Page 58 of Goldsin

“Shh.”

Silently, I squeeze some soap onto the sponge and lather her body, starting with her feet.

She shivers as I take each foot in turn, massaging and cleaning them with tender precision.

My touch is gentle as I move to her legs, working my way up to her inner thighs, which elicits a soft moan from her lips. God, the sound she makes is like a siren call, beckoning me closer to the edge of control.

“You can’t resist its call,

like a siren to a sailor.”

Her eyes flutter closed. The stiffness of her muscles gradually fades as she lets me take full care of her body, trusting me to make her feel good. Safe.

As I continue to wash her I mentally trace the cuts and bruises on my own body, using them as a guide for where I need to pay extra attention to hers. I don’t want her to have to relive the horrific experience by asking her where she was touched; I want her to relax and forget about everything that happened, if only for a little while.

“Is this okay?” I ask as I move to her breasts, washing them gently but thoroughly.

She nods in response, her eyes fluttering closed as I move on to the next spot.

I’m finishing rinsing her body when she whispers my name. Her voice is filled with a tenderness that threatens to break me.

“Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me, golden one.” I step back and give her some space.

Something moves behind her eyes at hearing the nickname. That tenderness falters.

I grab the towel and envelop her in it.

I know I’ve done what I set out to do—taken care of her and helped her feel safe, like I failed to do at the Den—but it doesn’t make it any easier to walk away from her. Especially when all I want is to be close to her; to hold her in my arms and lose myself in her warmth.

But I can’t. Not yet.

I gently dry every crevice of her body before my fingers find their way to her wet locks of hair. The soft, damp strands feel like silk between my fingers, and I can’t help but marvel at how vibrant and beautiful they are.

“Your hair,” I hear myself murmur as I run my fingers through it again.

Aurelia chuckles softly, catching me off-guard with the unexpected sound. “You’ve seen it before, you know.”

“Never like this,” I admit, letting my fingers linger in her curls for just a moment longer.

Memories of all the times I’d watch her hair bounce whenever she burst into laughter, or the way it curled perfectly around my fingers when I played with it while she slept, flood my mind.

“It’s been years since I’ve seen it so ... alive.”

She looks at me then, her eyes shining with something I can’t quite place.

There’s no denying the unspoken words that dance in the air as we stare at one another. This push and pull, it’s a dangerous game, and one day it will all come crashing down on us. That’s why I pushed her away ... although now all I want is to pull her in.

“And when you finally touch rock bottom,

there will be gold to cushion your fall.”

But not tonight.

Tonight she needs me to be strong for her, to help her forget the horrors of the night and find some semblanceof peace.

“Come on,” I say, leading her over to the large mirror on the wall.

---