Page 14 of Bender

“Happy to help. Peanut, are you okay if I open the door and help get that stingy soap out of your hair?”

“Yes, please.” He’s faced away from me, his head tipped up to the ceiling. My poor boy. His dark blond hair is matted and tangled, foamy with shampoo.

“Can you get in front of him and hold this washcloth over his eyes so no soap slides down, Jellybean?” I instruct Blu, and she slips between Grey and the wall with no argument.

The way they move together has a synchrony that is erotic, despite its simplicity, and I can’t help the way my dick responds. Her high little breasts, hardly more than nibble-sized mounds with tightly furled, pale-pink nipples move back and forth against his milky white chest as she balances on her tiptoes to do as I asked.

I ignore my hard-on and remind myself there may be a time and place to enjoy their beautiful bodies, but now ain’t it. I take the handheld sprayer from its dock and begin moving the wand back and forth over the crown of Grey’s head, rinsing away shampoo.

The poor kid’s so filthy the foamy bubbles are tinged gray with dirt and oil. It tells me everything I need to know about the conditions they’ve survived. There’s no sense making either of them feel self-conscious about something they had no control over, so I keep my mouth shut and work my fingers lightly through the tangles.

“I’m going to add some conditioner to your hair, and I want to leave it in so we can brush your hair while you play in the bath. Okay, Peanut?”

He nods, and I look to see Blu watching me over his shoulder. I mouth ‘you, too’ at her, and she tilts her head in acknowledgement. Blue balls aside, my heart swells with the perfection of this moment. Just my two little ones and me, taking care of them and showing them how spoiled their lives will be from now on.

Chapter

Twelve

BLU

Konrad’s got an erection. He hasn’t said anything about it, and I don’t think Grey’s seen it yet. We’re in the big bathtub next to the shower stall in a bathroom as bare as it is luxurious. It’s got the bones to be an absolutely dreamy space, but Konrad’s done nothing to soften up the hard lines of white tile and black marbled counters.

He notices where my attention is and shrugs, moving until his hips are pressed against the outside of the tub. When I can’t see below his waist anymore, his fingertips guide my chin up until I’m meeting his gaze.

“Ignore that. It’s not a problem either of you should be worried about.” He speaks quietly, soft enough Grey isn’t distracted from the bubble tower he’s building.

Once upon a time, when I was a regular teenage girl and not a maybe twenty-something year old victim of some very bad men, seeing a guy with a hard-on wasn’t scary. Conditioning is wild, though, because I’ve been trained to be afraid of them now. And Grey? He’s been punished for having one and punished with one. I think he’s even more wary than me.

“Okay,” I mumble. I want to believe in Konrad, but only time will tell. The unexpected thing is, part of me is looking forward to finding out.

What if Konrad really is my superhero? What if he’s Grey’s, too? I thought I’d given up hope of being rescued and getting to live a normal life. Now, I’m sitting in a clean bathtub filled with warm water and fragrant bubbles, my stomach is full, and the biggest, toughest man I’ve ever seen is promising to keep me and Grey safe.

Wary happiness floods my system, and I flop against the back of the tub to watch Grey play with the soap. This would be the life I’d wish for if I had a shooting star.

“You two are turning into prunes. I think it’s time we wash the conditioner out of your hair and get you both into bed.” Konrad’s studiously keeping his eyes on our faces and we both nod at him. “Grey, since Blu helped you wash the shampoo out of your hair in the shower, do you think you can help wash the conditioner out of hers while I brush it? Would you like that, Jellybean?”

I like how he gives me choices about little things but doesn’t make me figure out the big stuff. It’s been so long since I could decide anything for myself that I don’t think I could handle big decisions right now. But it’s really nice having a say so in some of it.

“Yes, please.” My throat is too tight with emotion to say any more.

Konrad directs me to sit between Grey’s legs, so he can reach me with the cup of water, but he leans me forward, so he can work a comb through my tangles. The rhythmic pull of the comb scratching along my scalp and through my long, matted hair feels soothing, and soon, I’m almost hypnotized by the comfort of it all.

When my hair is detangled and conditioner free, Konrad lifts me from the tub and sets me on my feet. He wraps a towel around my shoulders and one around my torso before grabbing a third towel and rubbing it over my head. The whole time he’s mumbling about keeping me warm and not letting a wet head give me a cold.

I almost laugh at the idea. After years of having buckets of ice-cold water thrown on me whenever the stink of us irritated master enough, the chances of wet hair making me sick is nil. I don’t mention that to Konrad, though. Somehow, it feels wrong to bring up the past when the present feels so good.

“You sit here on the counter while I take care of Peanut, okay? Be careful though, and don’t wiggle too much. If you fall, you’re too wrapped up to catch yourself, and you might get hurt.”

Konrad absolutely gives off daddy energy, but I can’t forget about the thick ridge of his erection and how it’s still pushing against the wet front of his jeans. He’s gotten soaked washing Grey and me, but not once did it feel as if he were taking advantage or copping feels.

His eyes watch Grey with the same heat I feel when he’s looking at me. He brushes Grey’s tangles with as much gentleness as he did mine before scooping water in the cup and leaning Grey backward on his arm to support him.

I’ve seen Grey make a lot of faces in the years we were master’s pets. But I’ve never seen a look of peace on his face like he has right now. His eyes are closed tight against the soapy water, but there’s a little smile on his lips. Every so often, he squeezes the rubber ducky Konrad produced for us to play with. I wonder if Grey’s having the same mixed-up feelings I am.

Part of me wants Konrad to treat us like he’s our daddy and to take care of us the way neither Grey nor I ever have been. Another part of me looks at Konrad the way a woman looks at a guy she likes. I’m not sure if I can have a relationship like that, now or ever. But I think if I ever do, I want it to be with Konrad. And Grey, too, because Grey’s the other half of me.

Chapter

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