Deadly Obsession (12 page)

“No, we think you’ve been through hell and are finally starting to realise what’s really going on. That, and the fact you’re in pain and need to rest,” said Sam. “I’ll go get the doctor.”

“I’m not crazy, Gage,” she said as Sam darted out the door. “I just need a shower.”

“Care to tell me why that’s suddenly so important?”

“I’m sure it has nothing to do with the chunks of dried blood in my hair, or the dirt from the parking lot smeared up my legs.”

“They washed most of the dirt and blood off when they re-stitched your back. Care to try again?”

Brooklyn
fought back the tears as she met his heated stare. “I want to get rid of his scent.
The feel of his fingers on my skin.”
She sobbed once before gathering her strength again. “I just want him off me.”

Gage tensed his jaw and touched his hand to hers. “Okay. I’ll help you get a shower. Just try to relax until the doctor gets here.”

She nodded, pulling her arms tight across her chest. The wounded edge to his voice only made her feel worse, and she knew she’d start crying again if she looked at him.

Chapter Eight

“So what’s this about a shower?” asked Nick O’Brian as he stepped through the door.

“I don’t get what the big deal is,”
huffed
Brooklyn. “You act as if it’s an unreasonable request.”

“Just not one I expected for a few more days. I think you’d find a sponge bath more accommodating in your condition.”

“Trust me,” interrupted Gage. “You don’t want to go there.”

Nick smiled. “I understand your need. I just don’t want you passing out on me in there.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Very well.
Turn around and I’ll check your stitches before I put on a new dressing.”

Brooklyn
turned, shuddering as he undid the strap to her gown. She felt a gentle tug on her back before she heard him throw the bandages onto a tray.

“Good God,” gasped Sam.

“Impressive, isn’t it,” sighed Nick. “Okay, you’re all set. You’ve got quite a bit of bruising around the laceration, so be careful not to spray the water directly on the cut.”

“I’ll be careful.” She watched as Nick shot Gage a quizzical look before he turned and marched to the door.

“I’ll come back in about thirty minutes and give you something for the pain.”

“All right.
Let’s get this over with so you can rest,” said Gage, taking her arm in his. “Just go slowly.”

Brooklyn
swung her legs over the edge of the bed and placed them on the floor. Then she eased forward, transferring her weight onto her feet. She hadn’t even stood up before her knees buckled and she fell into Gage’s arms.

“Easy, darling.”
Gage pulled her against him, balancing her weight.

“Oh God.”
She hadn’t stood up since the stabbing and now she knew why.

“Just put your arms around my neck and I’ll carry you,” said Gage

“I’m sure I’ll be fine once I can balance against the wall,” she assured him.

“You are one stubborn soul,” he huffed, carrying her over to the washroom.

She was too light.
Too fragile in his arms.
He held back another curse as he stepped through the doorway. The shower was off to their left. It was small, but Gage doubted she’d be able to stand up for more than a second, wall or not.

“Sit here while I get everything ready.” He placed her in a chair and walked out, returning moments later with a couple of towels. Then he
unwrapped
a new bar of soap and opened a small pack of shampoo. He looked over at her, growling at the sight of her half slumped in the chair, her eyes wide with pain. “Oh bloody hell.”

He lunged forward and closed the door, stripping off his shirt as he went. Then he reached in and turned on the water, adjusting the spray before undoing his pants.

“What are doing?” Brooklyn’s voice was timid and he could see the uncertainty in her eyes.

“You’re crazy if you believe for one moment you’ll be able to do this alone. And if it’s just the same, I’d rather not get my clothes wet.”

Brooklyn
looked at him for several seconds before raising an eyebrow in question. “You’re coming in with me?”

“Do you want the shower or not? Because this is the only way you’re going to get it without pulling out all those stitches in your back. And the good doctor already threatened me regarding what he’d do if he had to stitch you up again.”

He watched as she looked from the shower back to him. He thought she’d be angry when their eyes met again, but that wasn’t what he saw in her expression.

“As long as you don’t mind.
We haven’t…” Her voice trailed off. “I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to.”

“It’s just a shower.” But as he watched her shrug the gown off her shoulders, he knew it’d be much more than that. She was beautiful. The way her breasts thrust out from her chest, the nipples pointing straight towards him. She must have gotten chilled because they were already hard and thick, like tight little rose buds ready to be touched. Her ribs were showing beneath her skin and her stomach was slightly hollowed. He forced himself to swallow as she shed the garment on the floor.

She was naked. Gloriously
bare
from her head to her toes. He trailed his gaze down her thighs, smiling at the way her hips flared out from her waist and then disappeared down the smooth joint of her legs.

He looked away, not wanting her to catch him staring. Besides, if he saw any more details, the bulge in his pants would only swell. He cursed, removing his other shoe as he lowered his jeans to the floor. He didn’t know how he was going to hide his erection from her. His cock was heavy and thick, and so engorged it blazed a path across his stomach. He glanced over at her. She was smiling at him, her attention focused on the tent in his underwear.

“Glad to see you’re not having any erectile difficulties.” Her tone was a mixture of amusement and arousal, and his cock pulsed at the sound of it.

“Are you going to make this more difficult than it already is?”

“No.”

“Good.” He stripped off his last line of defence and walked over to her, his shaft leading the way. “No wisecracks about the state of my arousal, understood?” he said, placing her hand in his as she nodded at him. “Okay.
Nice and easy.”
He lifted her arm as she stood up,
cringeing
at the stifled moan that echoed off the walls before she sagged against his chest. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“I need to. Please.”

She moved her feet forward and he half carried her to the stall. He stepped in first, sheltering her from the spray as she slipped in beside him, pressing her upper back against the wall.

“Thank you,” she whispered, as she laid her head against his chest, her hands palming his skin.

Gage held his breath, not sure how long he could stand the pressure of her body on his without quenching his need to touch her. To graze his fingers along her side, caress the gentle curve of her breasts. He felt her nipples rake across his chest. They were even harder than when she’d undressed, and he could feel every subtle movement she made as they traced a path across his skin. He wanted to take them in his mouth, sip at them until she moaned his name in need. He’d
hadn’t
gotten a chance to touch them earlier, and just the feel of the tight little nubs against him was making his head spin.

He closed his eyes, trying to quench the sudden rush of desire. He could smell her sweet arousal mixing with the steam and knew
,
if he moved lower, he’d find her creamy juice trailing along her inner thighs. He’d caught more than just a glimpse of her when she’d stood up and longed to touch the soft skin with his tongue this time, lapping at her until her taste was all he knew. He groaned, feeling his erection tighten further, pressing into her stomach.

“This is payback, isn’t it?”

Brooklyn
smiled against his chest, running her fingers across his male nipples. “I thought it was just a shower.”

“You’re pure vixen, you know that?” He laughed. “Which do you want to wash first?
Your hair or your skin?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

Her voice was husky and raw, and far deeper than usual. She was aroused as well, just as she’d been this morning. She hadn’t spoken a word about it, and since he wasn’t sure whether she didn’t remember, or had chosen not to, he’d decided it was better to just let it slide. He stole a quick glance. There was no way he could touch her skin right now. Not without using his tongue.

“Hair.”
He reached for the packet, emptying the contents into his palm. Then he turned around, still cradling her against him, until her back was facing the stream of water. “Just ease your head back, darling.”

He groaned as she tilted back, pushing her breasts up towards his lips. They were so close he could’ve touched them with his tongue. He watched the water soak her hair, spraying droplets across her lips. What he wouldn’t give to lick those drops away.

“Is that okay?” she asked.

“Great.”

He pulled her back, lathering the cream in her hair. She tilted her head, moaning softly as he massaged her scalp, scrubbing the blood from the ends. She was still cradling his erection between her hips, moving just enough to keep it hard. He clenched his bottom lip between his teeth, biting back the urge to slip it inside her.

“Okay. Lay back again.”

She eased back in his arms, resting against his cock as he rinsed the soap from her hair. Some of the bubbles dripped down between them, leaving a trail of white across both their chests. He followed one of the bubbles, watching it slide over her breast, stopping on her nipple. It wavered, distorting the nipple’s silhouette before dissolving against her skin. His control shattered. He reached up, gently grazing his thumb across the tip, feeling it pucker against his caress. She moaned, arching into his hand, filling his fingers with her soft mound. He made another pass, raking the tip again, brushing the remaining bubbles from her chest.

Brooklyn
didn’t speak, but pressed her pelvis against his, rubbing her skin across his cock. He barely stilled the moan of ecstasy in his throat as it pulsed, flaring the head against her stomach. Damn, if he didn’t stop touching her now, he’d have her pinned between his chest and the wall with his cock lodged inside her before the shampoo had washed down the drain.

He pulled back, grabbing the bar of soap from the ledge. She watched him, her lips parted, her eyes half hidden by her thick lashes. She’d wrapped her fingers around his shoulders, bracing her body on his. She smiled as he touched the bar to her stomach, drawing it across her abdomen and up her torso.

“Anywhere else I need to get?” he asked, rubbing the soap down her arms.

“Just my back.
I want to wash away the blood.”

“Why don’t you lean against the wall?”

Brooklyn
nodded, allowing him to turn her around and brace her chest against the shower stall. She tensed as he ran his fingers down her back, scooting around her bandage.

“I won’t hurt you, darling. I promise.”

“I know. It’s just…” She stopped.

He watched as she hunched her shoulders with a hint of disgust. He stilled the growl in his chest, moving over her until his lips caressed her ear. “Did he touch your back?”

She nodded, a small whimper mixing with the steam.

Gage grunted his reply and lathered the soap, cleaning her skin with gentle circles. He looked down, staring at the curve of her buttocks. A dark stain marked a path between her cheeks. “There’s some dried blood on that cute little butt of yours. Do you want to clean it up, yourself?”

Brooklyn
grabbed the soap he handed her and tried to wash the blood away, but the twisting tore a muted cry from her lips. She sagged against the wall. “It hurts when I twist.” She sighed. “I’m sorry. I can’t do anymore.”

Gage looked back at her ass. She’d only managed to clean the patch over her tailbone. He grimaced, knowing she’d be upset if he left the blood there.

“I’ll get the rest.”

Brooklyn
eased in his embrace, relaxing against the wall as he slid his fingers down her waist and along the cleft of her buttocks, massaging the stain away. He’d always loved her ass, and wished they’d shared the gift she’d given him that night under more romantic circumstances. It’d been so darkly erotic he longed to take her like that again.
But with love instead of anger.
He moved lower, removing the last drop of blood as he brushed across her anus. She tensed and pulled away. He yanked his hand back.

“I’m sorry, Brook. Did I hurt you?”

She shook her head, but he heard her muffle a sob. “It wasn’t you,” she whispered.

Gage frowned, not quite sure what she meant when the image hit him. Brooklyn trapped on her stomach as that bastard changed her bandage.
Caressing her back, sinking his hands lower until he slipped them between her soft cheeks.
The rumble that filled the small stall caught them both by surprise.