Page 46 of July 27

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.

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