Blush by Anne Mercier Page B

know it. Now's not the time for
that. Now's the time to take care of the wonderful woman in my
arms. I lift her up and step under the spray, closing the door
behind us.
    “Mmm,“ she purrs as the water pours over
her.
    “Hold your cast out and I'll wash you
up.“
    She nods. Even waterproof has to dry and the
last thing she needs to deal with is being uncomfortable. She needs
to sleep.
    I tip her head back gently under the spray
then reach for her shampoo. I lather up her hair and she moans.
“God, that feels so good. My hair was sweat plastered to my scalp
and it's now dried on and it's so gross.“
    I chuckle. “Not anymore,“ I tell her as I
rinse out the suds.
    “Thank God.“
    “How much of this conditioner?“
    “Twice that. Yeah, perfect,“ she tells me as
I close the cap on the bottle.
    “I don't need that on my scalp, just the
loose strands.“
    “Got it.“ I work the conditioner through her
hair, threading my fingers through her wet hair, stray strands of
hair collecting on my fingers.
    “You're shedding.“
    She snorts. “I always do. It just seems like
a lot because the strands are so long.“
    “You've been taking your vitamins and
supplements regularly?“ I ask and she looks at me
questioningly.
    “What?“ I ask. “I pay attention. I like to
make sure you have what you need, especially out on the road.“
    She nods, bottom lip quivering.
    “Lucy, don't. Please.“
    The first tear slips down her cheek. Then the
second, third, fourth, and then it's a never-ending stream. I pull
her to me.
    “I'm so sorry, Lucy. I love you so much.
Please don't cry.“
    “You hurt me,“ she whispers. “You let them
touch you, Jesse. God .“
    “Lucy, I didn't even notice.“
    She snorts. “Well your dick sure did.“
    I put a finger beneath her chin and tilt her
head back to look at me. “It didn't. Any of the guys can vouch for
me. I'd been hard since I saw you up on that stage. Do you know how
fucking incredible you looked up there? How fucking kick ass you
were tonight? All of you?“ I shake my head, still in awe of them.
“It was like you'd been playing together for years. And the way you
worked that stage? Fuck, Luce. I was hard the minute you shouted
your greeting to Portland. You belong up there. You own it.“
    “Really?“
    “Really.“
    “You don't even know which part I meant.“
    “I meant all of it. But which one did you
mean,“ I ask when she gives me the look.
    “She didn't do that to you? It was me?“
    I blow out a breath and rest my forehead
against hers, looking into her eyes. “Only you, Lucy. Never anyone
else. Ever. No one can do that to me anymore. Just you.“
    She eyes me skeptically.
    “You can test me. Parade a line of bimbos in
front of me naked. My dick won't work. It never did for them unless
I wanted it to. I have better control than that, baby.“
    “If you rub a cock long enough it gets
hard.“
    I shrug a shoulder. “That's true. But I was
already wanting you so whatever she did, I didn't feel.“
    “Why did you let her?“
    “I didn't mean to. I'm just so used to that
behavior that it doesn't even register to me anymore. I know we're
a unit now and I'm sorry I wasn't paying better attention to
things. I just wanted to do the autographs and get them the fuck
out of there so I could get you alone and worship your body with
mine. Because I do. Worship you. Love you. Need you. Want you.“
    Her eyes close briefly and I wait for them to
open.
    “You own me, baby. You. Only you. You're my
heart. Please believe that. Deep down in your soul I know you feel
it. Let your brain believe it.“
    More tears slide down her cheeks and she
nods. She presses a soft lingering kiss to my lips. “We still have
more to talk about. We both have issues, but I'm too tired tonight
and the water's getting cold.“
    I chuckle. “Okay. Let's finish up in here and
get some sleep.“
    She nods, tilting her head back as I rinse
her hair.
    Her eyes open and meet mine. Her lip