Page 109 of My Lovely Tragedy
“Good. Now, are you gonna help me or what?” He holds his arms out for me to inspect. Gentle and prodding andcareless.He doesn’t even see the depths in which I have ruined him. Or perhaps he simply does not care. The boy is far too intelligent for his own good.
As I stand before him, still subconsciously at his feet, I realize thatit is me who has been laid to waste—and it has been the most beautiful ravaging.
I only hope in the next life, our collision is just as brutal and consuming. Our very own supernova.
My palms graze over the rough texture of his flesh, just in the beginning stages of healing. His muscle twitches, but he remains still, allowing me to feel. Stepping into it—into me.
“Yes, I would let you do anything to me.” I curl my fingers around his triceps, pressing my thumbs into the soft creases of his arms. “But I think you know that.”
Brooklyn’s eyes are closed, and he nods softly.And it’s enough.“You’d die for me, and I… I’ll live for you.”
My eyelids flutter closed as my grip tightens to the point of bruising. I take a step closer. Water cascades over my face, forming a tunnel around us as I bow to press my forehead to his. Skin slick, hair plastered and tangled. Hazy gazes and vibrant truths.
“Just as it should be,” I whisper, tasting salt and fear. A perfect match for my own.
Brooklyn keeps quiet, lost in his mind as I clean his wounds, worshiping every cut with soft touches and lingering kisses.
I then drag a cloth over the expanse of his chest, over each nipple, which slowly peak at the attention, down his abdomen, through the trail of golden hair, then back up between the line of muscles.
His eyes never open. He stands perfectly still as I clean the traces of sweat and flecks of blood and semen from his flesh. And by the time I have finished, I’m sure the flush to his skin is not just from the heat of the water, which has slowly started decreasing.
It’s at a tolerable temperature now, but that only means Brooklyn breaks out in goosebumps. And my time worshiping him is up.
I tap his thigh, and he startles, eyes flashing open, rising to find mine. “I am finished, darling.”
“Oh.” And the sound of his disappointment should not excite me as it does.
“Hmm.Very disappointing, I agree. But it seems your body does not agree with the temperature of the water.” He glances down at the layers of gooseflesh and laughs breathily. It’s a wondrous sound. The very kind I know I will hear echoing in my mind just when I need it most.
His gaze rakes over me. “Can I stay until you’re done?”
“You do anything you please.”
He nods. “I’ll stay.” I dip my head in acknowledgment before reaching for the shampoo. But before I can douse my hair, he reaches out.
“Can I do that?”
Without a word, I hand it to him and then drop to my knees, wincing when they crack against the porcelain. He sighs, and then his fingers are in my hair, massaging over my scalp, tangling in my curls. I grip the side of the bathtub, using it to keep myself upright when he moves down. Scraping nails over my nape, toward each ear. Tracing the shell and the sensitive skin behind.
When he taps my shoulder, I hum and let my head drop onto his hand. His chuckle is so lovely. “Tobias.”Breathy… happy.
“Hmm?”
“I’ve gotta rinse the soap out. It’s starting to drip over your forehead.” I hum again, which draws another chuckle. My darling boy is spoiling me today—and every day he remains breathing.
“C’mon. On your feet, ya lanky sadist, you.”
A laugh bursts from my chest as I succumb to Brooklyn’s nudging and push to my feet. As I turn to rinse my hair, still chuckling, he starts dragging a cloth over my chest, matching my laughter with his own.
“You pair the strangest words,” I tell him after clearing water from my eyes so I can stare down at his blurry form. He huffs, then lifts my arm so he can soap the space beneath. He spends a lot of time working suds into the hair there, eyes focused.
“That’s rich coming from you.” He moves onto the other. I hold my arm up obediently, content just to watch him. As always.
“And why ever would you say that?”
“Gee, I wonder.” He scoffs.
“Hmm.I do as well.”
