Caleb stared at me and smiled.
“What?” I giggled.
“It was like I saw a fire in your eyes just now, coming back for the first time in a long time.” He gently touched my cheek and leaned in to kiss me. I leaned into the kiss, pressing my body against his, and I felt him smile, which made me smile.
“Well, I need to get freshened up. I think I'm going to shower,” I said with a playfulness in my voice.
“I'll go pick out some clothes for you to change into and set them on the bathroom counter for you.”
“Or... you could just join me.” I grabbed his hand as I started to back away from him, leading him to the bathroom.
Caleb’s brows lifted just slightly, but his lips curved into a slow smile. “But Rae, baby, you’re sore.”
“Then be gentle, Ranger.” I winked at him.
He told Duke to stay and then let me guide him through the hallway, our fingers still entwined. I turned the bathroom light on, and it cast a soft glow around the room. I moved with quiet purpose, swaying my hips, despite the achiness I felt—just enough to tease him and bring a smile to his face.
I reached for the hem of my shirt, but he stepped forward and caught my wrist. “Wait,” he said softly. “Let me wrap your arm and side first.”
I paused then nodded as I watched him grab the first-aid kit under the sink. When I first woke up in the hospital, he’d told me that our friends had made sure everything would be ready for us when he brought me home. When they found out I wasn’t ready to come home, they’d picked up extra medical supplies and brought them to my parent’s home. They’d taken turns staying with Duke and had even made dinners for us in case I’d needed Caleb to help me more. I would never take for granted the friends that I had, or the man standing in front of me who would move heaven and earth if it meant I was safe and happy.
Caleb stood in front of me and cradled my arm carefully in his hands. The stitches were neat but stark against my skin, a reminder of everything I’d survived. He wrapped it with waterproof wrapping, pressing gently on the adhesive that secured it to my arm. I tried so hard not to react when it hurt, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop it when he moved to my side. The cut there was worse than the one on my arm because at the end of everything, all the thrashing around I’d done had opened the wound more. He gently helped remove my shirt so it didn’t catch on any of the stitches.
“Real sexy,” I chuckled as he pulled out another waterproof strip.
“Yeah, you are,” he said with a wink as he centered my bandaged stitches under the waterproof wrapping. I took a couple of deep breaths as he pressed the adhesive down. The skin around it was so tender, but Caleb’s movements were as gentle as possible. He finished pressing down the adhesive, but his hand stayed at my side. He leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to my lips. “That should hold.”
“Thank you.” My voice was quiet.
Caleb traced my jaw and down my neck with his fingertips as he kissed me. I tried to reach behind me to unhook my bra, but I couldn’t with one hand.
“Allow me,” Caleb whispered in my ear, sending shivers up my spine. He helped me out of the straps, and I tugged him towards me and kissed him deeply. I stepped back, breathless, and slid my sweatpants down, stepping out of them with a quiet, breathless laugh as the fabric tugged at my sore hips.
Caleb undressed, too, his eyes never leaving me as I continued to undress. There was no hesitation now, no questions—just the silent language between us that had always meant more than words.
I stepped into the shower first, reaching to turn the water on. As it poured down over my shoulders, I sighed, feeling content in the warm water. Caleb followed, sliding in behind me and pulling the glass door closed.
The water was hot, slowly filling the space with steam. I stood close to the wall, my body relaxed, shoulders easing as the warm water soothed my skin.
Caleb moved in close, chest brushing against my back. He started by washing my hair for me. I hadn’t been able to wash my hair by myself since the hospital, so this had become a routine thing for him to help me with. He reached for the soap, lathered it slowly on the loofah, and began running it over my skin, starting at my neck. He worked down my shoulders, my arms, carefully avoiding the bandages.
The moment he moved lower, heat rushed through me in a way that had nothing to do with the water. Every slow drag of his hand and the loofah along my hips, and the backs of my thighs, had my body reacting before my mind could catch up.
“Caleb...” My voice shook. Every part of me needed him.
He stood up behind me, the heat of his chest brushing my back, his breath warm on my ear. “I know,” he whispered, his lips grazing my damp skin. “I feel it, too. You’re still sore, though, are you...?”
“Caleb, Ineedyou. Right now.”
His touch turned confident but still unbearably gentle. He never went near the stitches under my ribs, never pushed or pulled in a way that made my breath catch for the wrong reason. The way he touched me was a mix of gentleness and heat that made my entire body react.
“You are so beautiful, Sunshine,” he said, making me blush.
When his fingers slid lower, he teased me slowly until my knees threatened to give out. I tried to brace myself on the wall, forgetting about my stitches, and the ache caused me to wince. He steadied me with a firm hand on my hip.
“Easy,” he said, his breath warm against my neck. “Just lean on me.”
I leaned against him, his body feeling like fire against mine. I gasped when his mouth found my shoulder. The combination of his lips, the heat of the water, and the careful way he touched me, I felt myself reacting to him in an instant.
