Page 32 of Give It a Day
She walks over to the bathtub while I fill it with warm water. Fromthe countertop, I take a small glass bottle of oils, letting out a floral fragrance that fills the room. Swiftly, she takes the dropper, then quickly clamps her fingers over it to flood the bath with a layer of oil.
Smiling, she breathes deeply as she removes her dress. I watch, my eyes darkening as my mind dreams up of so many different ways I can mark the curves of her exquisite body.
She steps into the bathtub, tossing the dropper for me to catch, which I do. After setting the glass bottle back on the counter, I join her, and to my pleasant surprise, she makes room for me to sit behind her. She even slides onto my lap before I tell her to.
I wrap my arms around her waist, our bare bodies pressing against each other. I wonder if she can feel my heart beating against her back.
When all is quiet, she unexpectedly plunges down into the bathwater, then shakes her hair around, whipping me in the face and making me grumble. Apparently, that earns me a laugh.
“This is nice, pretty boy,” she says, resting the back of her head on my chest as she looks up at the chandelier. The one on top of us isn’t as big as the one in my private bathroom, but it’s a lot more intricate, with a gold finish that makes it look more delicate.
“It’s all yours, little bird.” I bend down to kiss her hair, enjoying the feel of her warm body in my arms, exactly where she belongs.
We stay silent for a while, and then her voice sounds hesitant. “I never had anyone to talk to about the life I’ve had.”
My brows furrow, wondering why she’s suddenly sharing. Then again, I did tell her to tell me everything, so I silently listen, only tightening my hold around her to show her I’m here. There’s no need for me to push her when she’s so willing.
“No one would understand, and if they did, it meant they were dangerous competition. But…” She slightly turns her head to glance at me. “Now I have you, and you can relate to me, can’t you?”
My hand reaches for her chin, angling her head so she can look at meover her shoulder. With her up close under the sparkling light above us, I can see a nearly imperceptible scar under her left eye. It takes my breath away—that she’s showing this side of her to me.
“When I was taking a bath earlier, I saw blood around me. Not water,” she shares in a shuddering whisper. “All the awful things I’ve had to do so my family can keep going…it’s cost so many lives, so much pain.”
She moves her head to turn her back to me. And that’s fine for now. I hold her tightly still, letting her take her time.
“When I was younger, I thought it was necessary for me to do all of those things, but ever since I could drink my worries away, I’ve never stopped, except for tonight.” She sighs, her shoulders hunching. My hands wrap around them, kneading soothingly. “Two shots of soju from earlier this afternoon is nothing to the bottles I could chug. I guess being sober this late at night is making me miserable.”
“Then let me make the misery stop.” I bend my head down, my eyes searching hers. Closing my eyes, I dip my head, capturing her lips in a kiss so gentle, it’s unlike me. Perhaps in this short amount of time, she’s changed me too.
She whispers my name like a prayer, kissing me back, and there’s a pang in my chest that makes me think my heart wants to leap out and offer itself to her.
Of course I know exactly what she spoke of—blood on our hands, pain trailing behind us. I’ve grown numb toward it, but I deal with intelligence and investments, a more subtle destruction than what Kaye must have been forced to do.
I don’t break the kiss. But she does, making me growl greedily. My hand grips her neck when she says, “I couldn’t breathe.”
“Too bad.” I pull her into a bruising kiss, losing all of my gentleness as I card my fingers through her wet hair. She moans, and I smirk against her quivering lips.
But after a moment, she pushes me away to catch her breath. I frownbut let her push me back as she rests the back of her head against my chest again. Lowering my brows, I already miss having her lips on mine.
The bathroom is quiet now, the water still warm as it laps against us. Kaye leans on me, her hair damp, her body soft and pliant in my arms. She hasn’t spoken for a while, her silence heavy but not uncomfortable. It’s thoughtful, as if she’s trying to piece together the fragmented puzzle of her life now that I’m a part of it.
I let her think, stroking my fingers along her arm in lazy patterns. There’s no rush. We’ve only had this day together, and we have a whole life to spend together, so I can give her this moment.
But eventually, I break the silence. “What do you want, Kaye?”
She stiffens slightly, then sighs. “You keep asking me that like I know the answer.”
“Because it matters.” I tighten my arms around her, keeping her close. “It matters to me.”
She tilts her head back, her eyes meeting mine. “And what if I don’t have an answer? What if I’ve been so focused on surviving, on running, that I’ve never thought about it?”
I brush a strand of wet hair from her face, my touch deliberate and lingering. “Then we’ll figure it out together. But you need to start somewhere. Anything. Tell me one thing you want.”
Her lips purse, her gaze drifting away as she considers. After a moment, she speaks, “I want to feel like I’m not…failingall the time. Like I’m not patching things up just to stop from falling apart.”
“You mean your family’s business?”
“And my life. It’s all the same. One big mess I’ve been trying to hold together for so long that I don’t even know what it’s supposed to look like.”
