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With my name.
Vance lifts his arm, trails of blood dropping onto the white marble floor. “There.” He places the bloody knife on the counter, turning to look at me. “This is pretty permanent, don’t you think? When I say you belong to me, it’s not one-sided. I’m yours, only yours, and no one else’s."
I just nod, not sure of what else to do and say.
Vance doesn’t push me to speak. He leaves me in my thoughts as he turns on the tap of the bathtub, searching for the right temperature. “You want bubbles?”
“You actually have bubbles?”
“Probably not, but I can get someone to deliver some for the next time.”
I like the way he says next time, as if I’m going to be a fixture.
“I was intending on planning this better, but then that guy at the club fucked my plans up, so I have nothing for you, but I will fix that. The only thing I could get here on time was the food.”
I smile, thinking how much of a contradiction this man is. “You’re a little squishy, aren’t you?”
“No, Little Bird. There isn’t much about me that’s soft. The only person who sees that is you, only you.”
Vance offers his hand, and I take it before stepping into the tub. The carving on his arm doesn’t even phase him. He wraps it in a towel before he starts, taking a washcloth and working on my skin, careful around my back to not cause me any discomfort. “Does it hurt?”
I sigh, leaning into his touch. “No, it feels wonderful.”
Vance pours shampoo into his hand and gives me an apologetic smile. “It’s probably not what you’re used to.” His hands glide in my hair as he makes suds while massaging my scalp.
I feel my heart constrict at his gentle touch as a tear slips down my cheek.
Vance stops what he is doing. Panic flashes in his eyes as he stares at me. “Did I hurt you? I’m sorry. I can stop.”
“No, no, it’s not that. You’re being so gentle and loving. It’s just that I’ve had no one take care of me in so long.”
“Not even when you were a child?”
“No. My parents died in a car crash when I was three. I’ve been in the system my whole life. No foster parent took the time to make sure I knew I was important. No one has, really…until you.”
“You are important,” Vance says before he continues to wash my hair. “I’m going to make sure you never forget it.”
I smile at his sweet words and revel in his tender touch.
Vance removes the showerhead attached to the tub, checking the water pressure before he sprays it on my head, washing away the soap and all the pain I had been harboring.
“Your hair is so beautiful,” he says, his hands gentle in my hair. “It was the first thing I noticed about you. This dark black hair… You looked like a raven.”
I chuckle. “Is that why you call me Little Bird?”
“Yes, my little bird, my raven.”
I turn to face him, and his eyes are much softer than I had seen before. “That’s kinda poetic.”
He smiles and places a soft kiss on the top of my head. “You're poetry.”
Once he has gotten the soap off, he bends down and lifts me out of the tub, once again cradling me against him. I’m taken aback at how easily he does it and how much I like it. If this is what it means to be owned by Vance, then I will gladly be his.
Water trails from my hair as I peer into his eyes.
He looks down and smiles. “You look good in my arms, baby.”
I nod and smile back, knowing that I fully agree.
He wraps a giant white robe around me, and I smile.
“What’s funny?”
“I was just thinking that for a guy who seems to cut up things a lot, you sure own a lot of white.”
He shrugs, tying the robe tight. “It’s a thing from my childhood. My mother always liked white things—furniture, clothes, towels, linens. I know how stupid it is, 'cause getting blood off white is a bitch.”
“Do you have a good relationship with your mom?’
“Yes, she’s the best. After my dad died, things were rough, but we got through, the three of us.”
“Three of you?”
He pulls back the covers, patting a spot. I shuffle over to sit where he wants me. “Yes, I’ve got a kid sister.”
“Must be nice.”
“It can be, but she is a pain in my ass and never listens to advice.”
I feel my eyes get heavy as I try to fight back sleep.
“Rest, Little Bird. We’ve got all the time in the world to talk about anything you want.”
Chapter 11
VANCE
My heart aches as I sit there watching Clarissa asleep in my bed. Worrying about how long it will take her to get used to being here, being with me. I feel a lightness that I haven’t felt for a very long time. She belongs here with me. There is nothing I have ever been as sure about as that.
