Page 204 of Operation: Defiance

Asher

We stand at the bathroom counter side by side, going through the motions of morning. Raine brushes her teeth like plaque personally offends her, but after a moment, I remember why.

Eight days of not being allowed to take care of her most basic needs.

“Do you want to shower first?” I ask when I finish and set my toothbrush back in the holder.

Raine looks from me to the glass-walled enclosure, then back again. A subtle flush creeps up her neck. “I want…to shower together.”

The way she says that one word—want—almost sends me to my knees.

She doesn’t shrink back. Doesn’t drop her gaze. Her arms curl around her torso, vulnerability lingering in her eyes. “If you don’t⁠—”

Shit.

“I do.”

I take a step closer, reaching past her to twist the knob. Water cascades in a gentle curtain, and as it warms, I strip off my briefs, tossing them into the hamper in the corner.

Raine’s cheeks turn a deeper red, her eyes lowering to where my dick stands at half-mast.

I drag my focus somewhere safer than imagining what I’ll see once she takes off the nightshirt. She’s already off balance. I won’t tip her further. Field stripping my Beretta is boring enough.

Eject the magazine. Clear the chamber. Press down on the takedown latch and ease the slide forward…

But I lose the thread completely when she tugs the long, dark gray shirt over her head.

As close as we were last night, even with her straddling me, naked and wanting, I couldn’t appreciate her body the way I can now.

Long, toned legs. A hint of softness to her stomach. Too many bruises along her ribs. Her nipples pebble, tight dusky nubs I can still feel under my fingers.

It’s only the sight of her shoulder that stops me from taking her in my arms and kissing her. The bruising there is deeper, pooled near the joint, where her body was forced beyond what anyone should have to endure.

She holds her right arm close, and though her brown eyes hold desire, there’s a hint of fear in them as well. She’s survived things that would have broken the strongest people in the world, and yet she’s still here. Still choosing this. Choosing me.

I step closer, pausing long enough for her to tell me to stop, before I wrap an arm around her lower back, drop my head, and brush my lips to hers.

“We don’t have to do this.”

Raine rests her cheek against my chest, her left hand trailing over the subtle ridges of my abs. “I know. That’s why I want to.”

We step under the spray together. Raine passes me the shampoo. “If you want…”

“Hold onto me,” I murmur as steam billows around us.

Once her arms are around my waist, I work the suds into her hair. The trust she’s giving me…I’ll never take it for granted.

Slowly, I massage her scalp. Her eyelids flutter, and a soft moan escapes her lips. I’m careful around her temples, but she no longer flinches when I get close to the places that anger me the most.

Where they shocked her. Repeatedly. Where they tried to erase her.

A smile tugs at her mouth. “I could get used to this.”

My hand cups the back of her head, and she leans into it so I can rinse the last of the shampoo from her hair.

“So could I.”

Chapter Fifty-Three