Page 214 of Sinful Desires
Her friends had been waiting. The two of them pale, anxious, and swarming toward the car the second we stopped. I didn’tlet them touch her. Didn’t let them ask questions. She’d fallen asleep against my chest somewhere between the freeway and Mulholland, and I wasn’t about to let them wake her up.
I carried her inside.
They followed at first, then backed off when I made it clear they weren’t needed.
When I laid her in bed, she stirred. Eyes half open. Dazed.
“I want to shower,” she murmured.
I carried her again, this time into the bathroom.I was about to close the door and give her space, but her hand caught my wrist.
“Please, stay with me, Théo.”
So, I stayed.
Her hands undid the Velcro on my vest, slid the shirt off my shoulders, pulled the belt through my pants until it dropped.
I kicked off my boots. Followed her into the oversized marble shower, where warm water spilled from the ceiling like quiet rain.
She stood motionless under the spray, pink rivulets of dye streaking down her back, washing the day off her skin.
I took the shampoo and worked it into her scalp, gently. Slowly.
Because I wanted her to feel taken care of, completely. I wanted to erase the hands that had hurt her. Every bruise, every insult, every time she had been made to feel small.
I wanted her to feel like mine.
Safe.
Untouched by anything but me.
To remind her that no one else would ever lay a hand on her again.
I washed her hair. Her neck. Her back. My hands moved carefully, reverently, obsessively.
She leaned back against my chest.
I closed my eyes.
And for a moment, there was nothing in me but the need to keep her there forever.
Mon étoile filante.
We were just two stars, caught in the same gravity. If she ever faded, I would go with her.
Because I wasn’t made to survive this world without her light.
She turned to face me, her arms circling my waist.
“Thank you for tonight,” she whispered.
I swallowed hard. The guilt was a weight in my throat.
“I’m sorry, Scarlett.”
It scraped its way out of me.
“Fucking sorry for everything. Travis won’t be a problem anymore. I just wish I’d known fucking sooner what he was planning.”
