Page 129 of Cruel Lies

"Of coursehe’d fuck you up and then just expect me to put the pieces back together."

Of all theselfish, asinine, self-absorbed things he’d ever done, this one took the cake.

Harper clung to my neck as I scanned her body, noticing the bloody gauze on her torso, the drops of blood fucking all over her, likely from Nash.

I wondered if she got in a few scrapes of her own.

Guess it’s up to me to clean up Nash’s mess again.

The silence was damning as I made for Rowan’s private shower, considering Nash was in our shared one. Harper needed her wounds tended to, but she needed to get clean first. It didn’t register in my brain that she was naked.

Okay, well, itregistered,but I was doing a damn good job at pretending it hadn’t so far.

"You’re not breaking down on us again, are you?" I taunted her, hating myself for the way the words came out. "I need advance notice if you’re planning to have a panic attack so I can plan accordingly."

You’re an asshole, Angel Blackwood.

Yeah, I knew.

But if I stopped now, I’d have to admit things to her and myself that I didn’t want to. I’d have to be weak again.

I didn’t like the feelings.

Especially since I’d been running away from them for seven years and then some.

The private shower had a rainfall head that would be gentler on her battered body than a standard spray, but when I moved to set her down to test the water, she clung tighter, burying her face in my neck.

My heart flipped in my chest as my fingers tightened in frustration. I didn’t want to be so head-over-heels out of control for her.

But it was fast becomingunavoidable.

"I’m not panicking . . . yet," she finally whispered, her lips brushing against the sensitive skin of my neck.

"Good," I grumbled, leveraging her against my knee as I reached out to turn the damn knob. "You think you can stand up for a shower?"

"I’m wounded, not broken, Angel." But the way she clung to me like she might fall apart if I let her go spoke volumes in the opposite direction.

I didn’t give her the option to do it herself. With an exasperated sigh, I thanked my lucky stars I hadn’t put on shoes or socks and then stepped into the falling water with her in my arms, shivering as the cool droplets worked quickly to drench us both.

"Reach over there and turn the heat up on the water," I mumbled, forming a plan of action in my mind.

She’d have to stand up for me to clean her. There was a small bench built into the far corner, made to lean against for who knew what, but it’d have to do for a seat for her while I?—

While I washed her body down.

Fuck.

All my life, I’d dreamed of what it would be like to have my hands on her. To feel her soft skin beneath my fingertips. I’d had sleepless nights where I woke in a puddle of my own seed, her name on my lips as my consciousness dragged its way out of dreamland. Other girls couldn’t compare to the way my body just yearned for her.

I was better than Nash and Rowan at hiding it.

It looked like even that was a losing battle, though.

The water went from chilly to scalding hot lava in a second, and I swore as I swung her out of the spray, worried for her skin. "Shit, I said turn it up, not turn all the cold off, woman. Are you dumb?"

"You’re standing in a shower in black jeans and a button-down shirt, and you’re asking me ifI’mthe dumb one?"

"I’m gonna stand you up, and we’re gonna move over here tothis bench for a minute," I said, blatantly ignoring her sassy quip. I knew damn well I was an idiot. I didn’t need reminding of the fact.

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