Page 39 of Vallaverse: Noir
“Not this time,” he answers. “But I'll stay with you and help you out. Then I'll give you a nice massage. Pierce can help if he wants to.”
I don't even argue. That actually sounds amazing. The very idea of both of them soothing the soreness from my body has me sighing.
“Will you go get her something for pain?” Beckett asks.
“In my bag,” I tell him. “On the floor beside the big dresser in your bedroom.”
“Our bedroom,” Pierce corrects.
“Our bedroom,” I agree. “I have some anti-inflammatory meds. They're in the yellow bottle with the blue lid.”
“Got it.” Pierce disappears into the bedroom on his mission.
“It's hot,” Beckett warns as I step into the tub.
I nod and tighten my hold on his hand as I lift my other foot into the tub. I manage to keep the wince off of my face as I lower myself into the water. It's almost like now that I've given myself permission to feel the pain, I'm being blasted with it.
“Go slow,” Beckett reminds me. “I won't let you fall.”
“I'm supposed to be the one taking care of you,” I tell him, but I still let him put his arm around my shoulders as I lay back against the tub.
“We'll take care of each other,” Becket assures me. “And we'll pray that Pierce never gets hurt because I don't think I could carry him up the stairs.”
I laugh at that, and let myself relax into the heat of the water. I don't take too many soaks. I'll never admit it out loud, but I'm genuinely afraid of losing my balance and falling. I have had nightmares about cracking my skull open on my tiled bathroom floor and laying there for days, naked, freezing to death.
I take the medication when Pierce puts it to my lips without opening my eyes.
“Here,” he says, holding a glass to my lips. It's just water, made to feel colder by the hot water I'm laying in.
It doesn't get awkward until our breathing starts echoing off of the walls. I can't sit here and listen to us breathe at each other. “Somebody talk about something.”
“No bubbles in the tub,” Pierce blurts.
I crack open one eye. “What?”
“There are no bubbles in the water,”he repeats
“Do you have bubbles?” I ask. I can't imagine a man like Pierce sitting around in bubble baths, but stranger things have happened.
“I do, believe it or not.”
“Should I have bubbles?”
“No,” he says. I can almost hear him thinking. “Do you want bubbles?”
“I don't have an opinion about bubbles. Why are we discussing this?”
Beckett laughs. “Because he's staring at you pretty hard and his dick is going to rip a hole in his pants. Not to be crude.” He laughs again, flicking water at Pierce. “Glare at someone else. It's true. Where do you keep that thing when you're walking around.”
“You are a child,” Pierce mumbles. “I'm leaving.”
“Don't you dare,” I say, pulling myself out of the water and up into a sitting position. Two pairs of eyes follow the flow of water down my body. “You stay right here and talk to me about bubbles or anything else. Beckett, stop looking at Pierce's dick.”
“This is ridiculous,” Pierce mumbles, but leans back against the door frame.
“Talk,” I order.
“What happened to your leg?” Beckett asks.
