murmured as he moved the cloth higher, ghosting over her breasts, and noting the way she pressed her thighs together and shifted slightly. “Scars don’t make us less beautiful, they make us more beautiful because they’re a testament to our strength and determination.”
Brushing the damp cloth to her neck, Voodoo brushed it over her pulse points, then let his fingers linger, pressing just hard enough to make her eyes widen, heat, flare with desire.
“You are without a doubt the most stunning woman I have ever laid eyes on. Beautiful inside and out. Your strength is your perseverance,your determination to keep going even when everything inside urges you to give up. Can I kiss you? Properly this time?”
Eyes widening further until they were almost impossible round, her gaze dipped to his lips and then back up to meet his. It was clear she was debating with herself, but when the tip of her tongue darted out to run along her bottom lip, he knew she was going to say yes.
The second she nodded her assent, Voodoo crushed his mouth to hers.
This time, the kiss wasn't brief and undemanding, gone before it even began. This time, he curled a hand around the back of her neck and devoured those pretty, plump lips of hers. He kissed her like she was worthy of only good things and all good things. Her fingers curled into his shirt, holding on to him, as she parted her lips when his tongue demanded it, giving him access without hesitation.
Drowning in the kiss was easy.
Falling headlong into feelings for this woman was a breeze.
But maintaining realistic expectations was almost impossible.
January 23rd
4:13 P.M.
“What did you do for fun when you were a kid?” Indigo asked as the late afternoon shadows began to lengthen, the temperature dropping as the winter afternoon quickly turned to evening. She was back in Voodoo’s arms after switching between walking on her own with the help of another makeshift crutch and being carried.
With each passing minute she was feeling better. Now that the infections were beginning to heal and her body wasn't on fire with fever, it was easier to think with a clear head. And with a clearer head, she was better able to push away that nagging at the back of her mind that she shouldn’t have let her chance to die slip past her because she might end up wishing she hadn't.
Now that she was being carried again, not focusing all her energy onputting each foot in front of the other, she found that she wanted to know more about the man who had saved her life several times over.
They’d shared several kisses now, although none as passionate as that one back in the cave when he’d been cleaning her up. There had been little touches as well. Nothing overtly sexual, just a soft caress as he helped her stand up or sit down, a lingering stroke of his fingers as he guided her over a broken branch, letting her body slide slowly down his each time he set her on her feet. Brushing hair out of her face, holding her hand, sitting beside her close enough that their bodies touched.
She was falling for this man, and she wanted to not just know more about him, buteverythingabout him.
Voodoo groaned, and it was such an exaggerated sound that Indigo couldn’t help but giggle. The sound was light and free, and it had been such a long time since she had anything to laugh about that the moment turned almost bittersweet.
Before another wave of despair over something as simple as not laughing for months on end could wash her away, she caught Voodoo’s soft gaze watching her with something almost resembling wonder in his eyes.
“What?” she asked, suddenly self-conscious.
“You're beautiful, but when you let go, when you laugh like that, you're absolutely stunning. I want you to have more things to laugh about.Onlythings to laugh about, from here on out.”
How could she do anything but fight against all the negative thoughts running rampant in her head when he said sweet things like that to her?
