Chapter Twenty Two

A buzz came from the other end of the cottage. Rachel carried her cup of coffee from the kitchen and followed the noise to the bathroom.

The door was open. She peeked in and gasped. Half his beard was in the sink.

Ruger's gaze connected with her in the mirror. She stepped closer, trying to understand what was happening. Minutes ago, he'd had a full beard that had covered his lower face and went down to his shirt. Now, the sides of his jaw were cut back, leaving a five o'clock shadow behind.

She wanted to stop him, yet she couldn't stop staring. The tattoo she'd spotted at the base of his neck went up to his jawline.

His Adam's apple bobbed, and he turned the razor on again. Her coffee was forgotten. She stood back and watched him shave the other side of his jaw. He left the whiskers around his mouth and on his chin.

She swallowed, hoping he wouldn't shave it all off.

He set the razor on the counter and brushed off the whiskers coating his bare chest. The goatee accented his angled jaw. He was a beautiful man.

Ruger pushed his hair off his forehead. "Want to help?"

"Excuse me?" She shook her head, trying to concentrate on what he was saying. "Help you do what?"

He'd already shaved. She needed time to get used to the new look. It was striking and new. She had a hard time not ogling him.

"Shave my head."

She jumped. Her gaze flew to his. She must've heard wrong.

"You want me to shave your head?"

"Yeah." He held out the electric razor.

Her heart pounded. "Bald?"

She couldn't do it. He had beautiful hair. A mop with slight curls that hung past his shoulders.

"No." He held the razor out of her reach. "Shave the sides and trim the top until there's about two inches of hair."

She shook her head. "I couldn't."

"You can."

"What if I screw it up?"

"Then, I shave my whole head."

She blew out her breath. These were big changes. Granted, his goatee looked hot, which made him look younger. It knocked out a lot of the gray. But, shave his hair?

"Why are you doing this?" she asked.

There had to be a reason for wanting to drastically change his appearance. Afraid it had something to do with her and their new living arrangements, she wouldn't want him to do anything he'd regret later.

"I grew my hair and beard out in prison." He leaned against the bathroom counter. "Razors weren't handed out to killers."

He was trying to shock her. She took the electric shaver from his hand. She knew him better than that.

If he had killed someone, and that was the reason why he'd gone to prison, she'd bet her life that he had a good reason to murder someone. Just like he had done when he saved her from her kidnappers. The evil men would've killed them both if he hadn't fought back. Nobody could fault him. He was a hero.

"How am I supposed to do this?" she asked.

He lowered himself to his knees, making himself almost her height. "Start at the side by my ear. Shave and uncover the dragon."

"The dragon?"

He gazed at her in the mirror. "Once you start, you'll see what I'm talking about."

She turned on the shaver. "You're sure you want your hair cut? Once I start, I can't put your hair back on your head."

He grunted. She caught her lower lip between her teeth and put the shaver to his head. The first bit of hair fell. Her heart raced. It was dramatic. His hair was at least twelve inches long.

As she cleared a path with the shaver, she viewed his scalp. He had a tattoo on his head. More curious than shocked at what she was doing, she uncovered more of the tat. Like he'd instructed, she mowed the hair from his head, following the tattoo. By the time she uncovered a complete dragon that wrapped from one side of his head to the other, she'd taken off most of his hair, except for the top.

Ruger gathered the rest of his hair into a high ponytail. "Get the scissors and cut it off underneath my hand."

She set the shaver on the counter, picked up the scissors, and blew out her breath. After discovering the dragon tattoo, she was all in. The unveiling was a look inside Ruger. A part of him that he'd hidden from everyone.

The fact that he was letting her be the one who helped him show others his true self was doing funny things to her stomach. She ran her fingers along the shaved sides of his head. His skin was smooth and soft.

"Rach?"

She looked at the mirror, shook her head at his concern, and picked up the scissors to do what he asked. Now that she'd started, she would finish his haircut.

Taking her time, she cut the top of his hair, mimicking how her hair stylist trimmed her hair once a year. As she made sure everything was even, she admired the dragon. He was right when he told her to follow the dragon. It took the area below the top hair as if he'd planned it that way.

"How long have you had the dragon tattoo?" she asked.

"I got it after Katrina was born." After several seconds, he continued. "All Havlin members have a dragon tattoo of some sort on their body. On shoulders, backs, chests, stomachs, and even on a calf. But I had never seen someone do their head. Since I already had a neck tattoo, I put the dragon on my head. Since people don't like me for who I am, I'd give them something else to keep them away from me."

She stopped cutting and looked at his reflection. "I don't know why someone wouldn't like you."

"When I told my parents I knocked up my girlfriend and she was pregnant, they offered to pay for an abortion. They'd rather kill a baby that had their blood than face what other people would say. When I told them we were having the baby, they wanted me out of the house. I packed a bag and took Sheila as far as I could before we ran out of gas." He brushed hair off his chest. "That was the last time I saw them."

"But they came around, right?" When he never replied, she said, "They must be proud of Katrina. She's a beautiful woman, and she's having their great-grandchild now."

"They're dead. Apparently, they died a couple years ago." He stood and slapped his neck, getting the hair off him. "They never knew her."

"But Cora's your sister—"

"She just recently showed up, dogging my steps, thinking she wanted to get to know the big brother she'd never met." Ruger huffed. "Now she knows I'm a killer."

That wasn't the impression she had of his younger sister. Cora seemed to desperately want to know Ruger, but he went out of his way to shut her down. There had to be a reason why he wouldn't welcome a relationship with Cora. She was family and had nothing to do with her parents' decision not to support Ruger when he needed the love of a family.

"I don't think anyone who knows you would think you're a bad killer." She set the scissors down and started sweeping his hair with her hand into the sink to contain it all.

Ruger stood in the doorway. Aware of him watching her, she quickly cleaned up and faced him. He stuck around, so he must have something to say.

"There is no such thing as a good killer, Rach," he murmured.

She stood before him, ran her hands down his cheeks, and straightened his goatee. To her surprise, the haircut and shave made him sexier.

"Call it what you will, but I know you." She raised on her tiptoes. When she still couldn't reach his lips, she pulled his whiskers and brought him down for a kiss. "You saved my life."

He hooked her neck, holding her closer and kissing her deeper. His tongue slowly caressed her tongue. She sighed, knowing he was leaving the house. He had to ride with Havlin.

Ruger pulled back, straightened, and kissed the end of her nose. "Call if you need anything."

"I will." She followed him into the other room. "Be careful."

He picked up his helmet. "Lock the door behind me."

"I will." She kissed him again.

He stepped outside, turned, and pointed. She smiled and closed the door, locking the deadbolt so he could double-check that she'd done it.

She returned to the bathroom to get her coffee cup and found more hair she'd missed. Picking up a lock, she carried it with her to the kitchen. Ruger's change in appearance felt as if it had changed their relationship. It made her nervous that his personality would also change.

Everything was new.

Changes were challenging.

She opened the drawer and pulled out the foil. Ripping off a small piece, she laid the strands of hair in one direction and then folded the foil into a keepsake container. She put the small piece of foil in her pocket, feeling silly but knowing she'd keep his hair forever.