Page 13 of Unexpected Heroine

“You just stand there and feel the water. I’ll get you clean. Tell me if it hurts anywhere.”

Thanks to the shower spray, he can’t see my renewing tears, but I keep my eyes shuttered just in case.

At one point in time, I’d have been pissy at him for coddling me this way.

But fuck if I don’t need his soft side right now.

He starts with my neck, massaging my skin in soothing circles. I roll my head from side to side, giving him access as he goes. Next, he works his way down one arm, then the other. I try not to react when he gets to the burn marks on my triceps. I must not succeed, because he pulls back instantly.

“Is that a cigarette burn?” he asks through gritted teeth.

“Yes,” I answer meekly.

“They are fucking dead men walking,” he mutters as he rinses off the loofah and adds more cleanser. When he returns to the area, his ministrations are even more delicate.

The old Lettie would tell him I don’t want him to seek justice for me.

However, the new Lettie wants to be at his side as he does to them all the horrible things they did to me. If he wants to get revenge, I won’t be stopping him.

Those monsters deserve everything he wants to give them and more. He can bring his soldier-type friends who rescued us with him for protection. They all seemed like badasses. I bet they’d have his back.

Reaching for the shampoo, I start on my hair while he continues cleaning me, one section of my sore body at a time.

As the fragrant aroma of my shampoo mingles in the steamy air, I tug in a deep inhale to let the cleanliness permeate my lungs fully. It brings with it a burst of alertness.

While scrubbing my scalp raw, a memory hits me from when I first started dating James. The night he first gave me a glimpse into his past by revealing how he could make someone’s life hell from behind the keyboard. A wry smile threatens to break free.

“What’s that look for?” he asks, shaking me from the delightful revenge-filled vision.

“You’re dangerous, aren’t you?”

His movements pause, and he slopes his head to the side inquisitively. “Explain.”

“I’m talking about your skills. You’re capable of hurting people in more ways than just what you could do online, aren’t you?”

For several heavy seconds, he studies me. I can practically see his wheels turning as he tries to work out where I’m going with this.

Hell, I’m not entirely sure myself. My brain is feeling an ounce or two short of a pound.

“Why are you asking this?”

I lift one shoulder casually in a partial shrug. “The way you came in there tonight, weapons at the ready. How you were dressed. The people with you. Where you work. The weapons room. The way the others deferred to you.” I purse my lips and lean my head deeper into the warm jets of water while keeping my eyes on his. “I saw a different side of you tonight.”

His turquoise eyes shimmer brilliantly with the water flecks surrounding us. “And?”

“Honestly, I don’t have a point. I suppose I’m just musing.”

“Musing, huh?” He arches a brow. “Don’t worry. If I were dangerous, I wouldn’t be a danger to you.”

“I know that.”

“Good. Now, turn around, sugar.”

With feet like concrete blocks, I comply at a snail’s pace. Exhaustion returns now that I finally feel safe.

I’m on the second rinse of my shampoo when he turns me back around and kneels in front of me to scrub my lower legs. He even cleans between my toes and the bottoms of my feet.

Damn. I love him so much.

---