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As Caera stared up at him, he crooked his fingers in a visual summons, and she wilted into the mattress before sliding out from beneath the covers to stand in front of him, huddling into herself.
Saul ran her shirt through his hands, feeling the cold dampness soaking into the material. Her sweat carried the essence of real fear, something which infuriated him, but he kept himself calm as she began to shiver despite the warmth of the room. “Are you cold, Caera?”
She withdrew further, reluctantly nodding.
Trying to keep the atmosphere upbeat, he told her, “Time for this little rabbit to strip these clothes off. They’re damp, and they’ll make you sick. Is that okay?” When she nodded again without making eye contact, he lifted her chin up with a fingertip. “I’m not going to ravish you, Caera.”
Undressing her was not the erotic adventure he usually experienced when stripping a woman. This was far more intimate, a lot sweeter. Tending to her, coaxing her to lift her arms so he could remove her shirt, was an exercise in building trust. When she didn’t fight him, he lavished praise on her, calling her his good girl in a way that softened the stiffness gripping her body.
Her baggy yoga pants hit the floor, followed by her panties, then her bra.
Saul had already seen her naked, so her condition wasn’t as shocking as it might have been, but it still disturbed him that she was so skinny. It was a miracle, in his opinion, that she was still functioning. Being so lean was a detriment to her health, and he promised himself silently that if she didn’t make any improvements over the next few days, he would drive her to the hospital.
Caera was resistant at first as he tugged her closer to him. Once the heat of his body began to warm the chill of hers, she relaxed and allowed herself to be guided toward the bathroom, his arm around her back.
If he could get her into the shower, he could leave her alone for a few minutes while he made something to eat. She needed to gain weight slowly, which meant small, regular meals and supplements.
Saul urged her through the door. He wished their history was older than twelve hours—his dominant side was demanding to stay and help her wash the nightmares away, while the more practical side of him was insistent that she needed her privacy if he was going to avoid the lecherous asshole title. “Can I trust you to take a shower without doing anything harmful to yourself, little rabbit?”
She blushed furiously. “I can hardly drown myself in there, can I?”
It wasn’t the shower that concerned him, particularly. Both the bath and the hot tub were a better choice if she decided to try and drown herself. There were razors to cut her wrists, pills in the medicine cabinet if she wanted to overdose herself.
The more he thought about it, the less he wanted to leave her alone.
“I need your word, Caera.”
“Fine. I promise not to do anything stupid.” She shifted her weight from foot to foot as though that promise was uncomfortable.
“This is the first time you’ve been naked in front of a man, aside from earlier?” Saul murmured into her ear before stepping away to set the water running. “Am I the first one to see you without the security of your clothes?”
“Yes,” she said breathlessly.
“How does it make you feel?” he asked, turning back to look at her.
Her lips pressed together nervously as color infused her pale cheeks. “I don’t know.”
“First rule,” he reminded her gently.
Caera blew out a soft breath and linked her fingers together. “Part of me likes it, I guess. There’s something in me that wants to be seen, to know I’m not invisible. No one ever sees me.”
Maybe she didn’t know it, but her days of living in the shadows were over. If Saul had his way, she would have friends who loved her for who she was, and a man by her side who wouldn’t let her hide away. “What about the other part?”
“It wants to stay in the dark and fade into nothing. It doesn’t want the connection of being touched.” She shuddered viciously, closing her eyes against the pain of some untold secret.
Saul made a soft noise in his throat to soothe her as he stepped up to her, taking her face in his hands. She’d have to get used to being touched casually—his nature enjoyed the tactility of submission. Stroking, petting, comforting. Dominance didn’t mean a man—or woman—couldn’t be gentle or compassionate. “Would you like me to touch you?”
Caera hesitated. “W-Where?”
“I could start here for now.” Letting his fingers drift over her face, Saul traced the curve of her eyebrows, a slightly richer gold than her hair. “Or here.” Down over her nose, her cheekbones, as her breath caught. “Maybe here…” He ran his fingertips along the length of her jaw. “And here.” He teased the shell of her ear, then brushed the sensitive spot just beneath her earlobe.
She whimpered, her knees almost buckling as he stroked it again. “Oh God, there.”
Saul chuckled. “Never be afraid of the right touch, Caera. It will bring you pleasure like you’ve never known.” His thumb ran over her lips as she gasped. “Such a pretty mouth. Fits right in with the rest of you, doesn’t it?”
Her blush deepened as she averted her gaze. “I’m not pretty.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Don’t argue with the man who’s giving you compliments, little rabbit. Especially when he’s thinking about how sweet you’ll taste. He might take it upon himself to show you how wrong you are.”
