Page 87 of Stolen Kisses

“Yougonnaneed help with that?” He follows me as I walk back toward the bathroom. I grab my pajamas and step back inside.

“Nope.” Closing the door with a snick, I lean against it heavily. Dropping my towel, I get to work only to realize I can’t do this by myself. Tears of frustrationbreak freeas I screw up another wasted ball of plastic. “Damn it!” I drop my head into my hands. I’m going to have to wipe the essential areas over with a wet cloth. I huff as I drop the box onto the vanity. I should have thought about this while Sarah and Mom were here. One of them could have helped me.

A quiet knock breaks me from my pity party. “You okay in there, Peaches?” His voice is thick with concern. What I wouldn’t give to have a warm shower. “Em?”

Wiping my tears from my cheeks and wrapping myself in my towel, I open the door slightly. “I really wanted to have a shower.” He nods. “I can’t get the wrap around my body on my own.” I look down at the floor because I can’t bear to see the pity in his eyes. “I’m desperate to wash my hospital stay away. I ha—”

He pushes the door open carefully, stepping inside the bathroom. He grabs the wrap and gestures toward me, asking permission. I lower my towel to below my bust without words.Without looking down at my chest area, helocates the end oftheSaran Wrapand begins carefully wrapping it around the top portion of my body, while I hold the drains out of the way. His eyes leave mine only to ensure he’s covering the entirety of my chest area carefully. I close my eyes as he makes his way around the front of my body. My bottom lip quivers as I work to keep my embarrassment at bay. He’ll probably take off now that he’s seen the physical evidence of my surgery. It’s one thing to know something has happened, it’s quite another to be confronted so blatantly with the evidence.

“Thereyago,” he whispers against my forehead, finishing off with a gentle press of his lips.

I nod slightly. “Thank you,” I whisper, my mouth dry.

As he backs out of the room, I glance up. What I see looking back at me, steals my breath away. Eyes—full of desire that I findimpossibleto believe. Dropping my eyes to the floor in avoidance, I can’t miss the unmistakable bulge of his impressive erection in his sweats. My eyes snap back up to his as my cheeks heat. He winks at me with a smirk, closing the door behind him.

Preston never looked at me like that after I had the boys. Once I gained a bit of extra weight as a result of my pregnancies, his dick was permanently flaccid in my presence. Don’t get me started on my ‘unsightly’ stretch marks—his words—that he couldn’t bring himself to touch. Here I am standing with all of that, plus scarred breasts and dirty hair and he’s still looking at me like I’m the sexiest woman on the face of the earth. My lips tilt up at the corners as I do agentleshimmy.

Dropping my panties, I step under the warm water with a sigh, feeling completely indulgent. I let the warm water wash away the last week of hospital disinfectant, itchy gowns, and scratchy, stiff sheets. The warm water erases the touch of the surgeons and nurses. IknowI’m one of the lucky ones. My logical mind knows this. It could have been so much worse. I almost feel like a fraud saying I had breast cancer,when other women have more serious instances of the insidious disease.

My tears mingle with the warm water and aloud sob escapesunbidden. From the moment the doctor sent me for the scans, it’s been a whirlwind of emotions. I’ve held it together pretty well …until now.

Acool draft brushesacross my wet body as the shower door opens and closes.

“Turn around.”

I can’t.

I don’t want to face the man who walked away from me. The man who made me feel like a fool. His calloused hands smooth up my arms until he reaches my shoulders. He massages me gently before guiding me around to face him, then slides his hands back down, taking each of my hands in his.

“Look at me, Em.” His voice is raspy, full of emotion. Raising my head, I look to the side. I don’t want him to see the evidence of my tears, it leaves me too vulnerable. His hands come up to cup my face, directing my eyes to his. “Talk to me.”

Closing my eyes, I shake my head. “I can’t.” More tears escape; it’s like the floodgates have opened and I can’t stop them. He presses my face into the crook of his neck and we stand together in silence, under the warm spray of the shower.

He lets me cry.

Soothing me with kisses to the top of my head, he caresses his hand up and down my spine. His hand moves higher, smoothing down my hair. After a few minutes, he stops and the sound of my shampoo bottle clicking open startles me. His capable hands go back into my hair, massaging my scalp and I drop my head back in pleasure. His hands feel sensational in my hair, working the shampoo through the long strands. He turns my body slightly until my hair is directly under the warm stream. He repeats the process with the conditioner and I feel almost human again. His strong hands work miracles, soothing my frayed emotions, treating me as though I’m something precious to be treasured.

Finally, I become brave enough to open my eyes. His heated gaze locks with mine. “Feel better?”

“Yeah,” I sigh. “Thank you.” I try my best to give him a grateful smile. “I almost feel human again.” I look down at my feet, noticing that he’s wearing his boxer briefs, from which his penis is doing its best to escape. A genuine smile touches my lips at the sight. I look back up at him with wide eyes.

“Don’t ever think I won’t be turned on by your body, Peaches.” He smirks. “I’ll never stop finding your body sexy, Em. But it’s more than that. Your spirit and your fire are such a turn-on for me.” He kisses my forehead. “The way you care for the people around youmakesme want to be the one to care foryou. It’s everything. The way I feel when I’m with you …” He looks away, then back to me. “I missed you these last months. I’ve realized I don’t want to be without you. I want …” He swallows, then whispers, “I want you. All of you. Plain and simple, Em.” He presses forward, our lips connecting for the first time in months and I feel as though I’ve arrived home. His heartfelt wordsfillup the cracks around my heart and I know I shouldn’t forgive so easily. IknowI should make him work harder, but I’ve missed him, too. I’m just not sure I can trust him with my heart.

The water begins to cool, so we finish up. Hedriesme off first, helping me to unwrap the plastic from my body before inspecting my dressings to ensure they’re all dry. I dress in my not-so-sexy after-surgery compression bra and pajamas as Theo drops his wet boxers to the floor, exposing himself without any sign of embarrassment, andwhy would he be embarrassed. He certainly doesn’t have anything to be ashamed of and it’s not like we haven’t seen each other before.

“You want me to dry your hair for you? I can’t imagine it’ll be easy to raise your arm above your head.” He asks as he pulls on his gray sweats sans jocks. I could lift my hands up if I wanted to, but I’m enjoying his pampering. The stitches pull a little when Iliftmy arms too high, and I can feel the drains pulling too, so I may as well take him up on his generous offer.

I grab my hairdryer and hand it to him. “I would really appreciate it if you don’t mind. I feellikeI’ve already taken advantage of your generosity though.”

“It’d be my pleasure.” Turning me around, he runs my wide comb through the strands, then sets about drying the saturated locks. I feel so much more human after showering and having my hair washed.

Turning around to face mydreamyneighbor, I rest my hands on his slim hips. “Thank you so much. It’s amazing how much better I feel.”

“You’re welcome, Peaches. It was my absolute pleasure.” He kisses my forehead. “I’ll leave you to finish up.” He leaves me alone in the bathroom; a gush of air escaping my lungs as I sag against the vanity. I can’t believe what just happened. It’s probably the most intimate experience of my life to date. Him caring for me in such a tender way that didn’t involve sex was so unfamiliar, yet so beautiful.

I deal with my drains, emptying each one in turn into the measuring cup. It’s actually a little tender where the drains enter my body. I make sure to keep the pressure consistent on the bulbs as I close each valve, then hook them back onto the strap under my compression bra. Checking the measure on the cup, I record twenty-five milliliters for my left side and twenty-one milliliters for my right side on my chart. That’s about the same as this morning. Tipping the fluid that seems to be changing color day by day into the toilet, I flush it away before rinsing the cups.

I draw in a deep breath, turn out the light, and step out of the bathroom with my shoulders back. Theo looks at me, keeping his eyes locked with mine as he holds out his hand. With my heart hammering in my chest, I slowly slide my hand into his. His calloused palm glides against mine before his grip closes, slowly pulling me forward. Holding my breath, my knee makes contact with the edge of the bed and I carefully move forward. His tongue slides out between his lips as his eyes drop briefly to my mouth. My breath stalls in my lungs as the look in his eyes becomes heated, the blue disappearing, being swallowed by his pupils.

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