Page 79 of Past Due

“Ermir?” He shook his head. “I don’t know. I can check.”

“If you don’t mind.”

“I don’t.” He lathered his hands again and began to wash my right leg. He started at my knee and worked his way down to my still throbbing foot. He was ultra-careful as he washed my battered heel and toes. As he lowered my foot back into the water, he asked, “What happened to Andres?”

“Zec arranged for him to fly back to Barcelona with his brother. He needs surgery.” The guilt of what had happened to him came roaring back to life. “He was only trying to help, and he got hurt so badly. It's so unfair.”

“He probably doesn’t see it that way. He helped save Stefana. To him, I’m sure it was a fair trade for the chance to protect both of you.” At my stunned silence, he asked, “What?”

“I’m just surprised that you didn’t take the opportunity to say something mean about him.”

Besian flushed and kept his gaze glued to my left knee. “I shouldn’t have done that. I shouldn’t have been such an asshole about him.”

“No, you shouldn’t have.”

“I’ll apologize to him,” he promised. “I’ll make it right.”

“Thank you.”

Besian shook his head. “Don’t thank me for doing the decent thing. He was there for you last night, and I wasn’t. I should have been carrying him out of that club myself to pay him back for keeping you safe.”

I winced as he washed my foot and touched one of the raw blisters. I started to ask him why he had immediately thought the very worst of me, but he beat me to it.

“I acted like a child last night.” He carefully placed my foot back into the water. “I saw him there, looking the way he does, like your fucking knight in shining armor, and I lost it. I let my fear take over. I reacted like a jealous asshole.” He leaned on the tub, and his head hung low. “I promised you I would keep you safe, and I didn’t. I should have been with you last night, and I shouldn’t have let you go back to the house without me. I should have known Drita would do something outrageous.”

Overwhelmed by his confession, I wasn’t sure how to react or what to say. Needing a moment, I slipped down under the water and rinsed my hair with my uninjured hand. When I sat up, Besian slicked my hair back from my face and dried my eyes and nose with the pristine white wash cloth. We were so close I could feel his breath on my skin. He looked so forlorn, so utterly sorry for the way he had behaved.

“Saying sorry isn’t enough,” I finally said. He flinched as if I had struck him, and I reached out to touch his face, resting my hand against his stubbled cheek. “But it’s a good start.”

His gaze snapped to mine. Hope flared in his dark irises. “Tell me what I need to do to fix this, Marley.”

“Well,” I said, feeling more at ease with him again, “you can start by getting me out of this tub.” I showed him my fingertips. “I’m turning all pruney.”

He smiled and nodded. Very carefully, he helped me stand and wrapped one of the fluffy towels around my shoulders. He lifted me out of the tub, and I slipped my arm over his shoulders and tucked my face into his neck. He placed me on the bed and returned to the bathroom to drain the tub. He brought back another towel and helped me wrap my wet hair before gently drying the rest of my body.

Naked but completely comfortable, I sat on the edge of the bed while he moved to the floor. He opened my first aid kit and retrieved the things he needed to doctor my feet. He showed such tenderness as he cautiously dabbed antibiotic ointment on my blisters and pressed bandages on the more gnarly ones.

“Okay?” He waited for me to inspect my feet.

“Yes.” I smiled gratefully down at him. “Thank you.”

He placed a hesitant kiss on my right knee before standing and gathering up the trash and first aid kit. “Do you want me to find some pajamas in your luggage?”

“No.” I unwound the towel from my hair and held it out to him. “I’m too tired to mess with all that.”

His gaze flicked to my nude curves as he took the towel from my hair and the other that had been wrapped around my body. He quickly glanced away, as if he no longer had the right to enjoy the sight of me naked. Part of me was happy to see that he understood the boundaries between us had shifted after our argument. Most of me wished he would just grab me and kiss me already.

I watched him carry the wet towels to the bathroom and then rearranged the pillows on the bed before sliding under the covers. My weary body sank into the plush comfort of the bed, and I decided that if I didn’t wake up until it was dark that was perfectly fine.

Besian came out of the bathroom fastening his watch around his wrist. “Do you need anything else before I go?”

“You’re leaving?” I sat up quickly, and the covers fell from my chest, baring my naked breasts. Not wanting him to go yet, I insisted, “You can stay.”

He glanced at the bedroom door and then back to me. “You were pretty clear earlier that you wanted me gone.”

“I was angry earlier. I’m not angry now.” Seeing how terrible he looked, I said, “You look dead on your feet. It’s not safe to drive all the way back to the house like that.”

“No, it’s not,” he agreed, his eyes puffy and tired. “I’ll take the couch.”

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