"It’s too small." Her fingers twisted the hem of Az’s shirt that she wore.
It was too small. Too small for her to have company in.
Az wrapped himself around her back, chest bare, pressing flush against her, making the spots of her wings that poked free from the bottom and top of the shirt quiver in awareness.
"I’ll be right beside you, angel. You won’t be alone," Az vowed. He took her hands and cupped them between his, forcing her to turn and stare up at him. Her tangled hair caught in his fingers as he stroked a hand over the side of her head. "You don’t have to go into the bath if you don’t want to. It’s your choice."
That was the thing—shewantedto.
She was so tired of being weak and letting memories consume her.
She was better than that; shecouldbe better than that.
"I want to," she asserted softly. "I just wish that I didn’t have to go alone."
He bent down to press a kiss to her forehead. "I’m here, and I’m not leaving."
Slowly, she tugged her hands away from him. He had already seen her nude body—most of it, at least. This should be easy, but her heart was in her throat, and she could barely look him in the eye as she began to tug the shirt up her body. A soft chill washed over her exposed thighs, her stomach, and then the rest of her as she pulled it over her head, careful of her wings. It slipped from her hands, dropping on the floor by her feet. She stood in only her thin panties. She couldn’t stop herself from wrapping an arm around her breasts, feeling the edges of the bandages tickling her forearm.
His amber eyes were heated yet soft as he stared down at her, gaze not straying. "You don’t have to hide from me anymore, Lu. You’re gorgeous."
She didn’t feel it, but when he told her, a small part of her began to.
Her wings folded close to her back, keeping her backside shrouded in the privacy of white, fluffy feathers as she turned, fingers hooking in the edge of her panties. Staring at the water, her back to Az, she whispered, "Close your eyes?"
"They’re closed," he grumbled, and she trusted him.
Luella pulled her panties down her legs, kicking them to the side. She carefully lifted a foot and entered the bath, wobbling as her wings threatened to make her tip backward. The water was warm, tickling her feet and calves. She inhaled deeply, hands braced on the sides of the wooden tub as she all but fell into it, water splashing over the sides as the warmth prickled against her skin, and dully against her wings. She pulled her knees up to her chest, arms wrapping around them to cover her breasts and the space between her legs.
"You can l-look," she stammered, hating the quake in her voice as the water licked against her flesh. It was fine; she was fine. It was a small bath, and she could barely submerge her full body into it. She couldn’t drown.
But—
The thought of the water and drowning made her think ofwherethey were.
The ocean.
Endless.
"Distract me," she said, focusing on her breath. She felt heat at her side and found Az kneeling by the tub, one arm stretched behind her, the other resting over the edge, fingers dipping on the surface.
"How do you want me to distract you?" His voice was a low, thick grumble.
Heat curled inside her lower belly. "You know."
The hand drifting atop the water moved to the side of her arm, dancing over her flesh, until he cupped her cheek and pressed a soft kiss to her lips, water trickling from his fingers, wetting the side of her face. He pulled away, only slightly, and said, "What do you want first?" His damp fingers smoothed over her hair. "Me to wash your hair?" Those fingers dipped down her collarbone until they skimmed the edge of her breast. "Or your body?"
Her breath hitched. "You decide."
Az’s fingers tapped lightly against her breast, barely grazing her nipple. "I’ll start here."
"G-good choice," she managed breathily as his fingers finally drifted below the water, circling her peaked nipple.
They had no soap, so they would have to make do with the water alone. But under his soft, excruciating touches, she felt wholly cleaned.
He cupped water and trickled it over her chest, letting droplets fall down her breasts, then moved his hands in slow circles down her navel after giving each of her breasts ample attention. His hands massaged her stomach under the water, drifting past her soaked bandages—she would have to let Tharen change them—grazing her upper thighs, dipping past the space that ached fiercely between them. He stroked over her legs, and even her toes, until his fingers moved back up, thumbs pressing into her inner thighs, as finally his touches drifted between them. But when his fingers stroked over her slick core, she was undone, close to breaking already.
The first touch made her head tip back, wings shivering in the water, and she forgot all about why she had been scared in the first place.
