Page 63 of A Raven Revived

She wiggled adorably, enjoying another bite of scone. He would do everything in his power to see her this way every day for the rest of their lives. When she was finished, he set everything aside.

“I have another surprise for you.” He pressed a quick kiss to her lips, then scooped her up from the bed and carried her to the dressing room. “I thought you might enjoy starting your day with a nice hot bath.” But then her gaze fell on the tub.

“No!” she screamed. “Please don't make me! Please!” Her body stiffened as she kicked and fought frantically to get out of his arms. Panic gripped him when he nearly dropped her. He clamped his arms around her and hurried out of the room. He placed her on the bed, and she scurried away from him, curling herself into a tight ball against the headboard. Her whole body shook as she gasped for breath.

Seeing her gripped with so much fear ripped his heart in two. Defeated, he dropped to his knees near the side of the bed. “Daisy, sweetheart, I’m sorry.” He didn’t know how to help her. Dear God. What had they done to her in that awful place? “You’re safe, Daisy. I’ll never hurt you.” But he had hurt her. His hands balled into fists, his nails digging into his palms. If he hadn’t left her alone with her father, she never would have ended up in that godforsaken place. She gave an unsteady nod and slowly began to calm. He didn’t move, terrified that anything he did might frighten her even more.

After an agonizing stretch of time, she gradually uncurled her body and looked over at him. Eventually, after the terror faded from her face, she crawled down and sat on the side of the bed in front of him. She reached for him and he gently wrapped his arms around her middle. Her body still trembled as she hugged his head to her chest.

“I’m so sorry, Daisy. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

“I told you.” She shrugged. “Broken.”

“No.” He sat back on his heels so he could look into her eyes. They were filled with unshed tears, until one slid down her cheek.

“I’ll understand if you’ve changed your mind about marrying me, Fitz.”

He wiped away the tears and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Nothing could ever change my mind about that, Daisy.” He squeezed her shoulders. “You are my everything, the most important thing in my world, and my life could never again be complete without you by my side. I love you, and nothing will ever change that. Do you hear me?”

She nodded as more tears ran down her face. “I love you, Fitz.”

He held her and rocked her slowly. God how he wished he could take this pain away from her.

“I know I need a bath, but…”

He took hold of her hands. “Don’t you worry about a thing, my beautiful girl.” He pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek and got to his feet.

He laid two towels on the floor in front of the fire, then filled a basin with warm water from the tub and grabbed a cloth. He stripped out of his clothes—hopefully, if he didn’t have anything on, she would feel less vulnerable taking off her own—and sat cross-legged on the towels.

“Get yourself naked and come sit on my lap. I’ll get you clean, no tub required.”

ChapterNineteen

She would never understand how she’d managed to capture Fitz’s heart. He was the definition of kindness. Unbelievably sweet and caring, sitting there on the floor, smiling his encouragement. She left the bed and pulled her nightgown over her head.

Carefully, she settled herself onto his lap with her back against his chest. Having his body against her was incredible, and very quickly, the feel of his warm skin changed her nervousness into desire. Could he possibly still want her that way, with all of her bruises and theatrics? His lips, soft and warm, pressed a tender kiss to her shoulder and she closed her eyes, glorying in the loving gesture.

He dipped the cloth into the basin and squeezed out most of the water before turning her face so he could see it. Gently, he wiped it over her forehead. She was surprised by the warmth of both the cloth and of his touch. He rubbed softly over her eyes and then the rest of her face.

“Is this alright?” he asked quietly.

She nodded. “It’s wonderful. Thank you.”

He rinsed the cloth and continued with his gentle ministrations. Such sadness filled his eyes as he carefully wiped over the bruises on her arm.

“Do they hurt?”

“A little,” she admitted.

His lips whispered over them as he kissed each one. He repeated the same with her other arm, and her desire grew with every touch of his lips.

“Lean forward, so I can wash your back.”

After he wiped down the whole surface of her back, his lips gently pressed a few places where she must have bruises. That was not a surprise after everything that had happened, but his kisses made her need grow and her nipples responded, begging for attention.

She leaned back against him, and he brushed the cloth gently over her stomach.

“Fitz?” She swallowed, reluctant to ask the question, afraid he may not want her anymore. “Will you touch me?”

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