Page 93 of Reading Between the Lines
“No… Can you… Can you help me get my shirt off?” The thought of pulling it over my head on my own made me nauseous.
Gently, Tallus gathered the hem and hiked it up as far as he could. I bent so he could hook it carefully over my head. The uninjured arm popped out without issue. The other required caution and teamwork, but we managed.
I stared at the worried pinch in Tallus’s brow, a vague memory of the previous night coming back to me. Taking him in my arms. Holding him against my chest. Never wanting to let him go. He’d slept in my arms all night. No panic, uncertainty, or noisy brain telling me I was doing everything wrong and didn’t deserve him.
Without thinking, I cupped his cheek, stroking gently with a thumb.
Tallus searched my face with shimmery hazel eyes. “You okay, Guns?”
“I’m glad it wasn’t you. It would have destroyed me to see you hurt.”
His attention moved to my bruised shoulder. The tender touch of his fingers explored the injury and raised goose bumps along my arms. “I hate seeing you in pain, too, D.”
“I’ve been worse off. Trust me. I’ll live.”
“Don’t you think you’ve suffered enough for one lifetime?”
My dad never thought so, but I wisely stayed quiet, knowing he wouldn’t appreciate those truths. I’d always thought the universe didn’t want me happy, but lately, I’d been cautiously optimistic that I was wrong. The universe had given me Tallus. With him in my life, I clung to hope for the first time ever. Maybe happiness wasn’t out of reach.
“What can I do for you?” I heard myself asking the question, my voice clogged with emotion I didn’t have the strength to hide. “Anything, Tallus.”
The shower rained down, beating against the plastic curtain as Tallus shifted his gaze over my face. “It’s me who should be making the offer.”
I wet my dry lips and forged deep for the courage to continue. “Will you shower with me?”
A hint of surprise lit up Tallus’s eyes. “Are you sure?”
“I… I kind of want to… be naked with you.” Taking the initiative without guidance or instruction was new for me, but I glided my hand down the smooth skin of his torso and hooked my fingers into the band of his underwear. “May I?”
He nodded, so I pushed them over his hips and let them fall to the ground.
I mapped his naked body while a deep thrum of pleasure vibrated in my core. “You’re so fucking gorgeous. I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”
His smile was bashful and pure. “I think alcohol works wonders to break you out of your shell. No wonder you used to show up at my house half in the bag.”
I frowned and took his jaw in a loose grip, angling his head so he looked me in the eyes. “I’ve had two sips this morning. Believe me, it takes a lot more than that for a guy my size to be affected by alcohol. This isn’t whiskey talking, Tallus.”
And maybe it took nearly getting crushed by a tree for me to wake up and get with the program. Or it could have been fear.If Tallus and I had been standing opposite, it would have been him in the tree’s path. It would have been Tallus taking the blunt force of the blow. With his much smaller stature and finer bones, it would have done irreparable damage.
It could have killed him. I choked on the thought, and a strangled noise escaped my throat.
“D?” Tallus touched my chest over my heart. “Breathe.”
A deep-rooted tremble took over my body, and I couldn’t stop it. “It could have been you.”
“It wasn’t.”
“But it could have been.” I drew his face toward me but couldn’t hunch enough to kiss him. Recognizing my limitations, Tallus rose to his toes and closed the distance. His mouth was the only balm I needed. He tasted like heaven. Like freedom. Like happiness.
He wrapped his fingers around my neck, holding me close. Only when he tugged did I wince. He loosened his grip, and we parted. “In the shower.”
I followed him under the spray, unable to take my eyes off his body. His perky ass, lean torso, bare chest, and gorgeous cock that stood erect and interested.In me.I might never understand.
He washed me carefully, gliding soap-slick hands over every inch of my body, taking care with my injured side. The warm water worked wonders at loosening my aching muscles, and the steady throb eased the longer we were in the shower.
Before he put the soap away, I held out a hand. “My turn.”
He arched a brow and passed it over. I’d never done this before, but I wanted to more than anything. I worked the soap into a sudsy foam and, with halting movements, brought my hands in contact with his warm, silky skin.
