Chapter 406
I felt warm water run down my body and shivered despite myself.
“You can raise your hands to keep the water from touching your wrists,” Soren reminded me.
His voice was lower than usual.
I turned away. It made the situation feel a little less embarrassing.
He began scrubbing my back with soap, his warm, thick palins moving slowly and thoroughly. His touch was careful, almost reverent.
I could tell Soren was holding himself back. That restraint, paradoxically, made my heart race. For a fleeting moment, desire surged through me. I actually wanted to turn around and press myself against him.
I wanted it to happen.
But before I could summon the courage, the water stopped. Then I heard him croak, “It’s done. I’ll wipe you clean with a towel now.”
I shivered again as a soft towel settled over my body.
Iturned to face him and whispered, “Thank you.”
“How are your wrists? Do they hurt?”
“A little, but I can tolerate it.”
The pain in my wrists prickled like a comb of fine needles, but it was nothing compared to the sharper, subtler stings echoing through my chest.
I couldn’t name the feeling. It was overwhelming, tormenting, and yet not entirely unbearable.
Mostly, I was disappointed. The shower had ended, and nothing had happened.
Goddamn it, why did he have to be so gentlemanly? I never asked him to be this restrained.
Was he waiting for me to be some upfront strumpet before doing what I so badly wanted?
After drying me off, he placed a fresh towel over my shoulder, holding the other in place to keep it from slipping. Okay, let’s go.”
As we left the bathroom, I couldn’t help but wonder how a man who had spent his life being served and pampered knew how to care for someone like this. His actions were so precise, so practiced, they almost felt second nature.
I was too sheepish to ask, but it warmed me more than I expected.
After the slow collapse of a spectacularly failing relationship, meeting someone so composed, so effortlessly perfect, felt like a balm on my wounded heart.
Soren placed my clean clothes on the bed. “Here, take your time getting dressed. I’ll clean up the bathroom.”
I was sure he just wanted to give me some privacy. At that point, I felt like my entire body had turned red. I couldn’t even squeak out a thank–you.
He stepped back into the bathroom–probably to shower himself since helping me had no doubt left his clothes soaked.
He returned wearing a bathrobe. “Are you done? I’d like to put some antiseptic cream on your wrists.”
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+25 BONUS
Chapter 406
I’d calmed down a little after changing into my pajamas. “Yeah, I’m ready.”
Soren sat at the edge of the bed and drew one knee up, gently resting my arm across it.
His touch was careful and tender. It hurt, inevitably, but his gentleness made the pain feel distant–almost dissolved.
Noticing my silence, he asked, “Are you okay? If it hurts, just let out a yelp or something.”
“I’m okay. I got used to pain growing up. I can handle this, no problem.”
I recalled the time my tailor’s scissors had nicked me during the scuffle with Edward in my workshop last year. Soren had been more upset than I was, even sending someone to fetch antiseptic for the cut.
Now, as the new year unfolded, he remained, still tending to the wounds Edward had inflicted and offering his quiet, steadfast care.
