bruise making itself known around my stomach. Nixon’s eyes glittered with tears as he brushed my hair away from my shoulder and examined my neck. I’m sure there were bruises there too.
You would think standing in front of Nixon in nothing but my skirt and bra — I would feel exposed and vulnerable, but instead everything felt comfortable, normal. As if he was the only person I could stand naked with after going through such an ordeal and feel safe.
He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Breaking his hands wasn’t enough. Not by a long shot. I’m going to cut out his tongue and—”
“—can we not talk about him?”
“Sorry,” Nixon muttered. He reached for the spout on the bathtub and turned on the water. He threw in bubbles, which earned an eyebrow lift from me, he just muttered not to ask and something about Chase and naked time. I made a mental note to ask Chase next time I saw him.
My heart clenched. Thinking about Chase made me feel funny. It was weird, but I missed having that guy around. I missed his sense of humor, the easy friendship we had and his protective, crazy no bull attitude. I missed him right then, because I could have used his humor to drive away the demons that Phoenix had brought into my life.
Confused, I shook the thoughts away and waited for the tub to fill. The water smelled heavenly.
Nixon turned to me and rubbed the back of his neck, before gently turning me from him and unzipping my skirt. It fell to the floor.
His hands moved around my thighs gently examining the bruises until he turned me back around. He swallowed a few times and motioned to the bath.
“I’ll turn around while you get in, there should be enough bubbles too cover you up.”
“And if there isn’t?”
“Then I’ll pretend like I can’t see,” he said through clenched teeth.
I quickly peeled off my bra and underwear and got into the tub. However, I wasn’t counting on it being slippery, with a shriek I nearly slipped into the bubbles, but strong arms caught me and of course grazed my breasts.
Nixon, of course, always the hero, stood behind me, holding me in place while I leaned on him.
“You okay?” he asked, voice rough.
“Yeah, sorry, it was slippery.”
He groaned and very gently released me as I slowly dipped into the water.
His eyes never left mine as I sunk beneath the bubbles.
“Damn bubbles,” he mumbled as he sat on the chair next to the tub and ran his fingers through his hair.
“You got something against bubbles?”
“Yeah. I do.” Nixon pointed at the tub. “They’re practically kissing every naked part of your skin while I sit here and watch.” He laughed darkly. “I had someone rip a nail from my finger once… this…” He swallowed and looked away. “Is so much worse.”
“Because of the bubbles?” I tried not to laugh, but it felt good after the hell I’d just been through.
“Yes, because of the damn bubbles. Are you done yet?” He twitched in his seat.
“I just got in.”
Nixon swore and hung his head in his hands. “Right. Well, can’t you… just… be faster?”
“I thought you wanted me to relax? I was just attacked.”
He moved so fast I jerked in response. Within seconds his hands were dipped into the water, he grabbed the loofa from my grip and began leisurely washing my back. His Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed slowly with each stroke.
The whole damn bathroom could have burnt down around me and I still wouldn’t have been able to take my eyes off of his face as he dipped the loofa in the hot water and then tenderly ran it over my bare skin, washing away the soap as well as the remnants of what happened an hour ago.
“That feels good.” I closed my eyes as his warm hands replaced the loofa and began massaging my neck and shoulders.
“Just so you know,” he croaked with his hands kneading into my flesh. “I’ve never had to practice so much restraint in all my life.”
“It builds character,” I mumbled, my eyes flickering open.
Nixon’s hands froze as his gaze fell to below my chest.
Note to self, bubbles tend to disappear when you’ve been in the bath for too long. His grip tightened on my body just slightly before he closed his eyes and pressed his lips together, a tiny whistle of air escaped his mouth.
“Sorry.” I moved to cover myself up but the bubbles were