Page 77 of Virtue & Vengeance

I lathered her hair, massaging her scalp until her eyes slid shut and she moaned. She made a whimpering sound when I removed them, and I couldn’t help but grin.

“I have to rinse, but I promise to massage again when I wash it out.”

I moved her under the spray and followed through on my promise until no more shampoo was left in her hair. I repeated the same steps when I put the conditioner in.

“Are you ready for me to wash your body?”

“Please,” she whispered.

I lathered my sponge and pressed it into her chest before squeezing. Suds bubbled from inside, spilling down her breasts and stomach. Moving in circles, I washed her shoulders and down her arms. That’s when I saw the bruises on her both her biceps.

Rage simmered in my stomach and I promised each bruise as I ran the sponge across it that I would make it right.

“Zander,” Eden said, pulling me from my red filled haze. She palmed my cheek, turning my face to look at her. “I think I’m all clean now,” she whispered, and the look in her eyes took away my anger until desire filled its place.

Carefully, I pressed my lips to hers. I wanted to devour her. After worrying and not seeing her for so long, I was worried I would be too aggressive considering she was hurt. But some other part of me took over, and I was gentler than I’d ever been in my life.

She slid her palms up my chest before hooking them around my neck. I rested my hands on her waist and let her take the lead. She kissed me back, and it was harder than I expected considering how banged up she looked.

When she pulled away and looked up at me, rage filled me once again when my eyes moved over the bruising and broken skin on her beautiful face.

“Make me forget it, Zander. Replace the bad memories with pleasure from you. I want to remember this night for the rest of my life.”

She made it sound as if she were leaving me, but the fact was, Eden was never leaving me again. My mouth burned to form the three words I was feeling, but the sounds became stuck in my throat.

Looking down at her.

Feeling her body slide against mine.

It was all too much at one time.

After feeling like I might never see her again, all that matter was she was there. The words could come later because from that moment on, Eden was in my life to stay.

I kissed her, giving her all that I was and taking everything she gave in return. The shower water washed over us, cleansing our pasts in a way. At least I liked to think it was, but deep down I still had a black mark on my soul—one that murder had left behind—one I wasn’t sure I would ever be able to get rid of.

Her nails dug into my shoulders when I pushed into her, filling her as deeply as I could. Her eyes remained closed, but I needed her to see me. She was the only person who ever really could. When her eyes were on me, I was exposed and vulnerable, and while I should have hated that feeling, with Eden, I needed it.

I needed her.

“Look at me, angel. I need you to see me. Always see me,” I said, my hips thrusting into her with each word.

Her eyelids opened, and she stared back at me. Moisture filled her eyes making the blue sparkle.

It wasn’t long before her body tightened around me and she let go. Her body grew tense as she trembled before she loosened in my hold. Seeing her go over the edge pushed me, and I came hard, filling her without regard for consequences.

We breathed deeply, taking in the steam of the shower and exhaling some new form of reason between us.

Things were different, and I wanted them to remain that way. With Eden, I was a new man—one who pushed the addict inside me away and made me forget all about the need for sex. The need for her was so much stronger.

She was my savior.

It was time I became hers.

I washed her once more, her body quaking as I touched her sensitive places with the sponge. Once we were both clean, I dried her. I’d never done these things for a woman, but she was broken. Not only physically, but I could tell her spirit was crushed. I wanted to bring her back to me.

Once we were both dry, I picked her up and carried her to my bed. Pulling the covers back, I laid her down and moved in beside her, pulling her into my arms and keeping her there until she fell into a peaceful sleep.

Once her breathing evened out, I climbed from my bed and made a crucial phone call. Upon hanging up, I crawled back under the covers with Eden, pulled her into my arms, and slept well for the first time in what felt like forever.

What I had at that moment was all I could ever want or need.

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