I rubbed my thumbs over my brows, trying to ease the tension of an impending headache.
My stomach growled reminding me I hadn’t eaten, so went in search of food, coming up trumps when I opened the fridge.
Drew’s food delivery had arrived.
I found a jar of overnight oats, poached fruit, and coconut yogurt, dumping it all into a big bowl, then flicked on the coffee machine. I perched on a stool at the island, eating while looking out into the garden. It had started raining, and I watched the raindrops bounce on the patio.
Lifting my coffee cup caused my arm started throbbing again. I rubbed it, another wave of anger crashing through me. I was fucking pissed.
What the fuck was I going to do?
I’d lost count of the amount of times I was grateful for Drew, grateful for his kindness, strength, warmth, and general anti-Richardness.
Fucking Richard.
Every day was better than the day before, and this morning made me realize how blissfully happy I’d been the past few months, a level I’m not sure I’d ever had, at least not since I was a kid.
It also wasn’t the first time that in the five years we’d been together I’d wondered if maybe I never actually knew Richard at all, although I’d never been genuinely scared of him before. But I did know Drew, and I knew he was going to be really angry. He’d tried to hide it this morning, but I could feel it radiating from him like radioactive energy.
I scrolled through my contacts, but everyone I wanted to speak to right now was west coast based. It was still the middle of the night for Mallory, and I knew my brother wouldn’t be awake either. After the Dodgers had won the World Series he’d escaped on vacation, and I wasn’t entirely sure where he was. I could try Piper, but she’d either be asleep or up with the kids.
Fuck it, Jupiter was my best bet.
I tried calling but it went to voicemail.
My arm throbbed again so I went in search of painkillers, finding what I needed in the laundry room.
Now what?
I wasn’t entirely sure what to do with myself, and Drew wouldn’t be back for a while. The thought of having a nap seemed immensely appealing, but then I realized I was still pretty sweaty from this morning, and getting into bed without having a shower was gross.
Bath it was.
Maybe I could nap there.
I walked up the stairs to Drew’s bedroom and through to the bathroom. His giant copper tub sat at the end of the room overlooking the backyard. I turned on the faucets, pouring a bag of scented Epsom salts and lavender foaming oil into the flowing water, watching the suds rise up.
I stepped into the hot, soapy water, the warmth easing my aching muscles. I’d filled it so much that when I rested my head back against the edge, the water came up to my neck. My eyelids started getting heavy and I didn’t fight to keep them open, although it wasn’t for long.
“You look so fucking beautiful in there.”
I turned, my heartbeat kicking up, filling up with him, with his power and strength and beauty. His dimple got deeper as he made his way over to me, dropping to his knees in front of the tub, his smile comforting me in a way the water couldn’t.
He cupped my head, his lips brushing mine. “Hi, sweetheart. How are you?”
“Better now you’re here.”
And that was the God’s honest truth. Everything was always better when he was around.
“Good. Want company?”
“Always.”
He stood up, shucking his clothes in record speed, with the least graceful striptease I’d ever seen. His arms crossed over his chest, removing his hoodie at the same time he wriggled out of his sweatpants and boxers, kicking them free and off to the side somewhere before stepping in behind me. Water sloshed all over the floor, draining away underneath.
“Fuck, this is hot,” he hissed, shifting around, trying to get used to the temperature, which wasn’t that hot considering I’d already been in here a while.
It was very warm at best.
