Page 296 of Bad for Me

“Can you stand?”

She clung to me like she’d never let me go.

“Kitten, I want to wash today off you. Let me take care of you.” I had no intention of letting her go.

She sniffled but released me as I lowered her to her feet. I wiped the tears from her cheeks and proceeded to undress her.

She shuttered when my fingers traced down her arms. I gently brushed my lips against where the zip ties had cut into her skin. Turning her around, all I saw were marks and bruising I'd put there. Coach Wolfe had been on campus most of the day, so I hoped he hadn't had time to do much. She didn't remember anything between the elevator and then waking up in that room. The police chief said they found surveillance around his house, so they were combing through it and would let us know. For now, they had him in jail, so we didn’t have to worry about him. Trevor had been arrested since he’d known about his father’s transgressions and hadn’t done anything about them. I suspected they were doing it to scare him.

Her hands moved up to my tie to loosen it. As soon as it hit the floor, she unbuttoned my shirt, then slid her arms around my waist and rested her head on my chest so we were skin to skin.

“I'm sorry.” Her shoulders shook with her sobs.

I stepped back and discarded my clothes before walking her back into the shower.

“You found something that surprised you.”

She nodded. I turned her around, so she faced the wall and grabbed the sponge for her back.

“I would have paid more to keep you from ending up with one of them.” The thought of anyone touching her other than at her initiation had made me sick to my stomach. There were some I wished hadn’t been there that night, the coach being one of them.

“You've been watching me?” Her voice shook as if she was scared to ask.

“Kitten, I've been obsessed with you since I first saw you last year but did nothing but look.”

“What does that make me?”

I nuzzled into her neck as I reached around and washed her belly. “Mine.”

She purred as she relaxed into me. “What about the others?”

“Other what?” I moved up to wash her breasts.

“Girls?” She flipped around and looked at me sternly.

I caressed her cheek. “Before you I might have indulged, but it was never more than once or twice with any one girl and even that it's been a while.”

She looked up, questioning.

“You are all I need, kitten, if you’d have me.” I brushed my lips against hers.

She gasped. “I don’t have a choice.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. If you want to walk away, I will not pursue you, but if you stay, I will make sure you never regret it. I want to take care of you.”

She moaned.

“Let me take care of you, kitten.”

She slid her arms up my chest. Her gentleness sent sparks through my body, something I’d never felt before. Before today, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d held someone’s hand.

“Please, sir.” She bit her lip before she rested her head on my chest. I turned the water off, wrapped her in a towel and did something I’d never done before—brought a woman to my bed. I set her down at the end of the bed, slowly drying her off.

Today had been hell for both of us and, for once, I didn’t want to push her past her limits. I was pushing past mine.

“Make me forget about today, please, all of it.” She looked up at me, tears in her eyes.

As much as I wanted to lay her down and ravage her, that wasn’t what she needed. I pulled her to me and tossed back the covers. When we lay in the bed, I pulled her to me and held her. We’d explore rules and limits tomorrow, but for tonight, she needed to know it wasn’t just the sex for me.

---