Page 116 of Healed Hearts

I find myself nodding. I don’t want to feel like a burden, but I also can’t deny that I really don’t have any energy to get up. Holden’s here and he’s offering, and he loves Wren. Iknowthis. I just wish my brain would get it together. “Okay. Thank you.”

He graces me with a beautiful smile. “No need to thank me. Lie back.”

I do as he asks, settling back against the bed. He pulls the blankets up around me before leaning over, surrounding me in citrus, and presses his lips to my forehead quickly. “I love you. When I get back, we’ll cuddle. Or I guess we should probably shower. Or maybe even take a bath.” He winks, which makes me feel slightly better, but not great. “Can’t lie, I’ve been eyeing that big-ass tub of yours. Think we can both fit?”

I nod. I think we probably could. “You might have to sit on my lap.”

He laughs a little under his breath. “Possibly, we’ll see.”

Then he’s heading out of the room.

While I wait for him to come back, I stare at the ceiling, slow blinking as I try to make sense of my strange feelings. I’m still blinking at the ceiling when Holden comes back into the room and shuts the door behind him. “Come on, Jules. Bath time.”

I sit up and swing my legs over the side of the bed, everything sort of sluggish and slow. Holden seems concerned, and I’m slightly concerned too, but I don’t really know what to do about it, if anything.

I follow him to the bathroom on legs that feel like lead weights, and sit down on the closed toilet while he fills up the tub and uses an ungodly amount of Wren’s bubble bath. The overly sweet floral scent is kind of gross, but I can’t complain too much when he’s going out of his way to be so sweet to me.

I blink when he steps in front of me, worry furrowing his brows. “Let’s hop in.”

I nod. It feels a little weird, like my head isn’t connected to the rest of my body.

Using Holden’s hand for leverage, I step over the edge of the tub and sink into the warm water. Holden watches me for asecond before climbing in after me. I spread my legs so he can fit between them.

For a long while we simply stare at each other. And then for some reason, a random wave of sadness hits me. It’s… not a fun feeling and it kind of freaks me out a little bit. I’m not sure what’s wrong with me.

My eyes start to burn, and then my cheeks feel wet. It’s strange, though, because I don’t think I got any water on my face. Before I can even process what’s happening, Holden’s straddling my thighs and pulling me in to him. I press my face against his hair. He’s shaking. Hard. And I’m not sure why. “You’re shaking,” I croak out.

Holden pulls back and looks at me, even more worry splashed across his face. “No, you’re shaking. Not me.”

Oh.

His arms wrap around me as he rests his head on my shoulder. I wind my arms around him, pulling him closer. The bath is warm, but his skin is warmer and it feels like it’s melting into mine. It’s good. I like it. I need it.

In what feels like no time at all, Holden’s sitting back and looking at me. He stares at me for a few seconds, then he sighs and climbs off my lap. “Shouldn’t have used all these bubbles—can’t even wash your hair like this,” he mumbles under his breath.

I almost smile, but it won’t quite come to my lips. “You don’t have to.”

“I know I don’thaveto. Iwantto. You’re always taking such good care of me. It’s my turn to take care of you.”

He doesn’t wash my hair, but he does clean the dried cum from my body and crawl back into my lap, holding me against him until the water starts getting cold. When a shiver works its way through my body, Holden sits back with a sigh. “Let’s get out, yeah? It’s cold.”

I nod and he stands, grabbing a couple of towels. When we step out of the bath, he takes his time to dry me off, even climbing onto the closed toilet seat so he can fully reach my upper back and shoulders. Then he’s climbing down and taking my hand, leading me back into the bedroom.

He grabs a pair of my sweats out of the closet and hands them to me. I put them on without a word as he slips into a pair of briefs and pulls one of my t-shirts over his head. “Back into bed,” he says, gesturing toward it.

I don’t even put up a fight. The bath about took it out of me. I’m not sure why—it’s not like it’s particularly hard to sit in a bath tub and do nothing, but I feel fucking exhausted and weak, so I do what he says and climb back onto the bed.

When he steps away, I find myself reaching out to catch his arm in my grasp. “Don’t leave,” I whisper. I don’t want to be alone. I want him to climb in here with me and plaster himself to my body the way he usually does.

He turns toward me and lays his free hand on my chest. “I’m just opening the door, so Wren can get in here when she wakes up.”

Oh. Yeah. That makes sense. I nod.

The time it takes for him to open the door feels like too much time, and also no time at all. I’m not sure how I feel about him being away from me right now, but I think I’m probably not a fan.

He settles his body on mine and tucks his head under my chin. I let my hands rest on his lower back and close my eyes, soaking in the warmth of his body and his comforting presence.

“How are you feeling?” Holden asks softly.

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