Page 70 of Until Tomorrow Comes
I cut her off, caging her in and kissing her.
“Nope. You stay put.”
Before she can protest, I kiss her again. “Stay. Put. Kitten. I will be right back, andIwill be the only one taking care of you and cleaning you up.”
Hesitancy shines in her eyes, but she reluctantly nods and relaxes back on the bed.
I head to the bathroom, tossing the condom, and cleaning myself off before I turn to my giant freestanding bathtub. I’ve never actually used it before, but I don’t think twice about starting the water and adjusting it to the perfect temperature. I rummage under my bathroom sink for a minute, biting back a celebratory whoop when I find the lavender bath salts my mom gave me for Christmas. At the time, I assumed they would collect dust until I remembered to throw them away.
Flipping them over in my hand, I quickly scan the instructions before sprinkling them in and moving to find a washcloth. After running it under warm water, I head back out to Kat again.
Her eyes are closed, hair wild and spread out around her as she lays in the middle of my bed.
Not wanting to startle her, I kneel on the side of the bed and whisper. “Are you okay?”
Her eyes slowly open and a lazy grin spreads across her face. At the sight of her tear lined eyes, my heart stops beating completely.
“I’m more than okay. I feel better than I have in years.”
The breath leaves my lungs on a relieved sigh, and I move to clean her up.
“Thank you, Jackson.” Kat’s voice is low and when I look up to her face, a lone tear has escaped and rolls down her cheek.
Tossing the washcloth behind me, I stand from the bed and scoop her into my arms. Her arms wrap around my neck as I carry her bridal style to the bathroom.
“You don’t have to thank me for having sex with you. If anything,Ishould be thankingyou.”
Kat shakes her head before resting it on my shoulder.
“It’s more than that, and you know it. You make me feel… alive?” She sucks in a breath. “More than that, you make me feel safe and comfortable to beme, whoever that is.”
Placing a gentle kiss on her forehead, I stop in front of the bathtub.
“If that’s the case then I should be thanking you for all the same reasons.”
Not ready to let go of her, I step into the tub and adjust her in my arms as I sink us both into the water. As she settles against me, the water rising to the lip of the tub, I use my toes to shut the water off.
We stay like this until the water starts to cool and I carry her to the shower to wash off. Finally setting her on her feet, I kiss her shoulder as I reach for my shampoo. She moves to take the bottle from me, but I snatch it back.
Swallowing thickly, I avoid her gaze and focus on putting the shampoo in the palm of my hand before finally looking at her.
“Let me take care of you.” My voice is gravelly, and I clear my throat, not liking the emotions that are choking me.
Kat stares up at me for a heartbeat, searching my face, before nodding and turning her back to me. Neither of us speak as I wash her hair and we remain silent as I switch to washing her body.
When I finish, Kat wastes no time turning to quickly take the shampoo bottle and stare up at me. There’s hesitation in her eyes and I hold my breath as I nod, letting her return the favor.
Somehow, this feels exponentially more intimate than the sex we just had. Kat’s hands moving carefully over my body as she washes me. When her hand grazes past my semi-hard cock, she quirks a brow at me.
“There’s a sexy, naked, wet woman in the shower with me.” I say, shrugging my shoulders with a smile.
She laughs lightly, shaking her head and finishing up.
Stepping out of the shower before her, I grab a fresh towel from the cabinet and wrap her tightly in it before moving for my own.
Kat pauses when we step into the bedroom, staring down at my shorts before laughing.
“Shit, all my clothes are downstairs.”
