“You were in the army?” she asks, her fingers soft and cool against my hot skin.
I nod. “Conversation for another day.”
I unbuckle my belt, but shimmying out of my jeans is another story. Every twist of my torso and bend of my waist sends waves of pain through my body.
“I can do that,” she says quietly.
“I want a woman to want to undress me.” I try to make a joke of it, and she meets my eyes, her lips pressed into a grin.
“Oh, I want to,” she teases.
I chuckle, but then I cough. “If this is what it’s like to grow old with somebody,” I say, “you didn’t sign up for this shit.”
Claire laughs at that and stands between me and the sink, her eyes on my hips. “I’m going to unzip you, okay? Then I will…” Her voice cracks a bit, like she’s scared or at least uncomfortable.
I rest a hand on her shoulder. “Claire, I’ve never hada woman undress me who wasn’t begging to do the job.” I shake my head. “I can handle it from here.”
“So, you want me to beg?” Her voice lilts in an unmistakably flirtatious tone. “Because I’m not about to watch you crack your head open on the sink.”
I groan. “All right, all right. But I’m commando under here, so just…” I plant a hand on the edge of the sink. “Unzip me, shove these down just a bit, and…”
“Savage.” Claire is pinned between me and the sink, and she rests one of her palms against my chest. “I have a baby. I hope you don’t think I’ve never seen a dick before.”
A laugh rumbles low in my chest. “Yeah, but the first time you set eyes on my dick, I want it to be a lot sexier. Now unzip me and skedaddle.”
She mutters “skedaddle” under her breath, but she does as I ask. She works the zipper of my jeans down and then wriggles the waistband onto my hip bones.
“Come running if you hear me drop,” I tell her.
“You going to drop the shampoo on purpose?” she asks. “Because I’m right here, right now, and if you want me to see the goods…”
“No goods.” I take hold of her chin and raise her face to meet my eyes. “Claire,” I say, my voice going serious. “That’s as much of my junk as I’m ready to share. Now get the hell out of here and leave a man with his dignity, will you?”
She purses her pretty lips and shakes her head, but she steps outside of the bathroom. “I’m leaving the door open,” she calls behind her.
I grin and carefully step into the shower. I’m only thirty-seven, but I feel every minute of those years all the way down to my bones as the hot water crashes down on my skin.
My face hurts.
My head hurts.
My neck hurts.
My goddamn everything hurts.
I can’t reach up to shampoo my hair, but I wash the goods, rinse off, and wrap a towel around myself. The second I turn off the water and open the door, I hear Claire’s voice.
“Be careful getting out of the shower.”
I shake my head. “Yes, ma’am.” I feel better being clean, but by no means do I feel okay. I step like my feet are made of lead onto the bathmat, and then I realize I didn’t bring any clean clothes into the bathroom. “Fuck it. Claire?”
She opens the door so fast, it bangs against the bathroom wall. She jumps and her face pales. “I’m sorry,” she says quickly. “I didn’t mean to?—”
“Don’t apologize. I need you.” I’m gripping the towel around my hips, but that’s about all I’ve got in me. “I forgot clothes,” I stammer, my words failing me as the pain from the exertion catches up to me. “But I’ve got to sit. I’m…”
“It’s okay. Come on.” Claire tucks herself under my armpit. “Just hang on to your towel. You’re getting in my bed, and I don’t want to hear any arguments.”
I’m not about to fight her on this. I hobble with herhelp to her bed, lower myself down, and lie back against the pillows, which she’s moved from the couch. “I’m so sorry,” I whisper through gritted teeth. “I should be more of a fucking man than this.”
