Page 34 of A Murderous Crow
“I don’t know how to feel,” she confessed, her confused gaze meeting mine over her shoulder in the silvered glass above my sink.
“I know,” I murmured. “We’ve got nothing but time for you to sort that out.” I drew her back from the sink, palming her hair clip, and led her to the bath.
“Is that too hot?” I asked.
She left my arms to sink to the edge of the clawfoot tub and stuck her hand in the water as it flowed.
“No, sir,” she said. I smiled and kneeled down in front of her, gathering her hands in mine.
“Playtime is over for tonight, missy.” I brought them to my lips and kissed her fingers. “Get in the tub.”
She was sweetly obedient, getting into the tub, standing, and swishing her feet in the water to get used to the heat. I got in with her and got down first.
Fucking hot!I didn’t make a face or jump or any of that nonsense, though. I simply parted my legs and gave her hands a gentle tug to come join me. She turned and got to her knees in front of me, sucking in a breath as the water rose and she waited, growing used to the heat before uncurling her legs and sitting back against me.
“Mm.” She made a short noise as I curled my arms around her and caged her gently within my legs.
“Lean back,” I urged. “That’s it. There you go.” I kept my tone gentle, and she didn’t protest. She just sank back against me, as I held my hands out of the water on the edges of the tub. The water was creeping, and I asked her, “Sit up just a bit?”
She did, and I wiggled to sit up just a little straighter. I gathered her hair, her clasp between my lips, as I twisted it into a ponytail, and kept twisting until I could put it up and fasten it out of harm’s way.
She sat very still for me, and I sank back down and pulled her back against me. When the time was right, and the steaming water had reached the peak amount we needed for a nice, long, hot soak, I used my foot to turn it off – first one faucet, then the other, as quickly as I could.
The rushing water ceased, and a silence crept into the bathroom.
“Better?” I asked after a time, her arms layered over mine, where I hugged her around the middle.
“I don’t know,” she said haltingly.
“Talk to me,” I murmured and kissed her behind her ear. She sighed out with the little touch, and yet remained stiff in my arms.
“It’s been a long time since I was with anyone,” she confessed.
I had kind of figured that part out, but I still lied and simply came back with, “Oh?”
She made a rude noise, somewhere between a scoff and a snort, and said, “Don’t play with me. I’m not going to run and scream abuse or anything. I think I’m more shaken because I…”
“Liked it?” I hazarded.
“Parts of it, yes.”
“It’s important you tell me what you liked and what you didn’t like,” I told her.
She was quiet. I didn’t think she would speak, that she was shutting down and wouldn’t share, but she surprised me. Though she was halting in her speech at the beginning, waffling back and forth on whether sheshould, she did the brave thing and ultimately did share.
“I liked it, at the restaurant, even though that was way out of my comfort zone,” she said. “I’ve never done anything like that in a public setting.”
I chuckled a little darkly and gently reminded her, “It wasn’t exactly public.”
“No, I know no one couldseeus… but they definitely heard things.”
I chuckled again and said, “I concede the point.”
“What else did you like?” I asked when she was quiet for too long.
She swallowed hard and said, “I liked the blindfold, and your rules… but I…”
I waited her out. “I didn’t like that I couldn’t touch you,” she said. “It made everything feel so sterile and – and impersonal.”
