Mutely, I stared at his dark form, which I could barely make out in the shower. I suppose he left the light off to quash my nerves, albeit it failed. I knew he could see me in perfect detail, and I couldn’t help but feel I was subpar. Here I was, naked before the most beautiful creature I’d ever seen when I was an ugly mutt in comparison. That I couldn’t see him did nothing to change that.
“Angel,” Ryker’s voice lowered to a purr, and I shivered when his lips brushed my ear again. “You do not understand how much I desire to touch, nor how gorgeous you are. Your body is nothing to be ashamed of, and when one adds in your stunningly beautiful heart and soul, well, you are breathtaking. Now, we have stalled enough. If you do not begin washing, I will give in to temptation and do it myself. I’m trying to be a gentleman, but your beauty tests me in a way no one else has.”
I doubt that. But I didn’t want to be intimately touched by someone I didn’t know, so I hesitantly raised a hand. Blinking when soap was set on my palm, my cheeks burned while I tried to understand how this would work. Chuckling, Ryker nibbled my ear lobe before stepping back, although he kept his hands on my hips. Shuddering, I realized he could fully see me now, but ducked my head to wash as quickly as possible. By the time I finished, my hands shook so much I couldn’t hold the soap anymore. A soft whimper escaped my throat when it fell, and Ryker chuckled. “My aren’t you lucky this isn’t a prison, hmm?” The vampire lord teased wickedly in my ear. When I trembled with a soft sob, he pulled me tight to his chest once more while my body shook from fear and exhaustion. “Easy, Angel, I merely tease, hmm? I told you that you were too tired for your hair, however. So, I must ask something of you which you shall not like much.”
Shuddering, I raised my gaze to meet the inky shadows I knew to be Ryker’s eyes, and he chuckled fondly. “Hold on tight, little one, lest you fall while I wash your hair,” he whispered in a voice that caused a shiver to race along my spine. It lit nerves I didn’t know I had, and I swallowed to bring moisture to my suddenly dry mouth. His tone was dark and velvety, full of dangerous promises that I longed to know. That desire burned through my veins, radiating from the nerves in my back. What would it feel like to receive a painless touch that I asked for? Ryker knew my back was sensitive, so would he use that against me in the best way?
At the sound of his groan, I jerked my head to meet his shadowy gaze, only to tremble when the dim light gleamed off his fangs. “Little one, if you continue to beg so beautifully, I might give in and do what you silently plead for.” Belatedly, I realized I was pressed tight against his body of my volition and swallowed nervously. “Curious?” He asked in that same dark and velvety tone, which sent another shiver along my spine, and a dark laugh danced across my senses. “I shall find the strength to remain a gentleman because you are weak, tired, and scared. Thus, not in the right state of mind to consent. Now, let’s wash your hair so you may resume your much-needed rest.”
Before I could protest or consider his words, Ryker reached behind him, and a soft click rang in my ears. A deep groan of appreciation escaped my throat when his strong fingers worked the sweet-smelling shampoo into my hair. God, it felt so good I feared I might melt into a pile of goo on the shower floor. “Ah, bunny, you are determined to push my control to its limits. Perhaps this is a much-needed lesson in restraint for both of us.” I didn’t care what he said, so long as his fingers continued their heavenly task.
“My poor feral bunny,” Ryker murmured upon removing the showerhead, judging by the noise it made. I shivered under the cascade of water after he used his fingers underneath my chin to tilt my head back. While I trembled, he used his free hand to help get the soap out of my hair. After a few moments, I closed my eyes before resting my head against his bare chest. A dark chuckle teased my senses while Ryker’s fingers and the water got the rest of the shampoo out. A soft click preceded the water turning off, but I lacked the strength to move. “You’re radiating distress, little one,” Ryker sighed, “but your weakness is to be expected. You had a very near brush with death, and I cannot apologize enough for allowing it to happen. Still, we need to get you dry and back to bed, bunny, so you may recover. So much has happened in so little time.”
Sighing, I tried to straighten, only to whimper when my legs shook. Tutting, Ryker wrapped a fluffy towel around my body before scooping me up. I knelt on a soft mattress seconds later while another towel gently dried my hair. “I know it’s hard, bunny, but I need you to hold yourself in this position so I can see to your hair, all right?” The teasing, dark tone was gone, leaving only worry and tenderness in the vampire’s voice while I tried to do as he asked.
Once my hair was sufficiently dried, the towel around my body moved to chase every droplet of
