widen. He didn't ask me to cover up like he often did. Maybe he knew how important it was right now for me to be free of clothes, of chains, of everything.
"Come here, climb in." He held out his hand to me as steam swirled up from the tub and I moved towards him, sliding my palm into his.
I winced as I climbed into the heated water, but the pain was strangely like a balm too. Tonight was branded on me in every way possible, and I wanted to find more ways to keep it alive.
Nicoli released my hand, but I caught his again, tugging in a demand for him to follow me.
He looked to me with his frown deepening and I pointed to the wound on his thigh then to the water. He knew what I meant, even though his face didn't give it away.
"Baby doll..." he murmured in warning. "I should go."
I shook my head in refusal, tugging on his hand again as I slid deeper under the water so my breasts were covered and my hair fanned out around me in a sea of red.
He watched me like a hawk in the sky, but I wasn't some innocent creature waiting to be taken into his claws, I was a predator in my own right. One who hungered for blood like he did, who would follow him into a hunt at any opportunity. And he would follow me in turn. The look on his face said he knew that as well as I did.
He released my hand and tugged off his shirt, revealing the sculpted muscles of his body and the scars left on him from his past. The sight of his naked flesh made my stomach clench and my tongue feel heavy. He reached for his belt, unbuckling it slowly like he was hesitant, but his eyes remained on mine, waiting for me to tell him to stop. But I didn’t.
"Are you going to sit there watching me, savage girl?" he asked with a smirk dancing around his mouth.
I nodded easily and a rumbling laugh escaped him that sent a shiver through my body.
"Suit yourself," he muttered as he undid his jeans and pushed them down. His boxers came off next and he didn't try to shield himself from me.
I bit into my lip as I took in the hardened length of him, proving his desire for me. My heartbeat quickened as he got into the tub and lowered down into it opposite me. The water was coloured red as the blood washed from our flesh and we bathed in it together like two soldiers home from battle.
I moved towards him on instinct, realising the welt on my lip had split again since I'd bitten it and the tang of iron filled my mouth as I swiped my tongue over the cut.
Nicoli's chest heaved as I moved toward him and I took a sponge from the side of the tub, soaking it in the water. I brought it to his face, washing away the blood then moving to his shoulders next before sliding it further down his chest. He caught my hand, his eyes darkening a shade as he pulled the sponge from my fingers and jerked his chin in a gesture for me to sit back.
My heart stammered and disappointment filled me as I moved to sit on the far side of the tub again, sucking on my lip as I stemmed the bleeding. My breath snagged in my throat as Nicoli followed me across the water and took my chin into his grip, his touch so achingly gentle that it felt like feathers against my flesh.
"You tend to no one tonight," he insisted, his fingers skating up to my ear where he tucked a lock of hair behind it. "I'll be looking after you, do you understand me?" His deep and commanding voice set my veins alight and I nodded easily, wanting that. I'd never been cared for like Nicoli cared for me and I wanted to be his ward tonight, and him my protector. Even if it couldn't stay that way forever.
He brought the sponge to my face, washing away the blood with impossibly gentle strokes, cleaning me inch by inch, his eyes fixed to my skin. I could feel his gaze on me like it was an elixir spreading across my flesh, everywhere he worked feeling as though it was melting like butter, soothing away the pain.
He cleaned my hair before moving to