Page 62 of In the Arms of a Hero

“Bess will be watched,” Brad stated with emphasis.

With that, everyone was put in motion. Bess looked over at Brad and, with a grimace on her face, walked out with him. Aaron knew Brad would drop her off at her apartment and then be at the station to work with Hunter in the morning. Andyand Ivy walked out together after hugging Aaron. Sam nodded toward Aaron and said, “We’ll get whoever this is,” then he and Hayley left his place.

Aaron walked over to his dad, but there was no handshake between them. His dad pulled him in for a warm hug, and Aaron allowed himself a moment to feel that surety both in his life and what he needed to do. Finally, with claps on the back, they released each other, and with a chin dip, his dad headed outside.

He wandered to the counter and grabbed one of the sandwiches Bess had prepared and brought for them. He leaned against the counter, not bothering to sit, savoring the simplistic flavors. He filled a cup with water from the tap, too exhausted to reach into the refrigerator for anything else. Drinking the cool water mirrored his attempts to cleanse the heaviness he felt deep inside.

Now that everyone was gone, he cast his gaze around. His home was clean before everyone came, but Bess had wiped the counters nonetheless, probably desperate to have something to do. Looking around his space, he stood for a moment and thought of the woman sleeping in his bed. He’d wanted her here for a long time, but not like this. He’d wanted her to come of her own volition, sure about her feelings for him and being just as sure about his feelings.

But he understood the harsh truth that life doesn’t always hand us what we want or need. And sometimes, all we can do is move forward, be grateful for what we have, and hope for better days to come.

He pushed off the counter and double-checked his apartment security. He walked through the bedroom, pausing to stare down at her. A smile crossed his face at the sight of her slumbering in his bed. Turning, he silently slipped into the bathroom and closed the door before turning on the water in the shower. He stripped, climbed into the shower, and let the watersluice over his body. The shower curtain whipped inward as though the door had opened, and he pulled it back to see Belinda standing there, looking adorably rumpled from sleep.

“Hey, sweetheart. You need something? I can step out if you need the toilet.”

“No, I’m fine. When I woke up, it was quiet in the living room, and I heard the water on. I just wanted to see you.”

He couldn’t help the grin that spread over his face. “Well, with me in the shower, you’re about to see all of me if you’re not careful.”

She wiggled her eyebrows, and he chuckled, still standing behind the shower curtain. “As much as I like you here, Belinda, you need to rest. I’ll get finished, then I was going to grab a pillow and blanket and sleep on the sofa.”

Her body jerked at his words, and her mouth turned down in a frown. “Your bed is huge. Why won’t you sleep with me?”

“Because I don’t want to hurt you. I’m afraid I might roll over and bump your shoulder.”

“You wouldn’t do that. Especially since I’m sleeping on the side of the bed where my shoulder wouldn’t be next to you.”

They were silent for a long moment, their eyes doing all the talking, both saying nothing and saying everything.

“What are you really afraid of, Aaron?”

“I don’t want to fuck this up, Belinda. I don’t want to move too fast. I don’t want to do anything that makes you doubt me. And sleeping with someone, sharing a bed, is an intimacy, even if nothing else happens but sleep.”

A heavy sigh left her lips, but her eyes remained pinned on his face. “A lot has happened since we first slept together, Aaron. A lot of water under the bridge. Yes, some doubt, and hurt, and even anger. But I think we’re past that now.”

The air left his lungs in a long, slow hiss, and he nodded his head slowly. “It’s good to hear you say that.” Shaking his head, he amended, “It’s actually great to hear you say that.”

She remained in the room, her gaze drifting over his shoulder.

“So tell me what do you want, sweetheart?”

She nibbled on the lip that he wished he was sucking on. Then she raised her eyes to his and said, “I’d really like a shower. I know I can’t shower by myself right now, so I’ll need your help. But that’s not the only reason. I’d just really like a shower with you. Like you said about sleeping, a shared shower is intimacy, even if all you’re doing is getting clean.”

“You want that, you got it.” He dropped his gaze to her shoulder, and his brow furrowed. Glancing back at his bathtub-shower combo, he said, “It’s a good thing I have the extra handheld showerhead. I think we can make this work.”

As she slipped off her pants, he rinsed off his body wash and shampoo. Then he pulled back the shower curtain and helped her remove the hoodie. “Bess grabbed a couple of things from her place for you to wear. You’ll be a lot more comfortable once you shower and get into clean clothes.”

Once she was naked, he held her tightly and helped her step into the bathtub while letting the water hit his back to keep her out of the shower spray. Her body was beautiful, and there was no way he couldn’t notice her. He willed his cock to behave, but it reacted nonetheless. Her gaze ran over him, and she sighed as her eyes lifted to his face.

He reached over and ran his thumb over her cheek. “I know, babe. We both want what we can’t have right now, but it’s okay. There’ll be time for that kind of intimacy when you’re healed.”

She smiled up at him, and unable to resist, he leaned forward, touching his mouth to hers. “Okay, let’s get you feeling better.”

Bess had also brought toiletries for Belinda and had placed them in the bathroom. He gently rubbed the shower gel onto a washcloth, and the light tropical scent filled the room. “Now I know why you always smell so good,” he said as he gently washed every inch.

She groaned, and his cock twitched again. Grabbing the handheld showerhead, he gently rinsed her off, making sure to keep the water from her shoulder bandage. He had her turn so he could do her back, again keeping away from her shoulder injury.

“Is there any way we can do my hair?”

---