Page 39 of Fragile Union

I'm stripping out of my clothes before I even make it to the bathroom door. As I enter the bathroom, my heart stutters as I see my man standing in the shower, water cascading down his body but his heads bowed and his hands are on the tiled wall.

I silently get in behind him, reaching for the washcloth. My first touch has him freezing, his body tense, but I ignore it. I start to clean him, trying to wash away the blood and whatever else is on him.

"Doll face..." It's a warning, one that I ignore. "Holly, leave it," he says through clenched teeth.

"You are my husband," I begin, getting annoyed that he's pushing me away. "I needed you tonight, but you needed to do what you needed to do." I continue to wash him, this time when he tenses it's not because of my touch, but my words. "So, I didn't say anything, I closed my eyes and you left. Because I knew that was what you needed. You do not get to push me away, Rome. You just don't. I am your fucking wife..." My voice cracks and the tears that I have held onto all night start to slip down my face. "I am here through the good times and the bad. So, I'm going to wash you and then we're going to bed, I'm tired, I have a headache and now that you're home, I may be able to sleep."

He turns so that he's facing me, I don't move my gaze from his chest. "Doll face," he says, his voice gentle.

I shake my head. "Let me do this," I murmur as I begin to clean his chest. "Let me love you."

He rests his forehead against mine as the water washes away the shit that's happened today. We're silent, the only sounds that can be heard are the running water and our breathing.

"My turn," he says once I'm finished cleaning him and I finally raise my gaze to his face. The breath is stolen from me as I see emotion in his face. If I didn't know better, I'd have said it was love that was shining in his beautiful brown eyes.

I shake my head, slightly wincing as the pain intensifies. "I'm fine."

He pulls me into him, our body crashing against each other. "Your hair is covered in blood, lean back and I'll wash it."

I sigh and do as he asks, and I move so that I'm facing away from him so that he can wash my hair. My legs are wobbly, my entire body is tired, I'm dying to crawl back into bed and pass out. "I've got you, baby," he whispers as I lean back against him, no longer able to fully support my weight. "Did you sleep much while I was gone?"

I shake my head. "No, I was worried about you," I confess silently.

He kisses my head, but doesn't comment, he finishes washing me. I close my eyes and let him take care of me. "Let's get you dried," he whispers as he shuts the shower off and lifts me into his arms. I rest my cheek against his wet shoulder, still not opening my eyes.

"Holly, you're fucking wrecked, you should have slept."

"I couldn't when you weren't here. I've gotten used to sleeping beside you," I grumble softly and my body's jolted when he starts to silently chuckle. "Smug bastard."

"Babe..." he says his voice filled with amusement.

"Drop me on the bed, I'm too tired to get dried and dressed," I mumble as I yawn and snuggle closer into him.

"I've got you, just rest," he instructs me as he places me onto the counter and starts to dry me. He's being so bloody sweet, I can't help but open my eyes and stare at him. His hair wet and drops are falling onto his face, but he doesn't care, he's focused on taking care of me.

My gaze moves from his face to his body, he's naked and I sigh as I look at him. Wondering how it's fair that the man can be gorgeous, have an amazing body, and is so damn sweet? But then, I know that he reserves his sweetness for only me. Something that I love.

"You're supposed to be resting."

"I am," I smile softly, "I can rest while I'll ogle you."

He chuckles, it's something that I love to hear, he doesn't do it very often and I cherish it when he does.

Once he has both of us dried, he turns back to me. "What do you want to wear?" His question makes me smile wider. "You want my tee don't you?"

I roll my eyes, like he has to even ask. Some nights I love to pull on his tee and sleep. Others, I put on my silky nightgown, which Rome always seems to strip from me.

"Okay, doll face." He leaves me on the counter and moves to the bedroom. When he comes back minutes later, he's in his underwear and has a tee in his hands.

Once he has me dressed, I cling to him, my legs and arms around him. "Come on, let's go to bed." His hands go to my arse as he walks us into the bedroom.

As soon as we're in bed, he pulls me into him. His arms tight around my body. I settle against him, feeling relieved, safe, and secure. That's something that I've felt around Rome since we've been married. I'm a lucky girl. I've been surrounded my entire life by men who'll do whatever they can to protect me.

"They're dead, doll face," he says softly after a few moments of silence. "I'm going to fix this."

I nestle into him further, understanding the words he didn't say. This isn't over, there's still people out there that want to hurt me.

"Why did you try to push me away?" I ask into his neck.

---