A World of New (A Shade of Vampire, #26)(31)

I waited for the sounds of him gripping the side of the bathtub and hauling himself in… but they didn’t come. When there was still silence after a couple more minutes had passed, I dared call, “You okay?”

“Yep,” he replied, a little tensely.

“Okay,” I said. “Was just wondering what the holdup was…”

“I, uh…” He swore beneath his breath. “I’m just thinking that I probably should take some help now, actually. Getting into the tub… I’m wearing boxers, obviously,” he added quickly.

“Oh. Of course.” I’d thought he had been hinting for me to call for Tom, not that he was requesting my help. “So can I come in now then?”

“Yeah,” he muttered.

Grabbing the handle, I pushed open the door to find that he’d wheeled himself to the edge of the tub. He twisted in his chair to face me, looking almost ashamed. My eyes fell from his face to the rest of his pale, bare body. I was impressed that he’d managed to get his pants off by himself, as well as his nightshirt. Now he sat, wearing a pair of black boxer shorts. I couldn’t help but notice his physique. Even the short time that he’d been using those weights had made a difference. His chest, torso and arm muscles were significantly more pronounced—not exactly toned, but no longer shadows.

This was also the first time that I was seeing his legs uncovered. They were long and lanky, but I’d expected them to look more slack than they did. Rather, the muscles in his thighs and calves resembled the muscles in his chest and arms before he had started working out—once sculpted, since faded, but still distinguishable. If he could only move his legs, I guessed it would not take long for him to get those back in shape either.

When he cleared his throat, his eyes still fixed on my face, I realized that I had stopped to ogle him a little too long. My cheeks warmed. “Sorry,” I said, raising my gaze.

I had never helped a man of his size into a tub before. I wasn’t exactly short, but I guessed that he was at least six foot in height, if he’d been able to stand. I was strong, though. And he was slim. Rolling up the sleeves of my cardigan, I moved forward and lowered to him until my cheek was almost touching his.

“You can put your arms around me,” I said.

He raised his arms and placed them around my neck, while I wound mine around his waist. Slowly but surely, I eased him out of the chair and sat him on the edge of the tub. While he was perched there, I removed a hand from his midriff and trailed my fingers in the water to make sure that it was the right temperature. It felt pleasantly warm.

Now I had to be careful, as I lowered him the rest of the way into the tub, to make sure that I didn’t lose my balance and fall on top of him. That would be so awkward…

When his backside touched the base of the tub, I let go of him, allowing him to sink into the water, before picking up his legs and easing them in too. I straightened and looked down at him with a sense of pride. “There. That wasn’t too difficult.”

“Thank you,” he said, before reaching for a sponge.

I considered leaving now, but since he wasn’t glaring at me or hinting that I did, I decided to stay. I drew up a stool and sat quietly at the edge of the tub while he began soaping himself.

“You must be incredibly bored with me by now,” he said, slanting me a glance.

I frowned at him.

“After you were introduced as my caregiver,” he clarified, “I didn’t think that you would remain with me all this time.”

I raised my brows. “Why would you presume that?”

He shrugged, wiping his face and looking away. “Well, you’re only seventeen, right?”

“Yes…”

“Is this really what seventeen-year-old girls want to do with their time?”

I paused, considering my response. I thought to reply that this was my work experience, but during the days we’d spent together, I had come to see this as a lot more than that. Plus, I didn’t want him to think that this was just an excuse for me to skip classes. Because it wasn’t. It really wasn’t. Heck, I’d become so invested in his wellbeing that I’d lost sleep on several nights.

“I can’t speak for others,” I said tersely. “But I can tell you with one hundred percent certainty that I have been anything but bored since you arrived on the island.”

He fell silent, looking not quite satisfied with my answer.

“What about you?” I countered. “Aren’t you bored with me yet?”

His eyes shot up to meet mine. “You are joking, aren’t you?”

“No,” I replied, my face deadpan.

A smile curved his lips. He shook his head. “I imagine it would be quite hard to get bored with you.”

Now it was my turn to smile. “Why do you say that?”

“Well, you’re… an interesting person, Grace. Leaving aside the fact that you’re half fae, you’re full of stories. You have strong opinions about things. You’ve lived a colorful life.”

“Okay,” I said, my smile broadening. “I can take a compliment. I find you to be interesting, too.” Interesting enough for me to be a creeper and keep a constant diary about you. “And I’m sure that you’ll be even more interesting once we get back your memories.”

“Hm.” His smile faded. “If.”