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My happy moment is short-lived as worry starts to take residence in my mind and body.
Shh, my wolf hums. I try to listen to her, but the ache in my heart and soul goes far beyond the alley. Everything I’ve been locking away with the pills and alcohol comes flooding in—front and center, demanding my attention. And without something to aid me in forgetting, I can’t get lost anymore. Closing my eyes, I hunt for that sweet nothing that has been my safe place, to curl up with my wolf and just not think, to just forget it all.
Not now. Not now. Not now.
Cree shifts me in his arms and stands from the bed. Hugging me close to his chest, he carries me into the bathroom. The scent of oranges and sandalwood is strong on the steam filling the room. The sweet woodsy smell instantly clears my mind and throws me back to when I woke up in Enzo’s arms, and I hum my appreciation.
“It smells like Enzo in here,” I whisper, and I note the diffuser on the counter.
“Well played, that little fucker,” Cree grumbles under his breath, and I chuckle faintly at the lighthearted banter as a haze fills my mind.
Chapter 19
CREE
I place Riley on the counter, move to her left side, and Axel comes to stand on her right. She’s so weak she can't sit up on her own, and her eyes keep dropping shut.
“Riley, I need your eyes open, sweetheart,” Axel says, cupping her cheek in his hand.
“Mmm,” she moans, leaning into his touch, like a kitten seeking the attention of her master.
“Eyes open, Riley,” I command, and her eyes snap open, her pupils adjusting to the low lighting.
“Sweetheart, it’s clear you’re exhausted and that you’re not going to be able to do this on your own. I need your permission for Cree and me to help you.”
She nods, her gaze locked with Axel’s. “We venture anywhere you’re not comfortable with, you tell us to stop, and we will obey. Tell me what you’re going to say if you’re uncomfortable.”
Riley’s shoulders rise and fall with a deep inhale. With a slow exhale her body visibly relaxes, and she sways slightly. I place a hand on the small of her back, and she glances in my direction, her soulful eyes holding mine for a heartbeat before turning back to Axel. “I’ll tell you to stop.”
“That’s right,” Axel says with a smile.
Together, we steady her while we get her undressed. Sliding her sleep shirt up and over her broken body, I’m reminded of the scene in the alley. Her upper half exposed. Blood matting in her hair and coating her pale skin.
My blood pumps in my ears, and I’m forced to look away as memories of tending to her that night play through my mind. The way her body was beaten. Her ribs lined with bruises and her back almost completely concealed in bandages that were hiding a myriad of scrapes and lacerations. The deep bluish-purple bruise from the swelling of a handprint across the front of her neck and over her wrists. Deep bruises on her outer thighs from where knees pressed her legs together, and on her inner thighs from prying them open. Lacerations on the back of her thighs and even on her ass from being dragged across broken glass in the alley. The split of her right brow and swollen eye from the blows she took to the face.
Taking a deep, centering breath, I turn back towards Riley, now seeing how much her body has healed over the week since her attack. She’s still a little worse for wear, but she’s here. She’s safe, and she’s healing.
Axel and I strip down to our boxers. Sliding an arm under Riley’s knees and around her back, I lift her, and she wraps her arms around me, pressing her nose into my neck. I walk into the large shower and sit on the bench with her in my lap, her side to my front.
Using a detachable showerhead, Axel runs warm water down her back. As the remaining bandages soak and loosen, Axel gently peels them away, tossing them in a corner. Everyday her wolf gets stronger, meaning she heals faster, leaving only the worst of the deep lacerations still to be mended. But nothing that requires the need for bandages any longer. If only the emotional wounds could be healed so easily.
She’s completely pliant in my arms, making it easy to brace her body and lean her back while Axel rinses her hair. He turns and grabs a bottle of coconut shampoo. He lathers it into her hair, and she moans as he massages the white, foaming liquid into her scalp, and working his fingers down to the base of her head, kneading as he goes along. Riley continues to moan and groan as Axel works her scalp and hair into a bubbling lather. He proceeds to rinse her hair clean before adding more shampoo and repeating the process to completely wash her long, fiery red locks clean of all the buildup. I shoot Axel a murderous look as he makes Riley moan again. He just fucking grins at me.
Axel grabs a sponge and squirts some body wash on it and starts to gently wash her body, avoiding any open wounds, which he’ll tend to later. He starts at her neck, gently massaging her muscles, working his way down each arm, giving each finger equal attention before working his way back up. As he makes his way down her back, I turn Riley in my lap, placing a leg on each side of me and pull her front against my chest. Her breasts rub against me, and I can’t stop my body’s inappropriate reactions to her.
As Axel massages her back, Riley sinks into me, nuzzling her nose into my neck. Axel works his hands between our bodies and runs the sponge across her chest just above her breasts. Riley leans back into him, her eyes closed, soaking in the comfort, being held safe and protected between our bodies. Seeing her like this, so relaxed and vulnerable causes my heart to swell and my cock to pulse.
Axel’s hands work their way down, innocently touching her breasts, causing her nipples to harden into diamond peaks. Her hips rock against my pelvis, small, almost imperceivable movements. A sweet, musky scent fills the air around us as her arousal spikes.
My cock hardens against her, separated from the place it really wants to be by the thin material of my boxers. Her core heats up as he gently massages her nipples between his fingers. A throaty moan escapes her as she presses down onto me, and I groan in equal parts pleasure and torture. My hands meet her hips, stilling her movements.
My eyes shoot to Axel. “Axel,” I growl. “Axel, you have to fucking stop.” My breathing catches as I try to maintain control of my body. Having Riley naked and writhing on my lap is more than I can tolerate.
Axel grins at me again as he moves his hand from her breasts to her abdomen, running the soapy sponge over the flat outline of muscle. A whimper of protest leaves Riley, and Axel leans down, whispering in her ear, “Tell us what you need, what you want.”
“I need. I ... I ... need to feel—wanted,” Riley pants as her eyes glide open and meet mine. There’s a pleading look in those grey orbs that cuts me to the core.
She grabs my hands from where they rest on her hips and moves one to her chest, just above her breast. “I want to feel your hands on my body. On my breasts. On … On my clit. I need to feel something other than this pain inside me.” Tears leak from her eyes, and the sorrow-filled look tells me how much she and her wolf need to feel this connection.
