AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I yank the T-shirt up and force her to raise her arms before I tug it off. I toss the T-shirt to the floor before pinning her in place and reaching around her to unclip her bra.
“Please stop,” she begs. This time, she lets her fear show as tears run down her face.
I grip her jaw and tip her head back. “I’m not going to hurt you. I just want you to take your clothes off so I can wash them. We both got muddy, and we both need to clean up before bed. Stop making this something it’s not.”
Her mouth drops open in shock, and I have the insane urge to kiss her. I hold back, though, instead using her shock to unhook her bra and slide the straps down her arms. I pull the bra free and toss it away as she wraps her arm around her chest. She swallows when my hands drop to her waist, and I hook my fingers in her panties. Slowly, I slide them over her hips and down her thighs. I don’t pretend not to check her out. Her stomach is slightly rounded, her hips are flared, and fuck me sideways, her pussy is bare.
I lick my lips and tear my eyes away as I wait for her to lift each foot. I toss the panties onto the growing pile of discarded clothes before standing up and stripping out of my own shirt.
She gulps before saying my name warily. “Slade, I don’t—”
“We’re just getting clean,” I remind her, my voice thick. “You’re the one just standing there staring.”
She spins so fast she almost slips. I steady her before continuing to undress. She reaches for the shower gel and quickly lathers herself up as I strip out of my jeans. I move in closer behind her, getting a perverse thrill out of freaking her out. I reach around her, my chest pressing against her back as I grab the shampoo. She sucks in a sharp breath, but I ignore it as I pour a small amount into my palm and start to massage it into her hair, careful to avoid the cut on her head. Her breathing becomes shallow as she freezes, not knowing what to do with herself. She doesn’t say anything, wisely knowing I’ll only shoot down any of her protests again.
“Rise. We don’t have any conditioner, but I’ll get one of the guys to pick some up for you when they do a run into town.”
She nods rapidly before stepping directly under the spray of water. I shampoo my hair before using the suds to wash my body. Soap is soap at the end of the day.
Once she is free of suds, I pull her back and reverse our positions. I close my eyes and rinse the soap from my hair and body, not surprised when I hear the shower door open and the cool air hits me. I don’t rush, but I can’t help the smirk on my face when I hear her gasp at the lack of towels.
Turning the water off, I wipe the water from my face and step out. Astrid stands in the corner, as far from me as she can get, shivering and looking kind of pathetic. A pang of remorse hits me when I see how drawn and wary her face is, but I brush it off. I’m not about to start questioning my methods now.
“Stay here. I’ll get you a towel.”
I walk out of the bedroom and into mine, grabbing a towel for myself, which I wrap around my waist, and an extra one for Astrid. I use it to pat the excess water from my skin before I grab a pair of boxers and a T-shirt from my dresser.
Heading back to Jagger’s bathroom, I pause in the doorway when I find Astrid standing in front of the mirror with her head bowed, her hands clutching the sink so hard her knuckles are white.
“Here.” I hold the towel out for her, but it’s like she doesn’t hear me. “Astrid?”
She lifts her head, and I’m struck dumb at the vivid violet color of her eyes. How had I not noticed them before? I glance down at the counter and see a pair of contacts sitting on top of it.
“I’ve never met anyone with purple eyes before. Why hide them?” I ask, my suspicion pushing me to question her.
She reaches for the towel, but I don’t let go of it, waiting for an answer.
“I get a lot of attention because of my hair, but people are always weird about my eyes.”
I release the towel, and she wraps it around herself, but because I’m a dick, I gave her one that doesn’t cover nearly as much as she’d like.
“I have OCA, otherwise known as oculocutaneous albinism. My hair is naturally white, it’s not a stylistic choice. The purple color of my eyes is another side effect. My eyes are actually blue, but because I have very low levels of melanin, you can see the blood vessels, which is why they look violet. Can I get dressed now?” she asks me quietly after delivering her speech in a monotone voice.
I hand her the T-shirt. Before I can say anything else, she pulls it over her head and yanks it down before tugging the towel off and using it to twist her hair up on top of her head.
“I’ve heard of albinism, but I’ll be honest, I know next to nothing about it.”
“Not many people do. I was born with it, so I don’t know any different.” She shrugs, clearly uncomfortable, but that’s what I wanted, right? Though, for some reason, I’m not such a fan of her being uncomfortable about a medical condition that’s beyond her control.
“Not that it stopped kids from being assholes,” she mutters under her breath, gasping when I drop the towel and slip my boxers on.
“So, it only affects the color of your hair and eyes?”
“And my skin. This isn’t due to a lack of vitamin D. I give Casper the Ghost a run for his money. But because of my coloring, I burn easily, so I have to be careful in the sun. Same with my eyes. They are super sensitive to bright light, and my vision was pretty shitty. But I’ve had corrective surgery, though I still need glasses.”
“But you’re not dying, right?”
She scoffs and folds her arms across her chest. “I should be so lucky. No, my life expectancy would have been the same as the next person right up until I came here. If I’d known how this was going to turn out, I would have gone swimming with sharks instead. That seems like it would have been a safer option.”
