Chapter Ten

Annie

It was harder than expected to strip in front of Dom. He didn’t stare at me or touch me. Instead, he busied himself turning on the shower and adjusting the water. He glanced at me once, giving a crisp nod to see I’d removed my clothing but his gaze didn’t linger, which put me even more at ease. It helped me shake the last lingering anxiety still inside me and I breathed easier. Before I moved to the shower, I brushed my teeth, grateful to get the taste of vomit out of my mouth.

“In you get.” He opened the door to the shower and held out a hand for me to take. I glanced down at his hand then back up to his face. Dom didn’t say anything, merely raised an eyebrow, his gaze solidly on my face. It was almost like he was challenging me, daring me to take his hand. To touch him. To get in the shower and trust him to take care of me in this.

I took his hand, stepping into the shower. He gave me a moment, making sure I had my balance, then shut the door. I started to protest, but he whipped off his shirt and shoved off his jeans. When he opened the shower door, he was still in his boxers. He was hard but seemed to ignore it. I thought I probably should feel uncomfortable or scared or something other than relief he’d not left. Shouldn’t I want him gone? I’d never willingly been naked in front of man in my life! Yet here I was.

God, this man was beautiful! He was nothing like the men in the camp. The only time I’d seen a man naked was when the Divine One came to me that last time. He and his deacons had been readying to play their sadistic games so, naturally, they’d all gotten naked. There was no one who looked like Dom.

Tattoos graced his skin from the waistband of his underwear all over his torso, arms, and neck. He had some on his legs but not as many. His arms were heavily muscled and vein roped. Muscles played across his chest and belly. His thighs were thick and strong, muscles bunching with every shift of his weight.

Dom cleared his throat and I immediately looked up. The smirk on his face should have irritated me. Or embarrassed me because I’d gotten caught -- what did Lemon call it? -- eye fucking him. Instead, there was a sense of loss because now I had to tear my gaze away and carry on a conversation when I just wanted to stare a while longer.

I met his gaze with what I hoped was a blank expression. Like I had no idea what his problem was. “What.” The word came out more like a demand rather than an actual question. No way I was admitting to staring at his… uh… yeah. That.

“Like what you see, girl?” Could the man look any more smug?

I shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Maybe, huh? I think I warrant more than a maybe.”

“If I admit to more than just maybe, can I ask you for one favor?”

“Hmm… I suppose that depends on the favor. I might need more than an admission of where you were looking. I might want you touch where you want to look.” His smile was positively wicked.

Instead of dread threatening to pull me under, I got a hit of adrenaline at the thought of actually doing more than touching Dom’s arm or shoulder through his clothes. After everything I’d gone through, looking at a man in a sexual manner wasn’t something I ever thought I’d want to. And, yeah, the bikini contest misadventure had clued me into that painful fact earlier, but it didn’t look like I was going to listen to the rational part of my brain warning me I needed to protect myself. Besides, either I trusted Dom or I didn’t. And for all intents and purposes, I was living with the man. Besides, why would I deny myself something I was beginning to think I really, really wanted?

“You drive a hard bargain, but I think I could make that work.”

Dom grinned down at me. “You know I’ll give you any fuckin’ thing you want, girl. Name it and it’s yours.”

“When you have him, I want to be the one to kill the Divine One.”

* * *

Dom

“What?” No way I’d heard her right.

“I want to be the one to kill the Divine One. I mean, if you were really serious about killing him.”

“Oh, I was serious, honey. Just not sure I want you doin’ it.”

“Why?” Annie looked so serene she might have been talking about the weather. She was probably in shock after her panic attack. It was still eerie as fuck. Like something out of a horror movie where the sweet, child-like woman is possessed and calmly announces to everyone she’s getting ready to kill them all. And I’ll be Goddamned if my fucking cock didn’t stand up and take notice. So not the fucking time for this. Or the reaction I should have had. “I can do it. I’d have no problem and I wouldn’t lose a moment’s sleep. It might even help me conquer these stupid waking nightmares.”

“I can help you conquer them.” Slowly, I reached for the shower gel on the shelf next to us. “You don’t need to expose yourself to that kinda shit. There’s too much sunshine in you for that.” I shook my head, trying to clear the unsettling mix of arousal and concern. “You shouldn’t have to stain your hands with that kind of darkness, Annie. Let me handle it.”

“But I need to, Dom,” she insisted, her voice steadier than it should be. “It’s something I have to do. I want to make him hurt like he hurt me.” Her expression hardened into something I hadn’t seen from her before. Oh, she was pissed. It wasn’t a hot, explosive anger, something that would burn out quickly. No. There was an ice-cold rage burning in her eyes. Calm. Calculating. She wasn’t going to let this go and I didn’t think I was strong enough to stop her. I didn’t mean physically strong. If this woman wanted something, by fucking God, I was going to give it to her or burn down the world trying.

I studied her face, searching for any sign of the fear or hesitation I might have missed, but found none. Instead, all I saw was determination burning in her eyes -- a fierce, relentless, cold fire that both impressed and worried me.

“OK,” I finally said, though every protective instinct in me screamed against it. “But not alone. I’ll be with you and you will obey me to the letter. Without hesitation. This is something I absolutely will not bend on.”

A smile broke across her face, lighting up her features in a way that made my heart thump painfully against my ribs. Even though she looked happy, two tears overflowed from her eyes and tracked down her cheeks. How had this woman, so gentle and broken, become the center of my every fucking thought? Her lower lip trembled and it took everything I had not to lean in and kiss her until she was so dazed she couldn’t feel anything but contentment. And pleasure.

I could see the pulse at her throat beating madly. Her breathing was rapid too. When she parted her lips and her gaze dropped to my mouth, I nearly gave in to the temptation to kiss her.

Turns out, I didn’t have to kiss her. Annie put her hands on my shoulders gingerly, sliding them up to twine her arms around my neck. She pressed her wet, naked body against mine and pulled herself up to find my lips with hers.

Like her touch, her kiss was tentative. She brushed my lips with hers but she didn’t seem to know what to do next. I opened my mouth and gave her lips a soft lick.

Annie gasped in a breath, her hold on me tightening. Then she mimicked my movement, her little tongue darting out to lap at my lips.

I let her explore, not hurrying her or taking things any deeper than that simple kiss. It didn’t take long for her to get bolder and she met my tongue with hers, even letting it slip inside my mouth in a gentle exploration.

When she finally let herself slide back down my body, she looked equally aroused and frustrated. I smiled down at her and brushed my thumb along her bottom lip. Without thought, I pressed my thumb between her lips. She opened and I slid the digit into her mouth.

“Suck.” I gave the command in a low rumble. I could barely get the word out, and the second her lips closed around my thumb and she obeyed my order, my knees nearly buckled. It was an innocent thing that shouldn’t have felt that good. But the only thought in my mind at that particular moment was how good it would feel if she replaced my thumb with my cock. So, yeah. I might not act on it, in fact, there was no way I’d ever make that kind of move on her -- maybe not ever unless it was her idea -- but I was still going to hell.

“That’s my girl.”

She hummed happily, her eyes sliding shut like she was in some kind of trance. Occasionally, she blinked slowly. Her gaze always found mine and she looked at me with such trust it humbled me.

Finally, I removed my thumb from her mouth and picked up the shower gel again and handed it to her. “Wash me.”

She shivered, leaning closer to me. I kissed the top of her head and she pulled back. Annie squirted a good amount of the liquid soap into her palm before setting aside the bottle. She rubbed her hands together, then turned her palms over and hovered over my chest, hesitating to actually touch me.

“You’ve already kissed me, girl. Those pretty tits were mashed against my chest, so it shouldn’t be any problem for you to touch me with your hands.”

She giggled. “Well, when you put it like that.” Annie placed both palms on my chest and slowly rubbed my skin in large circles with both hands. A trail of soapy bubbles was left in her wake as the shower gel foamed as she rubbed.

Her gentle exploration moved to my shoulders and arms. Lips parted, tongue dabbing at her bottom lip hungrily, Annie proceeded to torture me for several minutes. She soaped my chest and the upper part of my abs once more. More than once, I caught her peeking at my cock. More than once, I thought she might have the courage to touch. Perhaps not yet, but she would get there. It would take patience and encouragement, but she’d get there. Probably quicker than I thought.

“Will you wash me?” She tried to look like my answer didn’t matter to her, but it was obvious it did. The only question was, did she want me to touch her, or was she doing what she thought I wanted her to do?

“Do you want me to?”

She nibbled at her bottom lip and I nearly groaned. Now wasn’t the time. I wasn’t some horny teenager. I was forty-eight fucking years old. I thought I was past being this turned on, too jaded to really give a fuck about sex as more than a simple release a few times a week. For some reason, with this girl, there was a primal need inside me to claim her. To make her mine and never let her outta my sight.

When she nodded, I shook my head. “Gonna need you to say so, honey. I absolutely will not do anything you don’t want. So, until we establish some kind of relationship between us, you’re gonna have to tell me exactly what you want. You will trust me to give you anything you want. Yes?”

She nodded again, then let out a breath and gave me a sheepish grin. “Yes. Sorry. I’m nervous.”

“We don’t have to go any further, honey. We’ll rinse off, get into some comfortable clothes, then veg out on the couch. Besides, we’ve still got half a season to go on your baking show.”

Her smile was so fucking beautiful. Hell, Annie was all fucking beautiful. I must have said the right thing because she relaxed, then picked up the shower gel again and held it out to me.

I took the bottle from her, squeezing a dollop onto my palm. The scent of coconut and lime filled the steamy air between us, mixing with a more subtle fragrance all her own.

Gently, I turned her around and started to lather her back, my fingers running in gentle circles and pressing more firmly into the muscles of her shoulders. She let out a soft sigh, leaning back into my touch as if seeking reassurance from the contact. The tension that had been building, the same one that had tightened every muscle in me as I fought against my desires and instincts, seemed to slowly unwind with each circular motion of my hands. She lay passively against me and it fulfilled something deep inside my cold heart I hadn’t realized I’d been missing.

“Feel good?” I murmured, keeping my voice low and steady despite the storm of emotions raging within me.

“Yes. Please don’t stop.”

“Long as you want, baby. Long as you want.”

I turned her again and encouraged her to lean her head back. I wet and washed her hair, soaping the long, silky strands into a thick lather. Then I rinsed it clean. I’d just finished when the water started to cool.

“Let’s get outta here. Whadda you say?”

“OK.” She had a dreamy smile on her face and she was completely relaxed. I had the feeling I wasn’t going to have to watch that crappy baking show after all.

I stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around her and setting her on the counter. Then I shed my soggy boxers and wrapped a towel around my middle before picking her up again.

I took her to the couch and placed a pillow on the floor in front of me. “Sit, honey. I’ll brush your hair, then we can go to bed.”

“Mmm…” My guess was the adrenaline was leaving her system. After her panic attack, I’d expected she’d crash. The shower had served several purposes. She got used to my touch and knew she could touch me, but the soothing stimulation helped bring her down as gently as I could.

I took my time detangling and brushing her hair. I didn’t brush it completely dry, instead, I tied it back and braided the long ponytail. I wanted to give her time to settle and drift. It could make getting her to sleep easier. Hopefully without nightmares. She sometimes had them and I hadn’t admitted to her that, when I heard her, I always sat beside her bed and held her hand until she relaxed again. Without fail, she laced her fingers with mind and held on tight. Once she did that, she settled. Tonight would be different though. I was sleeping with her wrapped in my arms.

She moaned slightly when I picked her up, her head tilting to rest against my shoulder as I cradled her against my chest. I carried her to her bedroom and laid her on the bed. She was naked beneath the towel and I didn’t want to rifle through her things to find underwear or pajamas. Instead, I hurried to my room and brought back one of my shirts.

Once I had her dressed and in the bed, I crawled in beside her and settled her against my chest. She snuggled against me in her sleep, and a contentment I’d never thought to feel again in my life filled my chest. Had it felt this good with Tina? I couldn’t remember.

It had been two decades since I’d held Tina like this. If I’d felt this same connection with Tina, it hadn’t registered back then. Maybe it was true that you felt emotions more sharply as you aged because right here, in the spare bedroom of my house with this broken little pixie trying to pretend everything’s all right when it clearly wasn’t, was making me feel all kinds of emotions I hadn’t even known I possessed.

I turned my head and pressed my lips to her forehead and left them there. Her skin felt like silk against my lips. It was just one more connection I needed with her.

Annie slept on peacefully and I held her in my embrace. This is the way it needed to be all the time. And, by God, I was going to make it happen. I was also going to find every man or woman who hurt my girl and make them pay. Then, if they were lucky, they were going to die.