Dylan (Bowen Boys, #3)(15)
Dylan flushed when he realized what she was saying. He looked at Khan, who was nodding. This wasn’t the way he wanted to have her come to him, but he couldn’t think of any other way to do it.
He looked up the stairs. “She’s not going to be happy about this when she figures it out. And I fully intend to blame it on you if she means to shoot someone.”
Marshall stood up and patted him on the back. “You do that. But let me know first. I’d like to show her what a pretty tiger I am first. She might like me more than you.”
Dylan had been up and down the stairs that day more than he thought he had in a month. When he entered the bedroom, she was gone. Then he heard her cursing in the bathroom. He went to the door to knock, but she opened it before he could touch it.
“Is it too much to ask to take a shower? Wash my hair? I want to shave my legs and underarms, but I’m bound up tighter than mummies of Halloween.” She tossed the brush at the counter. “I can’t even brush this mop properly. I’m f*cking cutting it off.”
“I can help you.” She looked at him as if she were seeing him for the first time. “With the shower. I don’t…I would hate for you to cut your hair off. I love it.”
“You don’t have to f*ck with it one armed, either.” She looked at his hair. “You have really nice hair. I wouldn’t think a teacher could have long hair like that.”
“Normally they don’t, but because I’m so amazing at my job, they cut me some slack.” She snorted and looked back at the shower. “I really can help you. If you’re worried about the wounds getting wet, Mom sponged them off daily and Walker said so long as they were dried well, it would be fine.”
Lies, he knew, but he wanted her to be naked even if she was soapy and slick. His cock took a hard twist, reminding him that he wanted her anyway he could get her. Dylan moved to the linen closet and took out four towels. Then he reached into the stall and turned on the water.
“I can’t get undressed.” She licked her lips. “This is a really bad idea. I don’t think I can manage this. Maybe I should just wait for a few more days.”
He moved to her, slowly talking softly as he went. “I’ll scrub your hair, and you can do the body parts. It’ll be nice to be clean, won’t it?”
She nodded, and he reached for her arm. The tape had been replaced so many times that it peeled off without much effort. When he had the wound in her forearm exposed, he felt a little lightheaded, remembering how badly she’d been hurt. He started talking to her as he removed the wrapping of her upper arm.
“When I was a kid, Khan and I decided it would be really smart to build us a race car. I think he was about ten, and I was six. So, without asking our dad if we could, or even if it was a good idea, we modified our wagon. Walker kept saying we were going to kill ourselves.” He grinned at the memory as he pulled the shirt she was wearing over her head and took the dressings off her back. “He was already acting like a doctor back then. He listed every bone we could break, starting with our necks.”
He turned her around and pulled gently at the tape at her back. He was more concerned about this one more than the others. He tried to think where he was in his story and picked it back up as he pulled down the gauze.
“We had put cardboard around the edges. I have no idea why we thought it would keep us safe. Then we rolled it to the top of the hill behind our house. Thankfully, we’d gone there and not the street like I had wanted. But Khan had said we’d better make a test run first.” He took a deep breath, bringing her scent into his lungs. “We can get you in the shower now.”
Nodding, she went to the bathroom. He followed when she partially closed the door. Reaching in, she adjusted the water and then stepped in. Dylan opened the door wider and wondered how he was going to pull this off when, a few seconds later, her panties hit him in the face.
~~~
The water felt glorious. She stood under the hot spray for a few minutes before she felt someone touch her. She turned to stare at Dylan.
“I told you I’d help you.” Looking him up and down, she turned away from him. Christ, the man was just too yummy for words. His small chuckle made her turn back to him.
“I’m not having shower sex with you. So if that was what you had in mind when you suggested this, then get the f*ck out now.”
He reached above her head. Her heart was pounding, and she was pretty sure he knew it. But other than showing her the bottle of shampoo, he didn’t touch her.
“I told you I’d help you get your hair washed and cleaned up. I’m sorry I don’t have anything but my shampoo, but I’ve never had a woman here before.” She found that hard to believe. “I’m not saying I didn’t have sex. I just never brought anyone to my home. It just didn’t feel right.”
His fingers started at her scalp and moved over her head in deep but gentle strokes. He massaged behind her ears, over her crown, and finally along her neck. When he told her to rinse, she was putty and had to brace herself by holding onto the tiled wall. Then, when he washed it the second time, giving her head the same wonderful all over touch, she had to lean her head against the tile in addition to holding on. Rinsing her hair out, she felt as if she’d been dipped in a total body wrap.
He handed her a sponge, a nice loufa, and then he squirted soap on it. He apologized again for not having anything but his scent. She nodded and worked the soap all over her body where she could. When he lifted her arm above her head, he said something, but she had to ask him twice what he’d said.